Indra D.Sumbodo. Date of travel: Jun 2005
The subject should be changed from Been There to Been Here....Almost 44 years of my life have been spent in Indonesia except 3 years in the States. Indonesia is, one of five largest nations in the world with more than 230 million population spread all over the archipelago with more than 13,000 islands, and more than 152 dialects. The national language is Bahasa Indonesia. Bali, the small Godess island East of Java Island, is more famous than Indonesia. Actually, Indonesia has five major Islands: Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Irian, and Java. Currency is Indonesian Rupiah ( 1 U = Rp 9500), advisable to get change from a bank or hotel. Tourist resorts spread all over the archipelago with easy access by plane, ship, train, and car. Most of the tourist areas will offer you beautiful scenery, traditional culture, and ancient places. Travelling can be done via travel agent and/or by yourself. People are very welcome to every tourist, and you will not have any language difficulty as long as you speak English. The exception is in the very remote areas, but still at least there is some that can speak English.Try to get Indonesian companion if you travel by yourself. Food...no problem, from spicy indonesian food to western food is easy to find. Anyway...Indonesia is one of the places on earth that you should not miss. If you have a plan to go to Indonesia, write me an email and I'll guide you... have a nice trip..... Tour Operator: none

Terry Larsend. Date of travel: Jan 2004
Loved the country, but public transport a nightmare. Buses always absolutely packed and sometimes had to hang out the door, minibuses wait till they are full before leaving, even if it takes hours, and generally it is difficult to get the correct information about getting anywhere, whether by bus or ferry. And express buses are NEVER express! Buses take ages because no-one seems to walk anywhere and I saw a lady on the side of the road who looked like she had been waiting for hours - got on with all her belongings only to get off about 200m down the road - and then the bus had to back up since it had overshot the exact spot she wanted to get off by 2m! Typically a 100km journey took 5hrs. Buses are also interesting places to chat to locals with limited English who always wanted to know everything about me (sometimes too much!), but long trips could also be hellish as all males from the age of about 12 upwards seem to chain smoke - I was very peculiar being a non-smoking male. In Bali tourists are expected to take tourist transport - minibuses set aside for foreigners - which are probably more comfortable but cost many more dollars and excludes you from rubbing shoulders with the locals. Nothing completes the experience of a country like taking the local transport with everyone else so I preferred not to travel in exclusive tourist buses which made me very unpopular with the touts!

claire lane. Date of travel: Jun 1997
Stayed at Club Bali Mirage Resort, the only all inclusive on the island of Bali. beatiful rooms overlooking the large swimming pools. theres a large barbeque terraced area that leads straight on the beach. food was tremendous lots to choose from, there were different themed nights in the restaurants, indonesian, italian, etc. lots of excursions to see and do, I can recommend the Bali Hai Cruise in particular. If you like a bargain try visiting the local markets. very limited entertainment in the evenings but great if you just want to chill out.