Classic Indonesia
Classic Indonesia
Day 1 - Bali
VIP arrival at Ngurah Rai Airport in Bali, Indonesia's magnificent Shangri-la. Bali has it all: lovely people, incredibly rich culture, astonishing natural beauty, and more than 20,000 temples and palaces. Check into the Como Shambhala or one of the famed Amanresorts, Amandari in Ubud or Amankila in eastern Bali.
Enjoy a traditional Balinese massage and body scrub, and relax in a bath of lavender flower petals.
Unwind with poolside cocktails and barbecue dinner in your villa prepared by your private chef and servers.
Day 2 - Bali
Take a helicopter over the large and diverse island of Bali, with its picturesque beaches, sheer cliffs, spectacular volcanoes, emerald rice terraces, steep gorges and exotic wildlife.
Land in a remote village and participate in a private family ceremony or religious ritual, such as a tooth filing (to rid the body of the weaknesses such as lust, greed, anger, drunkenness, confusion and jealousy), a wedding, or a funeral (a joyous celebration where the dead person is released into the afterlife).
Go whitewater rafting on the Telaga Waja River, which starts in east Bali below the great Mt. Agung. You will be split into two rafts and each will have one river rafting guide. You will brave class III and IV rapids and discover hidden waterfalls, swim in the pristine water and feel the might of this river. This is easily the most thrilling way to see Bali's jungles and waterscapes; you will rush past steep banks and ancient hanging trees, whilst rafting straight through cascading waterfalls of cold natural spring water. The 7.5-mile course takes you through a deeply carved valley which ends with an optional hurtle down 13-foot waterfall at Bajing Dam at the finish point.
In the evening have a traditional Balinese dinner at the palace of a prince of Bali, whose father was a Balinese King. He is a member of the Tabanan Royal Family, and he will receive you in the palace for a chat about Balinese culture, his life or whatever topic strikes your fancy. Not surprisingly, he is intensely proud of his heritage, and is passionate about traditional Balinese kite-making. The kites are enormous and made into fanciful shapes such as ships or animals. This experience begins with a sunset flight of one of his prized kites from the beach, a 20-minute drive from the palace, followed by a sumptuous Balinese feast back at the palace.
Day 3 - Bali
Go snorkeling, diving or surfing in crystal clear waters of the Java Sea.
Visit the private home of a local chef where you will learn to prepare Balinese cuisine and enjoy a delicious home-cooked lunch with a local family. Due to Indonesia's long history as a trading port and colony, its cuisine and ingredients are influenced by India, the Middle East, China and finally Europe, including the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal. As such, there are few staple ingredients used across the board, except rice. Many dishes commonly served throughout Southeast Asia, such as chicken satay and beef rending, actually originated from Indonesia. Feel free to ask your chef any questions about the ingredients used and what makes Balinese cuisine different from other popular Indonesian cuisines, and enjoy making what is bound to be a delicious meal.
Make batiks with local artisans in the home of Ni Made Warthini, a Balinese woman whose extended, three-generation family lives under one roof in a gorgeous traditional Balinese home. She employs a few locals in making beautiful duvets, table runners, wall hangings and other amazing examples of batik. Although this art form is found in other parts of Asia and Africa, it is a particularly intense source of national pride in Indonesia. You will be given a white piece of cloth upon which you can draw any design. Then you will trace your design in a combination of wax and paraffin with a special tool made out of copper, and dye your fabric when the wax is dry. You may experiment with dying your fabric different colors or covering your cloth in wax and crumpling it up, which gives the cloth a somewhat marbled appearance when dyed. From start to finish, the process takes 2-3 hours.
Hike through Bali's verdant rice terraces to a secluded Buddhist temple and meet with the high priest, the most important and well-regarded "man of the cloth" in Bali, for a special blessing for good luck and long life. Bali is predominantly Hindu but has long had a connection with Buddhism and, following contact some 2,000 years ago with various Indian influences, is the last surviving Hindu-Buddhist civilization in Indonesia. Over a 500 year period between the 14th and 19th centuries, the Buddhist monasteries came to an end and eventually the various Hindu and Buddhist sects, whose beliefs were similar, merged into Bali-Hinduism.
Take a sunset horseback ride along the beach and have with a celebratory gourmet barbecue by the ocean.
Day 4 - Sumba Island
Fly to Sumba Island and stay at Nihiwatu. Tiny Nihiwatu has just seven bungalows and three villas–and one of the three best beaches on earth according to Cond? Nast Traveler magazine, as well as world-class diving, snorkeling, fishing and surfing. Sumba was "discovered" by a Western couple who spent several years looking for "the perfect island" – this is it!
