Saturday, March 13, 2010

Travel – Alternative Destinations

In one of my posts, I mentioned that I was considering Irian Jaya as my backpacking destination.

Upon gathering information from the Web as well as from Lonely Planet, I understand that it will take three flights to get from Malaysia to Baliem Valley in Irian Jaya. Hassles aside, I think I will need quite a bit of extra money and time.

While I still haven’t given up on Irian Jaya, I am now considering two alternatives – both of them on the island of Java:

Borobudur


Mount Bromo

I may visit the two attractions in one single trip, but that will be a bit rush, as they are far apart. The itinerary I am considering is as follow:

Yogyakarta → Borobudur → Mt Bromo → Surabaya

If time doesn’t permit, I will visit just one of them.


Again, anyone who are familiar with Borobudur and/or Mount Bromo please give your advice. Thanks.

21 comments:

  1. Mt Bromo will be my pick. Are you travelling alone or with a bunch of friends?

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  2. Will the volcano erupt? :(

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  3. Would be nice if the volcano erupts while you are there! Haha!

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  4. Mei Ting
    Most likely alone, but nothing is confirmed yet.

    Tekkaus
    The possibility is there.

    foongpc
    Well, if that happens I will have the first hand account of the eruption, plus some exciting pictures.

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  5. Both destinations looks exciting! I would probably favor Borobudur because it's so different to me.

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  6. You know what... I'm going to all those places in June, albeit the other way round.

    KL-Surabaya; Yogyakarta-KL. ;)

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  7. I'd choose Mt Bromo between the two. Personally, I love volcanoes, smth you just cant find in Malaysia. And I heard the temperature there can easily drops to zero in the early mornings! And who could miss that spectacular sea of sands?

    My itinerary from Surabaya to Yogyakarta would include trips to Bromo, Ijen Crater, Dieng Plateau, Borobudur, Prambanan Temple, (if we have the time, try to get a view of Mt Merapi) and lastly, Yogya itself.

    If you can make it, of course go for Irian Jaya. Other alternatives: Flores, Komodo, Sumbawa, Lombok, Moluccas, Timor. I just love the less-explored islands of Indonesia, and also due to their volcanoes! :P

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  8. i hvn't been there so can't advise much.

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  9. Zhu
    Thanks for your opinion :)

    kyh
    Then maybe I can get some tips from you ;)

    wenn
    NVM, thanks :)

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  10. kyh
    Haven't decided yet. Maybe in June too.

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  11. wow u are really adventurous! Borobudor looks really interesting with all the statues

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  12. xin
    What adventurous? Lots of people going to these two places.

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  13. Borobudur is getting more and more famous nowadays, i guess you are able to dig out lots of info from the net - especially from blogs i think :)

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  14. I want to go Borobudur!!!

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  15. oh go for both - do u have to hike for Mt Bromo!! Borobudur reminds me of Cambodia.

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  16. SK
    Yeah, have been searching the Web lately.

    foongpc
    Well, then go ahead.

    lechua
    For Mt Bromo, we can either hike or take a house ride.

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  17. I would pick Borobudur, for its historical value and being one of the largest temples in the world? But of course, if you're already there, might as well go to both places :)

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  18. witch
    Bromo is 10 hours from Yogyakarta, which is 1.5 hour from Borobudur.

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  19. Interesting alternatives. I'd pick Borobudur for being one of the man-made Buddhist wonders of the world. In the old world, Indonesia had a large population of Buddhists, thus the building of this huge temple complex.

    Why not join KYH, that is if he doesn't mind you going along. Just an idea.

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  20. happysurfer
    Apparently kyh has his own companions...

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