On March 2nd, I embarked on my longest journey so far – a journey that took me through…
Times visited: 1 (2 weeks in 2016)
Cities visited: Jakarta, Tanjung Pandan, Denpasar
Villages visited: Manggar, Kuta, Uluwatu, Ubud
UNESCO sites visited: Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy
At the beginning of a 3,5-month journey through Asia, I spent two weeks in Indonesia. I had one main reason for going there – the total solar eclipse of 2016! Since it had been too cloudy to witness totality in the Faroes the year before, I had booked my tickets to Indonesia way in advance as I didn’t want to miss it again!
I flew into Jakarta, where I spent the first two days getting over a major culture shock. To this date, Jakarta is still my least favourite city. The lack of interesting sights, the pollution, the homeless animals on the streets and the constant catcalling put me off immediately.
But everything changed once I arrived on the off-the-beaten-track island of Belitung, my chosen destination for the eclipse. There were hardly any tourists, but I soon found two guys who I joined for a three-day roadtrip around the island. We saw the most pristine beaches, went island hopping, explored jungles and lakes, got invited to a temple by wonderful locals and journeyed to the remote south, where we met children who screamed at the sight of tourists. But the best part of my time on Belitung was watching the full eclipse with my new friends and a crowd of cheering locals.
Coming from unknown Belitung, it was a shock to land on Bali, the most touristy place in all of Southeast Asia. While Bali did offer some amazing temples, cute monkeys and an adventurous volcano climb, I have to say that I didn’t enjoy my time there. I felt homesick for the first time in my life and I was underwhelmed by the popular Ubud. It did help immensely that I met up with two sets of old friends while there though!
