TRAVELING IN INDONESIA
Having arrived in Indonesia, your choices for onward travel depend,
as always, on time and money. Travel on Bali ranges from boats,
self drive and chauffeur driven cars, to both slow and fast buses,
bicycles and motorbikes. Hiring a car or minibus with or without
driver, is one of the most rewarding ways of getting around.
In many ways, Indonesia is an easy place to get around. Indonesians
are, as a rule, hospitable, good-humored, and willing to help
a lost or confused traveler. The weather is warm, the pace of
life relaxed, and the air is rich with the smells of clove cigarettes,
the blessed durian fruit and countless other wonders.
However, the nation's transportation infrastructure does not move
with the kind of speed and efficiency that Western travelers expect,
which often leads to frustration. Bookings are often difficult
to make; flights and reservations are sometimes mysteriously canceled.
It is best to adjust your pace to local conditions. What seems
like nerve-wracking inefficiency is really so only if one is in
a hurry. If you have to be somewhere at a particular time, allow
plenty of time to get there. Check and double-check your bookings.
Otherwise just go with the flow. You can't just turn off the archipelago's
famous jam karet-"rubber time"-when it's time to take
an airplane and turn it on again when you want to relax. You will
get there eventually.
Peak periods around the Christmas/New Year holidays and during
the June to August tourist season are the most difficult. It is
imperative to book well in advance and reconfirm your bookings
at every step along the way. Travel anywhere in Indonesia (except
Bali) during the week prior to the Islamic Lebaran holiday is
practically impossible. Find a nice spot and sit it out.
The golden rule is: things will sort themselves out. Eventually.
Be persistent, of course, but relax and keep your sense of humor.
Before you explode, have a cup of sweet coffee or a cool glass
of kelapa muda (young coconut water). Things might look different.
Planning an Itinerary
The first thing to do is to be easy on yourself and not plan an
impossibly tight schedule. Things happen slowly here, so adjust
to the pace. Better to spend more time in a few places and see
them in a leisurely way, than to end up hot and hassled. You'll
see more this way.
Wherever you are, keep in mind that the tropical heat takes its
toll and you should avoid the midday sun. Get an early start,
before the rays become punishing (the tropical light is beautiful
at dawn). Retreat to a cool place after lunch and go out again
in the afternoon and early evening, when it's much more pleasant.
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