indonesia travel hacks

Seeing Bromo on the cheap

If coming from Yogyakarta on the way to Bali, the cheapest way to see Bromo is buying an all-inclusive tour to the volcano. This includes transport from Yogyakarta to Cemoro Lawang and onwards to Denpasar, accommodation, breakfast and a jeep to get around the volcano. Because we preferred to use our feet and didn't want to get stuck inside a jeep, we only paid for the transportation to Cemoro Lawang. And although we ended up spending a lot more, we didn't regret our decision. (Story coming up soon.)

One thing to remember though is that there is a hefty entrance fee (213,000 IDR) to see the volcano up close. If you don't want to shell out this amount, you can just walk up to the viewpoint in Seruni Point or higher to the peak of Penanjakan where all the other tourists are, to admire the beautiful sunrise and see landscape with Gunung Bromo, Batok and Semeru. We were told that there are rangers going around those viewpoints checking if one has the entrance ticket, but there are actually none. Also, this isn't illegal because at least Seruni Point and the other viewpoint below the peak of Penanjakan aren't part of the national park and you don't have to pay to be there.

The only downside of not paying is that you cannot climb to the crater of Bromo. But honestly, there isn't anything special about its crater. It's just another crater spewing volcanic gasses non-stop. We found that the walk from Seruni Point back to the village under the early morning sun was more exciting than being at the rim of Bromo.

When in Yogya, maximize the use of Trans Jogja

Trans Jogja is a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system which operates in the city of Yogyakarta. The cost of single-trip ticket is fixed at 3,000 IDR which is fairly cheap. It won't matter how near or far your destination is, or how many bus transfers you have to make. You will only have to pay the said amount.

The staff in the bus stations are very helpful, showing us which route to take and telling us when the bus we need to get into arrives.

The only problem with the Trans Jogja is that you might need to wait a long time for the right bus. We left for Prambanan at 2 in the afternoon and didn't get there until 4. So when using this service, allot ample travelling time especially when there would be several bus transfers.

Borobudur and Prambanan on the cheap

Yes, the entrance fees are a little too steep and no, you can't get away with it if you really want to see these temples. But there is a way to save a little when visiting these temples.

Ask for the combination ticket. It exists although it isn't advertised at the ticket counters. It only costs 360,000 IDR, saving you about 8 dollars. And it is valid for two days.

Another way to save when visiting these temples is using the public transport to get there. Prambanan is just across the terminal (called Prambanan Terminal). If coming from Malioboro, this route is served by Line 1A. To get to Borobudur, take Line 3A, get off at the terminal and take a bus to Borobudur. The entrance to the temple is about 10 minutes' walk from the terminal.

Eat at warungs

Local restaurants in Indonesia are called warung. They serve cheap but tasty local food and their serving is huge.

In Ubud, around the Monkey Forest Road area, we found that the warungs located there weren't really geared for the locals but for tourists. They aren't as cheap but compared to other restaurants in the area, they still are cheap. The warung near the southern end of Guotama street was particularly good. We also noticed that there are restaurants called warung but they are actually in the midrange to high-end budget.

Accommodation in Ubud

Knowing that we may reach Ubud late, we had a guesthouse booked for us before we left Yogyakarta. But we didn't expect that we will reach Denpasar at almost midnight, when public transport to Ubud was impossible. And a hired car was way out of our budget. So we ended up spending a night in the city instead.

The following morning, we took a bemo to Ubud and asked to be dropped along Monkey Forest Road. The LP guidebook lists a few homestays and we walked to the nearest one. We were greeted by an old lady and showed us a room. Actually, it wasn't a room. It was more like a pretty two-storey villa, which looked fairly new by the way. And the bed had lace draped over it. How romantic. Considering its price, which is just 300,000 IDR, it was an easy bargain. But again, it was out of our budget. So the old woman just led us to another homestay across the street.

