Indonesia with OAT

From Oct. 31 to Nov. 19, 2023 we joined an Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) tour of Indonesia. We began in Jakarta, went to Yogyakarta, Bali and ended the tour with the post-tour extension to Labuan Bajo where we went to see Komodo dragons, as diagrammed in the map below. Tom also went on his own on a side trip to Borneo to see orangutans which is documented in the other blog.

Jakarta

Shadow puppets

We visited a maker of the traditional Indonesian shadow puppets (Wayang). The intricate puppets are hand-carved from buffalo hides and mounted on bamboo sticks. The shows are often many hours long of classic Hindu epics such as the Ramayana and are accompanied by singing and music.

Masjid Istiqlal (Independence Mosque)

I was surprised to learn that Indonesia has the largest population of Muslims in the world. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority (87%) of people in Indonesia are Muslim. We visited the Masjid Istiqlal mosque, which is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia and the 9th largest in the world in terms of capacity.

The ceiling of the mosque

Having never lived in a country with a high Muslim population, I was aware of but had never heard the daily calls to prayer that characterize the religion. There are 5 calls every day, beginning at dawn.

It’s one thing to hear the call to prayer when visiting a major mosque, but the call can be heard everywhere in the city and at all hours.

As a symbol of religious harmony, the Mosque was built next to the Catholic Jakarta Cathedral

Yogykarta

We flew to Yogykarta from Jakarta. On the way from the airport we stopped by the side of the road where a farmer was harvesting rice with the help of his neighbors. Apparently the neighbors help each other when harvesting and threshing the rice and share in the produce.

Animated GIF of rice threshing

In the neighborhood of our hotel in Yogykarta there was a fellow who raised pigeons.

Sultan's Palace

For me a cultural highlight of Indonesia was the visit to the Sultan’s Palace in Yogyakarta. We just missed a dance performance by the women as we arrived just as they were posing.

However, we did have a chance to see a practice session with the men with a live gamelan orchestra. I believe this is in the Beksan Jebeng dancing tradition. It was a mesmerizing performance,

Staghorn ferns in the palace courtyard.

Borobudur Temple

This is a large Buddhist temple complex that dates to the 9th century. The temple was neglected and buried under jungle and volcanic ash until it was rediscovered by the British in 1814. Since then it has been the most popular tourist site in Indonesia

Unfortunately we didn’t get Adi into our group photo!

Family dinner

Apparently most OAT tours include a night in which travelers have dinner at a local family’s home. We had a very nice dinner with 3 other OAT traveler’s. One remarkable aspect of our visit was that one of our traveling companions, Cynthia, was taking this tour for the second time. The first time was over 10 years ago. Sometime during the evening she realized that the hosts were the same family that had hosted her on her last tour. Given the number of OAT tours visiting Indonesia, this was quite a coincidence.

Another ‘small world’ coincidence of this trip: one of the 15 guests came from Marquette, MI and is the concertmaster of an orchestra in which my cousin Bob plays.

Our host family and guests after dinner.

Kasongan Village

Beach spider lily plant.

Prambanan Temple

Not far from Borobudur is a similar set of huge Hindu temples that also dates to the 9th century. The proximity of these two massive complexes is undoubtedly not accidental and is thought to reflect peaceful religious cohabitation.

A large group of school kids who were learning English arrived during the time we were there. They quickly gathered in groups around individuals in our tour to practice their English, sing songs and do short informal dances.

Sekar Rinonce Batik Foundation

We visited a foundation designed to preserve the traditional Indonesian hand-waxed batik craft. They gave us small predesigned scraps that we then waxed by hand. At the end of the tour, we got our own batiks back after they dyed the fabric.

Detail of batik

Cave tubing

As the weather was quite hot, one afternoon with free time Adi organized a cave tubing trip to Gua Pindul cave.

Bali

Ubud

We flew to Denpasar, Bali and took a bus to Ubud where we visited a children’s dance school of classical Balinese dancing.

Sudirawan Children’s Dance School

Ubud Sacred Monkey Forest

This is a temple complex and nature preserve that is home to over 1000 macaque monkeys that roam free and amuse the tourists. You are repeatedly warned not to bring food or bags that will tempt the monkeys who are skilled at stealing them.

A monkey scrum

Let go!!

