An itinerant traveller part 2: Indonesia

Just a week ago I filled you all in about the Thailand leg of our trip.  Well, here is part two, where I’m going to show you what we’re doing when we head to the world’s fourth most populace country: Indonesia.

We’ve never been there before, and through all of our research it has become apparent that Indonesia is filled with diversity, offering something for everyone: breathtaking volcanic landscapes, extraordinary flora and fauna, pollution choked metropolises, peaceful countryside, stretches of long sandy beaches and swathes of jade ocean... and that’s only the natural wonders!

Comprised of thousands of islands (around 18 000, but less when the tide is high), Indonesia’s landscape is almost diverse as its people.  A melting pot of languages, religions, and cultures.

8 – 12 Jan	Jakarta What better place to dive in to a country, than with its capital? Jakarta is a bustling, pollution choked metropolis, but I’m sure that there’s plenty lingering under the surface.
12 – 14 Jan	Borobodur A Buddhist icon in a predominantly Muslim nation, a bit of a paradox perhaps? We’ve planned to stay at the Princess Manohara Resort, in the temple complex – a perfect option for Michael to take sunrise photos!
14 – 18 Jan	Yogyakarta Indonesia’s cultural epicentre – its heart and soul, is Yogyakarta. I’ve been told this is the place to shop, eat and experience traditional Javanese culture.
18 – 19 Jan	Malang A stop off, to break up the journey between Yogyakarta and Bromo, Malang was established by the Dutch at the end of the 18th century.  We’re planning to stay at the Hotel Tugu Malang, which also doubles as a site in our Lonely Planet Guide!
19 – 21 Jan	Cemoro Lawang We’ll be using Cemoro Lawang as our base to explore Mt Bromo. Bromo is one chink in the ‘ring of fire’ that stretches around the pacific ocean (taking in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Alaska and Chile), in fact it is one of more than a hundred volcanoes in Indonesia alone.
21 – 23 Jan	Ijen Plateau More volacanoes...  Three in fact: Ijen, Marapi and Raung.   All are still active, with Ijen, which is home to a 1km wide sulphur lake at its peak, last blew its top in 1936.
24 – 28 Jan	Ubud We could have chosen Kuta.  We could have chosen Sanur.  In fact, there are so many choices of places to stay in Bali. Ubud seems a good choice for us – we’ll have already been to the beach resorts in Krabi and planned some other beach stays at the end of our trip.  I might be crazy, but there’s only so much sloth-like behaviour you can indulge in on holiday... Although, I’m happy to stand corrected.
29 – 31 Jan	Sengiggi From Bali to its island neighbour Lombok, we’re hoping to indulge in some serious relaxation, before a little bit more beach time at...
1 – 3 Feb	Gili Trawangan I’m particularly looking forward to Gili Trawangan, the largest of three islands that protrude from Lombok, the others: Gili Meno and Gili Air, have all recently become established on the tourist track.
4 – 8 Feb	Bangkok To finish things off, we'll spend a few more days in Bangkok.

This photo is of Gunung Bromo and is thanks to Worldwide Photographers.

To the right is sunrise at Gili Trawangan, the photo is from dHolidays.

Again, here I am asking for your help: What wouldn't you miss if you were planning a trip to Indonesia?