Have dinner at Nihiwatu. If they are available, have dinner with Claude and Petra Graves, the couple that owns Nihiwatu and started the Sumba Foundation, a remarkable not-for-profit organization that has helped the Sumbanese people in many immeasurable ways. The Graves' are revered all over the island, and with good reason. The foundation has built health care clinics, taught locals how to spot malaria, a serious problem on much of the island, funded cataract surgeries, started schools and dug water wells in villages where once locals had to walk up to 30 miles to find a clean water source. In trumpeting true eco-tourism and sustainability on the island they call home, the Graves' have created jobs for the locals and emancipated them from the crushing cycle of high infant mortality and poverty that malaria and the island's lack of natural resources have created. Hear the Graves' inspiring stories, which are sure to stay with you long after your Indonesian journey ends.
Day 5 - Sumba Island
If Claude is at Nihiwatu, shadow him or one of his colleagues this morning on visits to clinics or schools that the Sumba Foundation has set up, and see first-hand the lasting effects of the Foundation's work. On the ride there, you will likely encounter children running alongside the car, as many of them have never seen a car, and the only car that the others have seen is Claude's. When you get to the clinic or school, you are welcome and encouraged to interact with the Sumbanese, who would love to hear more about where you are from and enjoy a short English lesson if there is time and it is appropriate.
Drive to a village in Sumba famed for ikat weaving. This type of weaving is specific only to certain parts of Indonesia and it is so intricate that a single piece can take two years to complete and the finished product can be equivalent in value to a buffalo. The process is particularly lengthy because the highest quality blankets are still made entirely from scratch – the women spin the yarn on a traditional wheel and spindle upon receiving a commission, boil it with various natural substances to strengthen it and dye it and dry it multiple times before the yarn even touches the loom. Pre-spun yarn and chemical dyes can speed up the process, but of course the traditional weaves are still the most prized and valued. Chat with the women who practice this fine, traditional craft and if you like, you can also commission a specific design here, which can be sent to you when it is completed.
Relax in your villa for the remainder of the day.
Day 6 - Komodo Island
Fly to Komodo Island. You will be met at the airport and taken to the pier where you will pick up your chartered yacht.
You will sail for about 1.5 hours to Rinca Island for your first experience with the fascinating Komodo dragons. The reptiles, which grow to an average length of six to 10 feet and weigh around 150 pounds, live on only three remote islands in Indonesia: Flores, Rinca and Komodo. As the dragons are mostly unafraid of humans, they will be visible during your trek on the island, often coming right down to the beach and to other inhabited areas. Given the isolated nature of Rinca, it will not be uncommon for you to be amongst the only people here during your visit.
There are several hiking trails here that you can take to explore the island further on a 30-60 minute hike, depending on your wishes.
Cruise to Kalong Island (literally means Flying Fox Island) to see thousand of fox bats flying out from their nets just after sunset. It takes nearly 20 minutes for the entire colony to mobilize, so this is quite a sight; you will watch the spectacle from your yacht. Return to the boat and have dinner onboard the yacht.
Your private chef will cook you a delicious meal of fresh vegetables, fish and fruit for you to enjoy under a spectacular display of stars.
Day 7 - Komodo Island
Have breakfast on the boat.
Do a morning refresh dive if you wish.
Go diving or snorkeling with manta rays at Manta Point, home to a seasonal population of roughly 40 mantas.
Take a break and have lunch back on the yacht.
Your afternoon dive is at Castle Rock, the best dive site in Komodo with excellent visibility. You will have the opportunity to see sharks, turtles, dolphins, mantas, huge bands of fish and much more. Usually, the current flows to the east and is much stronger at the surface than in the deeper water. About 20 meters deep, there is some excellent soft coral growth and numerous fans that are home to pygmy sea horses. The top of the site's eponymous rock is approximately 3-4 meters deep and offers shelter from the current. This shallow area is a good place to look around during your safety stop.
Have dinner back on your yacht. At any point on your trip, feel free to join the chef in the large open kitchen for a chat or a cooking demonstration or a lesson.
Day 8 - Lombok
Fly from Labuan Bajo to Lombok.
Considering that only 65 kilometers (40 miles) of water separate Bali and Lombok, they have surprisingly different terrain, flora and fauna. It is believed that the strait between them was the dividing line between Asia and Australia in geologic times. Bali is lush and equatorial while Lombok is drier and more rugged. The island's inhabitants are 85% Sasak (a people, closely related to the Balinese, but mostly practicing Islam), 10-15% Balinese, and there are also small populations of Chinese, Arab, Javanese, and Sumbawanese. The earthly jewels in Lombok's crown are the centrally located volcano Mount Rinjani, which rises to 3,726 meters (12,224 feet), making it the third highest in Indonesia, and the volcano's crater lake, Lake Segara Anak. Rinjani's last major eruption was in 1901, leaving a caldera of over two miles; a trek to the top is for the fit only but it is well worth the climb. Alternatively, you can take a helicopter to the top and circle the crater.