Happy Yoga master

Visit to small village

Tenganan Perringsingan is a small village in Bali known for unique traditional Balinese culture.

Palm leaf writing

The village had several people doing traditional palm leaf writing (or lontar), a custom that dates back to the 5th century BC. The writing is done on dried palm leaves with a sharp knife and rubbed with burnt candlenut or other colouring so that the ink is in the incised grooves but the surface is clear. Remarkably the writing can survive for centuries if properly cared for. Most of the oldest lontar are Hindu religious documents.

The village also had someone who raised chickens for fighting. He gave a brief demonstration of how easily it was to entice the cocks to fight.

Goa Lowah Hindu temple

This Hindu temple is well-known because there is a bat cave on the grounds which houses thousands of fruit-eating nectar bats. It is considered one of the six most holy places in Indonesia.

Monitor lizard

Pertenunan Arti Nadi textile

We visited a traditional Balinese weaving studio where dozens of women were working on looms.

Scenic rice fields

On the way to Trunyan village we stopped at a site with scenic views of rice terraces.

Trunyan Village

This is a small culturally isolated village that still keeps some traditional customs, most notably they do not bury their dead but leave them to decay in the cemetery where a special tree and rats take care of the job.

The village is located on the shores of Lake Batur with an active volcano (Mt. Batur) in the background. The lava flows from the last eruption can be easily seen. The scenic area was also featured in a well-known movie “Eat, Pray, Love” starring Julia Roberts.

Mt. Batur volcano in the background

Part of the graveyard

Javan pond heron

Javan pond heron

Candidasa

Mask maker

On the way to Candidasa we stopped at a master mask maker.

Blacksmith

We visited a small blacksmith shop which specialized in making knives and swords.

Tirta Gangga

This former royal palace is now a tourist destination.

Sanur

We stopped for a short visit with a salt miner, who extracts salt from sea water. The painstaking process involves bringing sea water out to the beach. After the sand dries, the salt is then extracted from the mixture of sand and salt.

One of thousands of small temples

Sudamala temple: Hindu purification rites

We visited a Hindu temple where people come for a purification ceremony with holy water.

Uluwatu Cliffside Temple

The temple is famous for the large population of monkeys that roam free.

Statue of Kumbakarna Laga

Macaque with a prize: Anissia’s glasses

Titi Banda statue is a roadside attraction

Gigantic statue of Garuda Vishnu in the middle of nowhere

Buddhist temple

Sea turtle rehabilitation site

We visited the Turtle Conservation and Education Centre in Serangan.

Days old hatchling

Sunset over Bali

Labuan Bajos, Flores

For the post-trip extension we flew to Labuan Bajos from which we took two boat trips to Komodo Island and to Rinca Island to see Komodo dragons.

Komodo and Rinca Islands

The main target of the post-trip extension was to see Komodo dragons in the wild. They are found on several islands in eastern Indonesia. They are the largest lizards in the world, reaching 10 feet in length and 300 pounds in weight. They have venomous glands that excrete deadly toxins so a single bite may not kill the prey immediately but will cause the prey to die within a few days. The dragon will then find the rotting body with its keen sense of smell from its forked tongue.

Warthog, one of the dragon’s main prey

Cecer Village

One day we visited a remote small village of the Mangarrai tribe on the island of Flores. This was the home of our local guide so he participated in the activities. The men participate in a ritual competition and dance with costumes and whips.

The demonstration usually ends with a leaping try with the whip.

We also took boats out to remote islands for snorkeling and swimming.

Grace with our intrepid guide Adi

We had two great seafood dinners with really fresh seafood that they cooked after we ordered.

The scenic Labuan Bajo harbor

Denpasar

We stayed an extra day to explore Denpasar. On Adi’s advice we hired a driver who took us to Werdhi Budaya Art Centre.

Werdhi Budaya Art Centre in Denpasar

Indonesian music

We heard several examples of gamelan, the traditional Indonesian music, often played with dances.

Sunset over Kuta Beach, Denpasar

Baruna, God of the Sea, at sunset on Kuta Beach as our plane flies home

Please note: All text and photos are copyrighted to Tom Yin. You are welcome to share the URL, however re-production of text or photos is not permitted. If you would like to feature this story, contact me and I would be happy to provide you with details, photos, text etc. Thanks!