Round trip 28 days classical and cultural Sumatra, Java en Bali

Medan

Medan is the capital of the province of North Sumatra and has more than 2.5 million inhabitants. In the Dutch East Indies period there were many plantations outside the city, especially rubber did well. The 1965 book "Rubber" by M.H. Szekely-Lulofs gives a good picture of what the world looked like at the time and how the Netherlands was firmly in control around the Deli river. Later it was mainly the Chinese who attracted trade and power. Now Medan is a modern city, where many old buildings still remind of the colonial period.

For the western tourist, Medan doesn't have much to offer: the Sultan's palace is nice to visit, as is the Chinese temple. Take a look at the great mosque Masjid Raya Al-Mashun, you will be welcomed (outside the services) and shown around.

Our favorite Deli River hotel is located just outside the city, on the Deli River. The accompanying restaurant Omlandia serves delicious Indonesian, Indian and Western dishes. The pecel (kind of gado-gado with delicious sauce) is a must!
In the center there is also a wide choice of hotels, but they still lack the atmosphere. Perhaps the former hotel de Boer, now Grand Inna, will come close.

Brastagi

The mountain village of Brastagi is often visited as a stopover on the long route between the jungle and Lake Toba. The village is wonderfully cool at 1,300 meters above sea level. Surrounded by the volcanoes Sibayak and Sinabung, the soil is very fertile and various vegetables, fruit and flowers are grown here.

Volcano enthusiasts can climb the Sibayak volcano early in the morning and take a warm bath at the hot springs of Lau si Debuk-Debuk on the way down.

Samosir

Lake Toba is the largest lake in Indonesia with a length of about 100 km and a width of 30 km. It originated from a volcanic eruption, roughly 75,000 years ago. The Toba Batakkers live around the lake, a people of predominantly Christian faith, mixed with a kind of animistic ancestor worship.

Samosir is the famous peninsula in the lake. An island tour of Samosir lets you see and experience the culture of the Batakkers. A boat trip on Lake Toba, along the island, is also a lot of fun and shows almost the same sights.

It is special to take a day trip to Tatea Bulan. High in the mountains there is a pilgrimage site of the Batak kings and the ancestors are honored. A very devout visit, with beautiful panoramas. Along the way you will also visit the sacred sources of AEK Sipitu Dai. During our visit, the washing place was quickly emptied in order to show something of the sacred.

What you should not miss is a dinner with a vocal group. The Batakkers are known for their polyphonic singing, accompanied by guitar and simple local musical instruments.
The culinary specialties of the Batakkers are not always in the taste of western visitors: dog is not exactly what we are waiting for and the Ikan Mas (kind of goldfish) takes you more time to get rid of bones than it is tasty. Fortunately, Saksang remains, a Batak dish that should not be missing during a wedding. There are two variants, of which we ignore the dog and go for the Saksang Babi of pork.
Of course you are going to eat at my kake-pinjum, my borrowed brother Rony. Together with Rosinthan he runs the Marysca Restaurant. All our Sumatra travelers get a free dinner here with a warm Batak welcome. Rony, his friends and family like to take you musically through the Batak culture with the vocal goup.

Our favorite hotels are Tabo cottages (Junior suite or Villa) and Samosir Villa resort (VIP room. At weekends the resort is overcrowded by local tourists).

Padang Sidempuan

From Samosir it is a full day driving on the Trans Sumatra Highway to the west. Baramun Nagari Wildlife Sanctuary is located near the town of Padang Sidempuan, which has nothing to offer tourists themselves. The large park houses a shelter for elephants and other wildlife. During a safari day you will experience the elephants in their natural habitat and you will come face to face with various strange birds, monkeys and probably one of the two (or both) Sumatran tigers.

We are short about food and favorite accommodation: There is only one accommodation and that is the sanctuary itself: simple.

Bukittinggi

Bukittinggi (high hill) is situated in the middle of Sumatra in the Minangkabau highland.
In the past this city was known as Fort de Cock, the bell tower built by the Dutch in 1926, which you still can visit on the town square.
In the Natural Park Taman Bundo Kanduang you’ll see the typical constuction of the Minangkabau in the replica of Rumah Gadang.( Rumah Gadang means Big House)
From Bukettinggi you can go to Sianok Canyon,Lobang Jepang and Lake Maninjau.

Maninjau

Lake Maninjau is a 45-minute drive from the city of Bukittinggi. The surroundings of the lake are wonderful for walking.

Jakarta

Jakarta, The Big Durian, you either love it or you walk away from it. It is the hometown of my mother, then called Batavia. In 1993 I was still in her birth house, a privilege that few Indos can still experience, as Jakarta has grown into a metropolis with about 17 million inhabitants. A lot of low-rise buildings have had to make way for skyscrapers that define the skyline of Jakarta.

Only the old city, Kota Lama, still shows many traces from the Dutch period. Be sure to visit Fatahillah Square with the National Museum and drink a cup of coffee in the nostalgic Café Batavia. Glodok, Jakarta's China town is within walking distance of Kota Lama. The old VOC warehouses and the fish market Pasar Ikan are also worth a visit.

I find it difficult to name a favorite restaurant. What I write today will be obsolete tomorrow. I would say check the internet and selamat makan, enjoy your meal!