Visit Tanjung market, a new market in the north of Lombok, where locals sell and buy various items on the island's antiquated barter system. It is near Segenter village, which holds tightly to its unique cultural heritage in many ways, including its traditional ceremonies and thatched roof homes. Crops grown in Segenter include chestnuts and cassava, and many farmers sell in Tanjung or neighboring markets within Bayan district. Try bartering in the market and visit with families in the village.
Day 9 - Lombok
In the very early morning, go fishing in the pristine waters around Lombok with native anglers from the village of Pondok Perasi. Pondok Perasi is a traditional fishing village comprised of 750 families that have subsisted on their daily catches for generations. There are over 200 species of fish to be caught here so this morning's catch should be fairly varied, depending on how far you go from the shore.
Drive to Mount Rinjani and see Sendang Gila, a massive waterfall on the northern slopes of the volcano. According to Indonesian folklore, the waters here have healing powers and this magnificent sight was unknown to man until a lion that they were hunting led them to it. The waterfall is about 31 meters (102 feet) tall. You are welcome to take a dip under the water as many of the locals do if you wish to feel the water's magic for yourself.
Have a picnic lunch in a scenic spot near the waterfall.
Return to your hotel for a spa treatment and dinner.
Day 10 - Toraja Highland, Sulawesi
Fly to Makassar airport in South Sulawesi, and then by chartered plane into the breathtaking mountains of the Toraja Highland, where the tribesmen are famous for their dramatic arch-shaped roofs and their elaborate death ceremony.
The Toraja funeral ritual, the most prestigious in the tribe's ancestor-focused tradition, is a festive and joyful week of round-the-clock feasting, dancing and chanting intended to safely conduct the soul into the afterworld. Dead bodies, considered full members of society, are kept and offered food and drink for months or even years until their funerals are finally held. Animal sacrifice is an important element, and dozens or even hundreds of buffalo are slaughtered depending on the rank of the deceased. On the last day of the funeral, the coffin is not buried in the ground, but is instead hauled up the mountain with great excitement to a remarkable stone grave carved into a steep rock cliff.
Spend the afternoon and the evening taking part in this astonishing event, meeting, dining and dancing with the delightful Toraja people.
Day 11 - Toraja Highland, Sulawesi
Visit the royal family tombs in Lemo, with stone graves built into sheer rock faces and wooden effigies of the deceased standing out on the "balconies".
At the Londa caves see hanging coffins and human skulls and bones left behind inside, and the tombs of babies' carved into a huge tree in Kambira.
Visit the orphanage in Tagari, Rantapao where 75 children age 4-18 live. Draw straws, and treat the winners to lunch at a local restaurant.
Afterwards, visit a remote Toraja village and have tea in the private home of a local family. Torajanese architecture is quite extraordinary - the visually striking roofs of the houses resemble one side of a buffalo horn.
Have an entertaining dinner at the home of a local Toraja nobleman along with other high-ranking community leaders.
Day 12 - Jayapura, Papua
Fly back to Makassar airport, and then on to Jayapura on the far eastern border of the former Irian Jaya (now divided into two provinces: West Papua and Papua). New Guinea, the second largest island in the world after Greenland, is part of two different countries - Indonesia in the west and Papua New Guinea in the east. Its human habitation dates back 60,000 years, and it still has indigenous tribes living in the Stone Age, who eat maggots, use pigs as currency, and are the last people to practice ritual cannibalism. It is one of the least visited and least developed areas of Asia - and is therefore one of the most mysterious and intriguing places in the world to the adventurous traveler.
In the coastal town of Jayapura, check in to the comfortable Sentani Indah hotel.
Visit nearby Lake Sentani and travel across its waters by motorized canoe to a fishing village where the locals live in stilted houses over the water. Stop by the home of a village family and learn about their lives and traditions, including the woodcarvings and other handicrafts for which the area is famed.
Back in slightly more cosmopolitan Jayapura, the chef of a favorite local restaurant will give you a cooking demonstration in Indonesian cuisine and prepare a meal specially for you.
Day 13 - Wamena, Papua
Take a private chartered plane to Wamena, the capital of the Baliem Valley, and check in to the Baliem Valley Resort.
Drive one hour to Jiwika to meet the Dani people, famously fierce headhunters who wear boar tusks in their noses and no clothes except long penis gourds called kotekas. They are known for their decorative headdresses, their ancient mummies and their custom that when someone in the village dies, each of his female relatives has a segment of her finger cut off (mutilated hands are de rigeur).
Participate in a festive pig roast with the colorful and kind Dani tribesmen.
