Indonesia has been on my bucket list for years, specifically to see the komodo dragons. When I did a deep dive into the country, I discovered Indonesia is also known for its wild orangutans, jellyfish, and whale sharks... it was hard to prioritize, so I ended up planning an intense trip with 12 flights, 5 hotels, 2 liveaboards, 4 speed boats, 2 bicyles, 2 motor bikes... oh boy!
Thankfully (miraculously?) we ended up making almost all the flights, except for one, and lost our bags (just once). I navigated a broken leg and was able to still snorkel, scuba, hike (a little), and bike (tandem). Incredible people, animals, weather, and terrain... definitely worth it!
Flying on Qatar from JFK to Doha to Denpasar to Surabaya to Pangkalanbun.
48 hours later, we made it, lost bags found!
We went with Kalimantan Tours for our Borneo trip (Tanjung Puting, Berau, Maratua Island). They were an incredible company and did a custom tour for us. You can find info about them
here.
We ended up paying by cash...
Entering Tanjung Puting on our liveaboard. Our bed is next to our dining area, which is all open area. It's pretty normal for each group to have their own boat.
This baby orangutan was hilarious. He kept messing with the Big Guy tapping him on the shoulder, pulling his hair... I thought at some point, the Big Guy would get angry, but nope.
Afterwards, we flew to Berau and spent time on a speedboat visiting the local villages.
This family believes that their ancestors include crocodiles.
Headed by another speedboat to Maratua Island.
The restaurant sits above water.
We visiting a canyon where the kids did jumps off this cliff.
Alex discovered he loves to freedive.
One of the reasons we visited Maratua was to swim in jellyfish lake but sadly the jellyfish have been dying for some unknown reason and the government closed the lake down for swimmers early 2024.
Visiting Sangalaki for the turtles. We didn't know what to expect but we were able to witness hatching, help with newborn turtles and getting them out to sea.
We also got to see mamas laying eggs.
Our awesome guide in the water and on land took us on mopeds to visit local villages. Ricky is like the mayor of Maratua and knew everyone.
We thought we saw a whale shark and Ricky used his drone to find out that it was turtles mating.
We were greeted by dolphins.
Awesome photo from Scarlet
Sadly, we didn't get to see whale sharks due to the full moon. But thankfully our 3 flights from Berau to Labuan Bajo went smoothly, and we got to Labuan Bajo in time. We did a 3 day with
Captain Komodo. There were 12 guests total, and the four of us shared a bunk bed room.
We woke up at 4AM to do a sunrise hike.
Not all groups get to see komodos, so we were thrilled to be greeted by a big one at the entrance of Komodo Island.
This is a komodo nest. Apparently, mamas protect her young for 4 months. And then afterwards, the young lizards have a tiny period of time for them to run free before mama comes back to eat them. Cannibals!
This cockatoo found a safe spot high above in a tree.
We got to see 7 dragons in total. This one wandered around the market. Can you imagine a komodo dragon at your feet at the market?
We headed to a stretch of tiny beach, a little island that had turtles, sharks, and a reef.
Reef sharks next to our boat. I also got to see one snorkeling.
I tried to make a dog... Bryson thought it looked more like Dobby from Harry Potter. I think he's right...
Yep, the boat is moving as Scarlet climbed the mast. She wanted to climb to the top, but we put our foot down and said nope.
Friends from Singapore, Germany, Switzerland, and England.
Shawn was a great guide!
Here are our go pro shots. That's Alex with the manta.
After Labuan Bajo, we headed to our
Bali hotel, Betatu Bali Villa, in Ubud. There is a large family that lives there with their temple, restaurant, and hotel... and pool.
In the background, you can see Bali Cat Poo Chino... Bali is known for the Asian Palm Civet, a cat that poops out beans that are excellent for coffee.
Here's that "cat."
We did a bike tour with
Jejeg Bicycling Tours. We did a private tour that took us to rice fields, villages, waterfalls, and a delicious meal at Nyoman's home.
Yes, that is a spider on my face.
This is the Taman Sari Waterfall.
Scarlet loved Molly, a micro dog of her breed.
Our gopro shots - sorry this is out of order a bit.
These are Alex's favorite photos.
Here's how I was able to manage with a broken leg...
We didn't get to swim with the jellyfish but we were able to hold one.
Strawberry rock from red coral.
Overall, we loved our Indonesia trip and highly recommend a visit!
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