Jakarta to Bali in 10 Day Itinerary 2015

 Hey readers! How are you? It's been a while, I'm not posting on my blog.. I was very busy and wasn't able to travel much.. My hectic schedule and other important matters had shunned me away from writing and travelling.

Luckily, I'm back on the road again. So, you wanna go to Indonesia for 10 days? I'm gonna sum it up to my best ability. Hope it could provide information as well as help you on your journey.

Enough said, below is a map that shows my route all over  Java and Bali for 10 days!

Click the image to enlarge

What you really need to get there?

Money! Ha-ha... I have at least $300 with me exchanged at a private money changer at NAIA 3 airport.. Beware! Don't get so pretty excited by having your money exchanged at the money changer, which is located between the check-in counters and the immigration checkpoint! They usually blow the exchanged rates! So as a tip, there is Landbank satellite branch on the first floor, get your money  there.. So you won't feel scammed by the private money changers! Your PHP 10,000 could give you almost IDR 3M... with the private money changers you could get as much as IDR 2.7M.. That's around PHP 1000 more or less. Anyway, better use your ATM Credit/Debit cards.. Much better real time exchange rates, trust me.

Eid-Al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan last July 17, 2015. I'm lucky enough to celebrate with the locals. Although it was unfortunate that we weren't able to ride on my dream midnight train from Jakarta, the overnight bus rides were definitely a whole new experienced. 

10 Days Itinerary 

Day 1 - Jakarta

Day 2 - Jakarta

Day 3- Yogyakarta

Day 4 - Yogyakarta

Day 5 - Surabaya

Day 6 - Surabaya

Day 7- Ubud

Day 8 - Ubud

Day 9- Kuta

Day 10 - Kuta

Day 1 -2: Jakarta 

 

Monas Tower, Jakarta Indonesia

The capital of Indonesia, google has told me about lots of things to do in the City, whilst I was able to book at the city center - a walking distance to most of the sites, I still wasn't able to penetrate all the tourist spots being featured on other blogs. Things got rough for me on day 1 and day 2. My bookings online didn't go as smooth as I thought. I spent a day looking for the travel and tours office and failed (went to Podomoro City). I also went to Pasar Senen Station trying to find my train - I failed (fully booked due to Eid-Al-Fitr). The site seeing has gone so expensive by using taxi and bemo (local motorized cab) - we should have opt for a motorbike which we haven't thought until we're on Yogyakarta.

Finally, the manager of the hostel told us that we should head directly to Jakarta Bus Terminal at Grogol. We took the overnight bus roughly 14 hour trip to Yogyakarta. 

Day 3 -4: Yogyakarta

Burubodur Temple, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Jogjakarta (local), the capital of ancient Mataram Kingdom in Java. Somehow a little bit similar to Siem Reap, but you can find more ancient stuff here. The first day was spent looking for our stay and yes, we took the long route. Fortunately, a couple were able to help us find the location and offer to bring us there using their motorbike and yes, as a traveler, I love speaking with the locals, I spent some good conversation with  the "wanita" or "Madame"  whom her husband offered a ride to our hostel. 

I spent the rest of the afternoon motorbiking to Prambanan and site seeing. Early morning we rush to Burobudor. Later that day, around 6pm we went travelling again by bus going to Surabaya. The Rosaliah Indah Bus employees were very good to us, although it was unfortunate that we lost our tickets (I'll talk more about it on my next blog post), the personnel were able to accommodate us without hesitation. :)

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Day 5-6: Surabaya

Suro and Boyo (the emblem of Surabaya City), Surabaya, Indonesia

It was 3 am, the bus conductor pat me lightly to tell that we have just arrived in Surabaja (local). Most people don't speak English so better keep your ears sharp. Eventually, we were the only person to drop by in Surabaya at that time and we just wait at the office of Rosaliah Indah until 5am before heading to our accommodation. Day 1 was like a marathon walk, we werent able to get a motorbike (so sad). We been walking all day long to different sites, trying to know the Ins and Outs of the City. 

We went to as much tourist spots as we could although ive got lots of blisters already, this vibrant City has never failed to amaze me. It was a mixed of Eastern and Western cultures ei Chinese, Arab, Malay and Dutch. There are lots of malls and Surabaja was the second largest City in Indonesia.  We spent our second day looking at Sangar Agung and Pakuwon City. I say, it's not expensive here, unlike Jakarta. At 3pm (day 2), we booked our ticket going to Denpasar from Purabaya Bus Station. Yes, another overnight bus ride.

Day 7-8: Ubud

Rice Terraces, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

The bus fare includes your ferry ticket, so no need to pay for it, around midnight we are already at the Banyuwangi port heading to Bali. Two more hours we arrived at the Denpasar Ubung Bus Terminal. We take it slow as if we have enough more time to explore Bali. From Ubung BT we took a bemo going to Batu Bulan Terminal, unfortunately, the Bemo driver didn't bring us to the terminal, instead insisted that we just ride a minibus going to Ubud which we did. 

Ubud was famous for its traditional craft and dances, rice paddies, temples and country living. Ubud was like a backpackers haven and the sprawling tourism here was like any other. Bars, resto, cafe, temples and shops, it was like seeing some culture clash at first of a glance. Eventually, the locals here have adapted to western culture and they treat foreign guys very well! 

Pura Ulun Dano Bratan, Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia

Tourist are everywhere, such as the Backpackers, Solo travelers, Travel Bloggers, Photographers, and Holiday goers seem to have fun of their lives. Getting a motorbike to travel to Eastern Bali from Ubud is a good idea, its cheap and fun! On the second day around 7pm, we head down to Kuta on a taxi. 

Day 9-10: Kuta

Kuta Beach, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia

We have bad experienced with the taxi driver that brought us to Kuta around 9pm. He didn't drop us to our hostel and we traversed Sunshine Road for over an hour to find that location, but we're fooled by the google maps pin and we can't contact the numbers posted on my bookings. Some good local was able to help us, but failed. I booked another hotel which is located at Legian, walking distance to the beach (thanks to that chick who offered free wifi). 

Lonely Planet describes Legian and Kuta as "loud, frenetic, and brash". Oftentimes, we deal with narrow streets and strident clubs. Haggling with T-shirt /souvenir vendors here is a norm (i usually get great deals). There are lots of people, I can say it is the focal point of tourism in Bali. Most of the sites are buzzing with tourist and the sprawling long beaches is always there to satisfy you 24/7. 

Cost of Living

Taxi all over Java and Bali starts at IDR 7.000 and Bemo's flat-rate is IDR30.000. Motorbikes rate starts at IDR50.000 per day and full tank gas is IDR 15.000 enough for a day. Accommodation per night vary from cities like; Jakarta, IDR 450.000 (lowest), Yogyakarta IDR 250.000, Surabaya IDR 250.000, Ubud IDR 250.000, Kuta IDR450.000. Food also varies from locations, for example, if you eat on the outskirts of Kuta the price dropped is significant and doubles at the city center. Bus fares are as follows: Jakarta to Yogyakarta - IDR350.000, Yogyakarta to Surabaya - IDR 210.000, Surabaya -Denpasar - IDR350.000. Most overnight buses have one complimentary meal around 11-12midnight so make sure you dont lose your ticket (ive got some funny experience with this LOL)! 

Im going to cut this article into mini lenses hoping to provide a much wider view on my travels. Anyway, pardon my English writing - just trying the best of my ability to help you.