Day 14 - Anguruk, Papua
Fly by chartered missionary plane to Angguruk to meet the Yali tribesmen who are pygmies and former cannibals, and are even less visited and less influenced by the outside world than the Dani. They had no contact with the modern world until 1976, and even today few outsiders go there because the only access is by foot or by chartered plane. Yali tools have not changed in a thousand years, and they still use stone axes and bows and arrows. Men and women live in separate quarters.
Spend an absolutely unforgettable day with these wonderful people, having lunch with them and helping them with their daily activities including hunting, gathering, cooking, and tending their pigs.
Stay at a local missionary house, which has only very basic facilities.
Day 15 - Dayo Village, Papua
For the VERY INTREPID and fit traveler only: Take the missionary plane south, cross the river by canoe and then trek into the dense swampy lowland tropical rainforest. Spend the night in tents and shelters in Dayo Village. Your private chef will prepare your western or Asian meals to your liking.
Day 16 - Korowai Village, Papua
Explore the area to find the extremely remote Korowai people who live scattered around the area in tree houses soaring high above ground, and are naked except for a leaf or nut tied to the genitalia.
These tribesmen, the world's last remaining cannibals, kill and eat male witches called khakua who come disguised as friends or relatives of the targeted victim. Just before the person dies, he tells his loved ones who the responsible khakua is. As part of the Korowai system of justice, the family must seek revenge on that evil spirit – whom they don't consider human at all – by killing and eating that individual. All the flesh (said to taste like pork) is consumed except the penis, and the brains are considered the most delicious.
Spend one of the most memorable days of your life with these extraordinary people, who had no contact with the outside world until the 1970s.
Spend the night in a tree house or in a tent on the ground.
Day 17 - Yaniruma, Papua
Spend the day trekking back through the lush jungle to Yaniruma, where you will spend the night at a missionary house.
Day 18 - Casuarina Coast
Fly south to the Casuarina Coast, home of the Asmats, former headhunting cannibals known for eating their enemies' brains straight from their skulls, and using human skulls as pillows. In 1961, Michael Rockefeller, son of then New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller, died mysteriously and without a trace in Asmat territory. The Asmat diet staple is the sago palm, but they also survive on seafood and insect larvae from the Capricorn beetle. Asmat woodcarvings - boats, statues, drums, shields - are central to the tribe's mythology and rituals, and enable the people to make direct contact with their deceased ancestors. The abstract carvings have great modern appeal and are highly prized around the world.
Take a long wooden motor boat to Agats, and spend the night at a small, basic hotel.
Day 19 - Wus Village, Papua
Take a boat to nearby Wus village where you spend the day with the tribesmen taking part in their usual activities of fishing, collecting crab and making sago starch.
Spend a second night in Agats.
Day 20 - Timika, Papua
Take a chartered flight to nearby Timika, home of the world's largest gold-mine. Check into the Sheraton Timika.
Day 21 - Borobudur, Java
Fly to Yogyakarta. Check into Amanjiwo, and experience a bit of culture shock with the extremely sharp contrast between the creature comforts of Java and the wilds of Papua. Relax!
Day 22 - Borobudur, Java
Rise around 05:00 to visit Borobudur and arrive just before sunrise (just before 06:00). The park opens at 06:00 but you will arrive at 05:30, before most of the tourists and have a viewing of this architectural masterpiece.
Though it is the largest Buddhist monument in the world, the 9th-century Borobudur was nearly reclaimed by the jungle after the people of Java abandoned Buddhism in favor of Islam in the 15th century. In the 19th century it was uncovered by British and Dutch colonial leaders and restored to its former glory through a series of excavations and renovations that lasted up until 1973. Since that time it has reclaimed its place as the central Buddhist shrine in Indonesia, and is the country's most famous site and a UNESCO World Heritage-protected monument.
Return to your hotel for a rest.
In the afternoon, visit Prambanan, one of the most beautiful Hindu temple sites in the world and the largest complex of Hindu temples in Central Java. This UNESCO site was built in the 10th century and has three main temples in the primary area (known as the Loro Jonggrang complex), namely Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva temples, which all face the east and have accompanying temples facing the west as well: Nandini for Shiva, Angsa for Brahma, and Garuda for Vishnu. In addition to depicting Hindu deities, there are also bas reliefs of the Ramayana, an epic tale of Hindu teachings told through the life story of Prince Rama. This iconic, ancient story was composed around 750-800 BC and passed down through oral tradition.
Toast the end of your journey with a private dinner in a gubuk sawah, which in Javanese means "small house in the rice fields." Nestled in a galangal plantation, this rustic bale is where you will enjoy a unique village-style dinner. Romantic, relaxing and traditional, gubuk sawah offers a glimpse into rural Java, with spectacular views of Mount Merapi, weather permitting.
Day 23
Depart Java for home.