Honeymoon in Indonesia
Making the decision about where to go on your honeymoon is tricky. With all those wonderful places to choose from, where do you start? We certainly decided it had to be somewhere neither of us had travelled before. We made our lists and our shortlists and the one place that kept coming up to the top was Indonesia. It seemed to offer every ingredient we were looking for – the perfect climate, ancient cultures and mix of religion, awesome landscapes, food, people and some totally gorgeous places to stay.
At first there were slight reservations regarding the recent activity in Bali and Java however somehow this didn't deter us, instead it only intrigued us further, drawing us there to discover it for ourselves and see how the forces of nature had formed this fascinating land.
Indonesia is made up of 17000 islands, each as interesting and beautiful as the other, but with only 2 and half weeks to experience what it had to offer we chose to visit Bali, Java and Lombok.
Ubud, considered the cultural heartland of Bali was our first port of call, long known as the “village of painters” it appealed to our creative sides and we were to discover some beautiful artefacts. We spent our days wandering the art and craft shops, eating delicious food, drinking fresh fruit smoothies and marvelling at the eclectic talent that has gathered here.
An easy drive south and west took us to the coastal town of Seminyak, an area north of the popular and touristy Kuta and Bukit Peninsular, where we found a good balance of stretches of empty beach, cool, funky bars, upmarket restaurants and luxurious hotels. I would highly recommend breakfast at Ku de Ta (you’ll probably end up staying there all day), sundowners at Ku de Ta (!) and then dinner just up the beach at Gado Gado. A perfect day interspersed with frolicking in the wave break!
Following that a short flight to Java took us into Yogyakarta and a heavenly stay at Amanjiwo – probably one of the best hotels in the world! Built in complete alignment with Borobadur, the largest Buddhist Temple in the world with all the spiritual energy and magic that you imagine, this hotel is a truly special place to stay. More than anything watching the sunrise over Borobadur followed by a ride on an elephant through small villages and farm land back to the hotel is something I will never forget.
Then on to Lombok, a smaller Island than Bali and much less developed, it is made up of glistening paddy fields, verdant hills, rugged mountains and long stretches of beach. The Island is dominated by Mount Rinjani and offers probably the best views across the straits to Bali and Mount Agung. Our main aim for coming to Lombok was to climb this awesome beast of a volcano which in retrospect we hadn’t really prepared ourselves for at all. It was to take us 2 nights and 3 days and on hearing about the terrain, temperature and length of walking each day, we somehow felt a little nervous. However, we rose at 3 am on the first day with all the enthusiasm of kids on Christmas Day and looked forward to the challenge ahead of us. It turned out to be one of the best experiences of the entire trip. The trek took us through some of the most interesting and diverse landscape we had ever seen, from subtropical to cold scree slopes with little vegetation. After waiting for the afternoon cloud to lift off the peak the reward is worth it as the cloud clears you see the most unbelievable view into the bottom of this vast crater from approx. 2000mtrs. Highly recommended but not for the feint hearted and a word of advice, take lots of layers and a decent sleeping bag!
Our final 5 days were spent relaxing on Gili Meno, a short boat ride off Lombok to stay at Villa Nautilus. The smallest of the 3 Gili Islands, this gorgeous little place caught us unawares. Meaning only to stay for a few days the beautiful white sand beaches, turquoise waters, excellent snorkelling, friendly islanders and general laid back vibe was all we needed to persuade us to extend our stay. Due to little tourism over the past few years, much of the island has fallen into disrepair with many resorts having closed down and some of the buildings looking rather sad, however this didn’t detract from the raw beauty of the island. Staying at Villa Nautilus was a very relaxed experience. A lovely hotel made up of 6 private villas set back from the beach in lush gardens. Beautifully designed and decorated with funky artwork and chic fabrics and furnishings we couldn’t have been more comfortable. The staff were perhaps not the most switched on but what did it matter, neither were we at that stage!
All in all we thought it was a perfect combination for a perfect honeymoon.
At first there were slight reservations regarding the recent activity in Bali and Java however somehow this didn't deter us, instead it only intrigued us further, drawing us there to discover it for ourselves and see how the forces of nature had formed this fascinating land.
Indonesia is made up of 17000 islands, each as interesting and beautiful as the other, but with only 2 and half weeks to experience what it had to offer we chose to visit Bali, Java and Lombok.
Ubud, considered the cultural heartland of Bali was our first port of call, long known as the “village of painters” it appealed to our creative sides and we were to discover some beautiful artefacts. We spent our days wandering the art and craft shops, eating delicious food, drinking fresh fruit smoothies and marvelling at the eclectic talent that has gathered here.
An easy drive south and west took us to the coastal town of Seminyak, an area north of the popular and touristy Kuta and Bukit Peninsular, where we found a good balance of stretches of empty beach, cool, funky bars, upmarket restaurants and luxurious hotels. I would highly recommend breakfast at Ku de Ta (you’ll probably end up staying there all day), sundowners at Ku de Ta (!) and then dinner just up the beach at Gado Gado. A perfect day interspersed with frolicking in the wave break!
Following that a short flight to Java took us into Yogyakarta and a heavenly stay at Amanjiwo – probably one of the best hotels in the world! Built in complete alignment with Borobadur, the largest Buddhist Temple in the world with all the spiritual energy and magic that you imagine, this hotel is a truly special place to stay. More than anything watching the sunrise over Borobadur followed by a ride on an elephant through small villages and farm land back to the hotel is something I will never forget.
Then on to Lombok, a smaller Island than Bali and much less developed, it is made up of glistening paddy fields, verdant hills, rugged mountains and long stretches of beach. The Island is dominated by Mount Rinjani and offers probably the best views across the straits to Bali and Mount Agung. Our main aim for coming to Lombok was to climb this awesome beast of a volcano which in retrospect we hadn’t really prepared ourselves for at all. It was to take us 2 nights and 3 days and on hearing about the terrain, temperature and length of walking each day, we somehow felt a little nervous. However, we rose at 3 am on the first day with all the enthusiasm of kids on Christmas Day and looked forward to the challenge ahead of us. It turned out to be one of the best experiences of the entire trip. The trek took us through some of the most interesting and diverse landscape we had ever seen, from subtropical to cold scree slopes with little vegetation. After waiting for the afternoon cloud to lift off the peak the reward is worth it as the cloud clears you see the most unbelievable view into the bottom of this vast crater from approx. 2000mtrs. Highly recommended but not for the feint hearted and a word of advice, take lots of layers and a decent sleeping bag!
Our final 5 days were spent relaxing on Gili Meno, a short boat ride off Lombok to stay at Villa Nautilus. The smallest of the 3 Gili Islands, this gorgeous little place caught us unawares. Meaning only to stay for a few days the beautiful white sand beaches, turquoise waters, excellent snorkelling, friendly islanders and general laid back vibe was all we needed to persuade us to extend our stay. Due to little tourism over the past few years, much of the island has fallen into disrepair with many resorts having closed down and some of the buildings looking rather sad, however this didn’t detract from the raw beauty of the island. Staying at Villa Nautilus was a very relaxed experience. A lovely hotel made up of 6 private villas set back from the beach in lush gardens. Beautifully designed and decorated with funky artwork and chic fabrics and furnishings we couldn’t have been more comfortable. The staff were perhaps not the most switched on but what did it matter, neither were we at that stage!
All in all we thought it was a perfect combination for a perfect honeymoon.
