Indonesia was the final leg of my Southeast Asian journey. It sits between the Indian and Pacific oceans and consists of over 17,000 islands, making it an archipelago. I travelled through Sumatra and Java, accompanied for the first time, by Shania, a young British woman of Indian parentage, who I’d met in Penang, Malaysia. Despite having spent stretches of enjoyable time with others, it was a pleasant change to have permanent company for over three weeks.
Our journey together took us to a Sumatran jungle then on to Lake Toba, a massive volcanic crater lake amid tranquil mountain scenery and later, included two days and nights on a large ferry, which took us from Bukatinngi in Sumatra to Jakarta in Java.
We were allocated Deck 3 in the bowels of the ship and slept on thin plastic mattresses set out in rows on a metal frame. It was crazy, probably the most unedifying element of my whole trip, but easier to bear with a travelling companion.
Things could only get better and they certainly did. From Ubud, the beautiful cultural centre of Bali to the Gili Islands. Their white sandy beaches are fringed with palm trees and just offshore, beyond the shallow turquoise water are coral reefs. I was on Gili Trewangan on 17th August, their Independence Day, and joined in the celebrations.
Available as a KIndle e-book: HERE