Volcanoes & Temples of Indonesia

5 Reviews

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  Anonymous
  Written on January 20, 2012

  3.0 - Average

  An enjoyable trip with a good and varied selection of things to do and see.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?The main reason i went on this trip was to see Mt.Bromo. It was much better than I expected. The early trip tp see the sunrise followed by the walk up to the crater rim were great (as are my photos). I would have happily spent a few days there. The optional snorkelling trip to Menjangan Island was  superb. We were  well rewarded  by seeing hundreds of beautiful fish and corals. A smaller highlight for me was sitting with two local bead sewing experts in a village near the hotel in Bali and trying to emulate their work.Much laughter at my efforts.What did you think of your group leader?Empong was a super guy and very knowledgeable.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?There are some long periods sat on the coach. Just go with the flow and relax, enjoy the wonderful scenery on the journeys or read a good book.Is there anything else you would like to add?The variety of the hotels used on this trip were good.The best in my opinion was the one at Lake Toba. Window overlooking the lake with a wonderful view of a glorious sunset. I thought too much time was wasted at lunchtime but it is difficult to suit everybody.
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  Anonymous
  Written on October 11, 2011

  3.0 - Average

  An enjoyable holiday and each of the 'highlights' was worth seeing, but I did not feel that time was always best used and some of the travelling could have been better planned.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?There were several inspirational moments, walking through the rainforest and seeing the orang-utans, the pre dawn trek to view the sunrise over Mount Bromo and the sunsets over Lake Toba.What did you think of your group leader?Our group leader Empong tried to meet everyones needs but this was sometimes difficult to achieve. He was passionate about his country and keen to share this with us.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Mount Bromo can be very cold, we slept in our clothes, dont forget a torch for the pre dawn walk and take a book or cards as there is little to do in the evening after the sun has set. Ther is a bat cave at Bukit Lawang that you can visit independantly, it is well worth seeing but I would advise going with a local guide as it is difficult to go all the way through the caves without one, again dont forget a torch.Is there anything else you would like to add?The time spent on Bali was a disappointment, the sea water around Lovina Beach is very polluted and there were over 50 boats chasing the dolphins on the pre dawn cruise, not a pleasent experience. Ubud is so congested with traffic that you could hardley breathe, and is packed with daytrippers. The hotels used on the tour were all satisfactory or good, but travelling could have been better organised, the journeys are long but the biggest frustration was the time that was wasted on them, a 90 minute lunch stop in the middle of nowhere when the destination hotel was only 40 minutes further was unnecessary and meant that we arrived too late to see much of the town.
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  Anonymous
  Written on October 10, 2011

  1.0 - Bad

  I booked this trip, because it had been given an adventure pioneer award. Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations. In fact, this trip has been the least adventureous and pioneering trip I have ever been on. This is a coach trip, seeing Indonesia through the window of a coach with minimum activity.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?Four members of the group hired a local guide to take us to a bat cave which was fantastic. However, this is not an option on the Exodus list, so you will have to do it independently.What did you think of your group leader?OkDo you have any advice for potential travellers?If you do this trip, I would advise you to miss out on the two hour, three course meals at lunchtime. If you don't you won't arrive at your destination until late afternoon. Also there are additional charges not mentioned; departure tax from Sumatra and Bali, photographic charges. Be prepared to spend the majority of your day on a coach, especially in Java, with 4 days of constant travelling so that Bromo can be included in the itinerary.Is there anything else you would like to add?The adventure pioneer award is very misleading and needs to be removed from this trip.
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  Anonymous
  Written on July 13, 2011

  3.0 - Average

  The holiday overall was enjoyable and interesting.  What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?There were several highlights :-Getting so close to the Orang-utans in the rainforest. Seeing and tasting the wonderful array of fruits in the market in Berastagi. Lake Toba with it's sheer size and beauty. Mount Bromo, which was spewing out vast clouds of smoke and ash. The trip early in the morning to see the dolphinsWhat did you think of your group leader?Empong was excellent, nothing was too much trouble for him. He was knowledgeable and obviously proud of his country and people. I had inadvertently left my spare comcorder tapes behind in England and he managed to find a shop where I could purchase replacements. He also got our room changed and upgraded in  the hotel in Yogyakarta when the one we had was dirty and unsuitable.He also made sure that the vegetarians in the group were catered for.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?I was advised by Exodus that the beds in Indonesia were no bigger than Kingsize, so armed with that information we purchased a double self supporting bell mosquito net. In the event, at nearly every hotel there were single beds and the few double beds were Queensize, so our purchase was useless. None of the hotels provided mosquito nets, so if you require them, take single size ones and self erecting as there was no where to hang them from.Is there anything else you would like to add?Whilst accepting that Indonesia is a vast country, we did find the the amount of travelling in Java, very tiring, The bus was uncomfortable and most travellers compained of aches, pains and stiffness. This was particularly so on a 13 hour journey on day 9.  If it was possible, it would have been nice to have finished the holiday at Lovina Beach, or another quiet, beach location, rather than Ubud.
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  Anonymous
  Written on July 5, 2011

  2.0 - Rather poor

  This review is for the trip in June 2011.  The individual elements of the itinerary were very good but the distances between them were great therefore there was a feeling of a lot of travelling but not much arriving.  The hotels used were by and large not good (unclean) and this was a definite negative. The trip would benefit by spending a little longer in Sumatra and Java - thus negating the feeling of forever travelling - and having Bali as an extension.What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?Two stand out.  We were really lucky and saw 8-10 organ utan whilst on the rain forest walk, including mums and babies, and we had really good views of them.  We also saw lots of thomas monkeys and macaques.  So the whole experience was pretty amazing.  The other experience which stands out is Mt Bromo which, having erupted last Autumn, was constantly spewing an ash cloud which is a pretty stunning sight when you are quite close to it - which we were.What did you think of your group leader?Empong was excellent.  Very well organised, informative and good company.  His personal commitment to ensure we enjoyed our holiday was impressive; he organised and participated in city tours for those who were interested on our 'free' days in Yogyakarta and Ubud, he tried really hard to get vegetarian food for lunch when we were in transit (which was surprisingly difficult) and was happy to spend time just chatting about his country and his home village.Do you have any advice for potential travellers?Shoes with good wet weather grip in the rain forest are essential.  Be aware that both the walk (approx 15/20 mins) to the orang utan rehabilitation centre in Bohorok and the walk (approx 15 mins) to the early morning viewpoint for dawn at Mt Bromo require an ability to walk up steps cut into steep paths.  None of the hotels used provided mosquito nets - if you take one make sure if is the self supporting 'dome' type as it is unlikely that you will be able to fix up any other sort.  A couple of people in the group had problems with their digital camera batteries when we were in the rain forest and the cameras stopped working, this seemed to be because of the high humidity.  Vegetarian meals are quite difficult to obtain (other than in Ubud) so be prepared to eat a lot of rice and noodles.  Sugar is added to everying so if you want a fresh fruit juice without sugar remember to say "tan pa gula". Is there anything else you would like to add?Indonesian people are really friendly and happy to talk and have their photographs taken but you will also be asked to pose with them for a photo shoot - especially by school children who all have mobile phones with cameras.  When we were visiting the temple sites in Yogyakarta there were a lot of school parties so we had a lot of requests from them.  It is nice to have the tables turned so to speak.  A slightly more leisurely pace would have been better so that we could have spent longer in the places of real interest.  Another day at Bohorok to do a second rain forest walk would have been good; a rest day in Kalibaru (which was one of the better hotels in beautiful gardens) would have been great; longer at temple sites so it was not so much of a rush.