Since all the rooms in that particular homestay only have double beds, we opted to stay there for just a night and find another one later that day. Walking around, we discovered that homestays abound. The term homestay must be a misnomer in Ubud because the rooms aren't really part of a house. In general, homestays are compounds with several buildings surrounding a garden. The family manages and lives in the compound, but guests don't necessarily live with them, which is the essence of a homestay. Anyway, the cheapest rooms which accommodate two persons cost 150,000 IDR. It seemed like every street has at least one homestay. So there really isn't a need to worry about accommodations in Ubud (except maybe when it's the peak season). Just be sure to check the room first because at the same price, standard pretty much vary.

The airport tax

Thinking on spending your last Rupiah on souvenirs before leaving Indonesia? Hold on first. There is an airport tax which must be paid by all departing passengers, without exception. The cost varies depending on the airport or if it is an international or domestic flight. In Surabaya, I paid 200,000 IDR for my flight out of Indonesia. Generally, the smaller the airport, the cheaper the airport tax you would have to pay. (Here's a helpful link to know how much you should pay.)

*The only country that does not include the airport tax in the ticket cost, aside from Indonesia, is the Philippines.

Know your local public transport

So you were instructed to take a bemo to get to your hostel and hire either an ojek or becak to get around the city. Are your eyebrows in furrow wondering what those are?

A bemo is a mini bus which runs a certain route and shared with other passengers. All the bemos I have taken in Bali are very old and beat up. (I mean really, you'd wonder how it is still running.) Some bemo could also be hired and function as a taxi. The fare is fixed, but prepared to get ripped off.

An ojek is simply a motorcycle which you can flag down anywhere and can take you anywhere you want to.

A becak is a three-wheel vehicle. In Java, the driver sits at the back and two (average sized) passengers can fit in the carriage in the front. The becak is either pedal-powered (more common) or motorized. This is a nice, slow way to get around the city. Although we found it a little too pricey for our budget.

The following aren't just applicable to travelling in Indonesia, but to any place one would go.

Have an idea of how much you should pay for something

When we took the mini-bus to Borobudur, we knew that we only had to pay 15,000 IDR each. But when we were about to pay, we were asked to give 35,000 IDR each. We still gave that amount, hoping that we heard it wrong and the excess money would be given back to us. But the collector left instantly upon receiving our money.

Feeling cheated, we asked the other tourists how much they paid. One couple paid 25,000 while the other gave 15,000. We really wanted our money back so once we arrived at the terminal and all the other passengers have alighted, we approached the collector and told him that what we gave him was too much. We were expecting that we would have a hard time doing so. But to our surprise, the collector gave us back the 40,000 without even a slight hesitation.

Haggle hard (if you can) and accept that you'll get ripped off

Here's the thing. You'll get ripped off no matter what, every time you travel. Sometimes you'll know about it which will make you feel bad or angry and in others, you'll have no idea you're shelling out more than you should.

From Batubulan terminal in Denpasar, we took a bemo to Ubud. Our old LP guidebook said the fare should be about 6,000 IDR and to allot for inflation, we thought we'll be asked for 15-20,000 IDR. To our surprise, the dispatcher said that the fare is 35,000. We went to what looked like an office and asked how much the fare to Ubud is but they didn't seem to know the answer. A man outside was telling them 35,000 and that's what they told us. It turned out that the man was the bemo driver.

Since we had no other choice, and taxi would be more expensive, we agreed and the dispatcher said that we'll just have to wait for more passengers. (Tip: Go to the terminal earlier when there are more bemos and passengers.) But only three came, and they were only going halfway.  So he asked for more money, or we'll wait more. In the end, we paid 85,000 for the two of us, thinking that there'd be no other passengers. Once the bemo got out of the terminal, the driver picked up more passengers. That wasn't what we were expecting.

A few days later, I was back at that terminal. The same dispatcher greeted me impishly and asked where I was going. I needed to go to Ubung terminal to catch a bus to Banyuwangi. I knew that the price he told me was just too much and I said I refuse to pay that amount. We had a little argument and after realizing that I wouldn't win anyway, I just ignored him. I was standing there wondering why I even argued when the driver called my attention. He took me to the terminal with the price that was acceptable to both of us.