Tourist Attractions in Indonesia

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INDONESIA
.. All I can say is to anyone thinking of buying or transporting any form of drugs here. DON'T. The penalties are harsh if you are caught. One of the most popular scams here is the Police will watch the drug sellers( they know them) sell an unsuspecting fool some drugs. and then an undercover policeman will just come forward and bust them...As wages here are miniscule and to supplement themselves. This is really a set up for extortianate bribery. One such recent case of a stupid 14 year old boy buying drugs and getting busted. He could have got many years in a Bali Gaol but because of his age and after months of gaol and trial he was set free. I beleive there still was a large fine to be paid. Most countries in SE Asia have extremely harsh penalties for drug trafficking..There are signs displayed in every airport and railway station aginst trafficking and its penalties.There is no excuse..Some even have the death penalty.

There are tour companies situated in Kuta providing transport by bus as claimed by them to Surabaya.Beware that this so called buses are actually big van's and are in bad condition.I got this bad experience when i booked a ticket in one of the tour companies not only the van was stuffed with all kinds of goods.To make matter worse it broke down somewhere in Java in the middle of the night.After being repaired it reach Surabaya at noon when it was suppose to arrive at 7.00am.

Fun Alternatives: I understand there is a better transport company called Perama in legian st offering the same service as i thought all the transport co are more or less the same

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SOMETHING THAT CAN REALLY BE OVER-WHELMING ARE THE AMOUNT OF TAXI DRIVERS PULLING AT YOU AND GRAPPING YOUR LUGGAGE AND TRYING AT THE SAME TIME TO GIVE YOU A SUPPOSEDLY GOOD PRICED TAXI RIDE TO YOUR DESTINATION........
I WAS EXTREMELY BLESSED IN THAT A LOCAL VTER WAS AT THE AIRPORT TO MEET ME AND WAS ABLE TO REALIZE WHICH TAXI DRIVER TO BELIEVE....

Unique Suggestions: TRY TO TO HAVE A LOCAL MEET YOU AT THE AIRPORT TO GET THROUGH ALL THAT MESS!!!!!

Fun Alternatives: JUST BE BRAVE AND TRY TO DECIDE WHICH ONE TO TAKE...

WHEN I WENT TO JAKARTA..I DIDN'T KNOW IF I WOULD BE GOING TO BALI FIRST OR BACK TO SINGAPORE ....SO I DIDN'T BUY A ROUNDTRIP TICKET.. : 0 SCARY !!!!! CAUSE WHEN I WAS GOING THROUGH TO GET MY PASSPORT STAMPED THE OFFICER THERE QUESTIONED ME A LOT WHY I DIDN'T HAVE A DESTINATION AFTER JAKARTA....BUT THE SAD PART WAS THAT HE WASN'T GOING TO STRAMP BY VISA UNLESS I GAVE HIM MONEY.......HE JUST KEPT SAYING..." IF I DO A FAVOR FOR YOU...THEN DO A FAVOR FOR ME..." I TOLD HIM I COULDN'T AND A FRIEND WAS WAITING FOR ME....BUT HIM ASKING ME WENT ON FOR ABOUT 7 MINUTES!!!! FINALLY HE STAMPED MY VISA.......................BOY...WAS THAT A RELIEF...........AND FORTUNATELY I NEVER GAVE HIM ANY MONEY FOR HIS FAVOR!!!!!!!!!!!

Unique Suggestions: HAVE A ROUNDTRIP TICKET !!!!!!!! IT WILL SAVE YOU A QUARREL....BUT YOU GOT TO BE NICE OR THEY MIGHT JUST SNED YOU BACK TO WHERE YOU HAD COME FROM.. ???????????

Fun Alternatives: MAKE SURE THAT YOU ARE GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE AFTER JAKARTA...

I'm sure Ubud was once a lovely little village but it's now little more than a tourist theme-
park, with more than 250 restaurants and even more souvenir shops. The Rough Guide to Indonesia says: "Although it's fashionable to characterise Ubud as the 'real' Bali, it
actually bears little resemblance to a typical Balinese village." No kidding. Nobody in their right mind could call this the 'real' Bali, if such a thing still exists.

Unique Suggestions: If you do go to Ubud, for me the two best things about it were the Ubud Monkey Forest (see my Things to Do tip) and the large flocks of herons that can be spotted in the trees about 3km outside the city. There are also lots of art museums, and of course plenty of crafts to buy if you're there for the shopping. For a more positive view of Ubud, this website has all the information you'll need to plan your stay there.

The morning I arrived in Yogyakarta the first thing I experienced was my hotel owner ripping me off by pushing me to go to an artistic centre. he told me a big story, told him that today is a special day and that he truly truly recommends me to check this artistic gallery. First I said no but he kept on mentioning it and just to have peace I went there... I ended up buying a batik picture there for an overdimansional price as I found out later.... I was ripped off big time! I should ahve informed myself better about this common tourist trap, well now I am... ;o)

When driving around Indonesia it's almost impossible to find public toilets! I headed for a MacDonalds restaurant in search of one and even they didn't have any toilets!!

Unique Suggestions: Plan and think about this before you move on. Especially if you have discovered the food is having an adverse effect on your insides!

Taman Mini is touted as "Indonesia in miniture" and it literally is. There is a lake (pictured) with a miniture archipelago representing the islands of Indonesia. That's kind of neat. There are houses around the lake that exhibit each of the nation's provinces. I visited way back in 1989 - and it was a flying visit... the cable car ride was about all I can remember - and here's a dodgy photo of it!
It's in Jakarta.

Unique Suggestions: Take the gondola/cable car (I never know what to call those things) over the lake. You can test your geography knowledge.