Bogor

Bogor (Buitenzorg) is located 50km south of Jakarta and is best known for its Botanical Garden. It often rains, so it’s comfortably cool and assures lush vegetation. In the Botanical gardens you can walk through the park where many plant species grow and you can visit the orchid greenhouse.
Unfortunately maintenance is minimal today, which means that, for example the old little Dutch cemetery, looks somewhat dilapidated.
Next to Bogor is Taman Safari Indonesia, a big safari park where, among other animals, you still can see a real Sumatran tiger.
The Cibeureum waterfalls are located on a short distance from Bogor. From Bogor you can travel to Bandung via the highway of the Puncak pass.
Via the Puncak pass you travel to Bandung through tea plantations and beautiful views of nature.

Bandung

Bandung was often called "Paris of Java". It was not until 2020 that I found out where that name came from: the many fashion shops, Mediterranean restaurants and other luxury boutiques gave Bandung a Parisian look at the beginning of the 20th century. Bandung no longer has that look, except perhaps in the famous Bragaweg, one of the best-preserved shopping streets in the world in Art Deco style.
It is a busy and modern student city, where many old buildings and houses from the colonial period have been preserved. There are architectural highlights such as the Gedung Sate, Villa Isola, the old Concordia, but also the hotels Savoy Homann and Grand Hotel Preanger take you back to the times when the planters came to enjoy their Sunday drink.

North of Bandung are the volcano Tangkuban Perahu, the mountain village of Lembang and the Dago Tea House are worth seeing. In the south you will find the Malabar tea plantation. Kawah Putih, the white crater, is also located in the south and together with Malabar is good for a full day trip. The golden crater Papandayan is more to the east and is special because of the many geysers and the golden rim at the top. The Papandayan is again good to combine in a day trip with the hot springs of Garut.
If you are on time, make sure to visit Saung Angklung Udjo in the afternoon: a dazzling performance of angklung music with dance and wayang golek performance by children from the neighborhood, accompanied and accompanied by descendants of the late Pak Udjo. He once founded a music school for the street children here, which has now grown into a beautiful stage for the children in the neighborhood. At some point you play along, despite your musical illiteracy.

Favourite restaurant

Just like in other big cities, good food is not hard to find. My favorite is Dapoer Pandan Wangi. Order the fried perch Gurame Goreng, not available in the Netherlands, with Terong Raos as a vegetable: aubergines baked in dough. You will never regret it!

Cimahi

South of Bandung is the town of Cimahi. During the Japanese occupation, the current barracks served as Jappenkamp, ​​where my grandfather and father had been interned for several years. In Cimahi is also the honorary cemetery Leuwigajah.

Borobudur

The Borobudur is a famous temple complex built in the 9th century. It’s situated on a small hill near Yogyakarta and surrounded by other temples and volcanoes. The complex is 47 meters high and consists of nine stacked platforms. The platforms represent the Buddhist cosmos. On the top floors there are 72 small stupas, which are built around one large central stupa, which symbolizes Nirvana.

The Borobudur is best visited during sunrise. The Sarasvati Borobudur hotel is a 1.1 kilometer walk. There are several hotels and resorts within 10 minutes, of which both small scale Rumah Dharma I and II are our favorites. For the traveler with a well-filled wallet, the Plataran Borobudur resort & spa is the ultimate choice (not to be confused with the big brother Plataran Heritage hotel, which is mainly geared towards wealthy local tourists).

Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta is the cultural center of Java, the soul of the island. It is also one of the nicest and most interesting cities in Indonesia. Partly because of the walled royal palace, Kraton, which is already a town in itself. You will find countless historical works of art and paintings. The gamelan is rehearsed daily in the morning hours, some days with dance and / or singing. The current sultan still lives on the palace complex.
The Water Palace, which can only be visited in the morning, is within walking distance.

For shopping you can visit the Marlioboro street with numerous stalls during the day and tasty food stalls in the evenings. Also visit the bird market Pasar Burung, one of the many batik galleries or go to the silver town of Kota Gede. In the evening you can attend a performance of the Ramayana ballet in the center.

Yogya surroundings

An hour from Yogyakarta is Borobudur, the world-famous Buddhist temple from the 8th and 9th centuries.
Closer is the Hindu temple Prambanan, where the Ramayana ballet is regularly performed.

Towards the coast is the town of Imogiri. Here is the final resting place of the rulers of Mataram, the Susuhunans of Surakarta, the sultans of Yogyakarta and other high Javanese nobles. The name comes from Sanskrit and means "Snow Mountain". You can decide to visit the sultans graves on the spot.

Especially on Sunday go to the beach of Parangtritis. You will be amazed how the locals enjoy the beach and get through the day taking selfies (preferably with you)!

Favourite restaurant

Yogyakarta has a lot of delicious restaurants, from murah (cheap) to mahal sekali (very expensive). The latter category includes Gadjah Wong , but the choice is huge and I believe I've never eaten such a tasty sambal goreng tempe Nice ambiance too!

If you are staying in the Prawirotaman district you should definitely visit Via Via for lunch pr dinner. Very nice atmosphere, not expensive and very tasty and you can find a lot of information about Yogya. They also give cooking classes.

The most authentic is to eat Nasi Gudeg at one of the lesehan (food stalls) at the Jalan Malioboro, a jackfruit stewed in coconut milk.

Denpasar

Denpasar is the busy capital of Bali.
Besides some museums and the market there aren’t many tourist attractions in the capital, though you can do some great shopping for cheap prices.