Zhou Xiao's Travel Notes: Indonesia Tips (Practical Guide)

On August 11, 2023, Zhang and I embarked on a 9-day trip to Indonesia.

This article focuses on tips for independent travel (our photography skills are very limited, so bear with the photos).

Let me first share our flight route: Leg 1: Beijing to Bali, with a transit in Kuala Lumpur; Leg 2: Bali to Komodo; Leg 3: Komodo to Yogyakarta, with a transit in Jakarta; Leg 4: Yogyakarta back to Beijing, with a transit in Kuala Lumpur.

**Tips for Independent Travel**

Indonesia currently offers visa on arrival (VOA) — just tell the immigration officer. Prepare $35 USD in cash per person, or pay by card. Try not to ask for change, as it may not be returned.

Customs process: 1) Go to the counter to pay; you'll receive a neatly printed receipt showing 500,000 IDR. 2) Take the receipt and your passport to the next counter for fingerprinting. They'll ask a few simple questions, then the officer stamps your passport, and you're through! ✌️

P.S. If you have a similar itinerary and plan to exit Kuala Lumpur for a 7-hour layover adventure, make sure to get a visa in advance. Ctrip reminded us that 'Kuala Lumpur has canceled transit visas.' If you don't want to be stuck at the airport like we were because we didn't get a visa in advance, better listen to Ctrip — don't be stubborn! 😂

There are many airline options. Key points: 1) Check whether luggage is checked through ⚠️ — depends on whether both segments are on the same airline. 2) Note whether the ticket price includes checked baggage ⚠️ — don't ask how we know; we paid a hefty fee. 3) When checking in, get boarding passes for both flights at once ⚠️. In Indonesia, we were only given the boarding pass for the first segment. We didn't ask for the second one (no experience), so we had to run around the terminal during transit to get the next pass, and an airport staffer asked us for a bribe (I firmly refused). It was pretty embarrassing.

Indonesian rupiah denominations range from three zeros to six zeros. When you exchange your RMB or USD for local currency, you feel super rich! 😂 If you don't mind the hassle, reserve currency exchange at your bank before departure (IDR is a minor currency, so book ahead). Alternatively, if you're lazy like us, you can exchange USD at Bali airport — and guess what? The airport actually accepts RMB directly! 😂 Lesson learned. Generally, exchange rates at the airport are slightly worse than in town, but it's up to you.

We're pretty basic when it comes to electronics. If you're the same, honestly, Huawei doesn't work as well as Apple overseas, especially for navigation 😂. Anyway, regardless of your phone, download the Southeast Asian ride-hailing app Grab — you can call cars or motorbikes and pay in cash (I'm too lazy to link a Visa card). TripAdvisor or Yelp are like China's Dianping, helping you choose restaurants. iMoney helps with exchange rates — though a simple trick for IDR is to remove three zeros and divide by two to get roughly the RMB value. Doesn't take up much memory, you'll use it eventually 😂

**5. Bank Cards and Cash**

As mentioned at the start, Bali is the most modernized place on this trip. You can pay by card for shopping, and it's the only place (besides airports, Starbucks, and McDonald's) where cards are accepted. ⚠️ But UnionPay and Alipay are not accepted — only Visa/Mastercard. Get them from your bank in advance. You'll definitely need cash; in Komodo and Yogyakarta, almost everything is cash-only.

**6. Religion**

80% of Indonesia's population is Muslim, but Bali is a Hindu island. What struck me most is the deep religious devotion. Bali is called the 'Island of a Thousand Temples' — temples every few steps. During our stay, we were lucky to witness Galungan, where men and women go to temples to pray and hold ceremonies. It was a unique experience.

Compared to Bali's religious atmosphere, Yogyakarta was a culture shock (no offense — I've just never lived in a predominantly Muslim area). Folks, if you hear 'music' blasting from loudspeakers on the street, don't be like me and think it's just music (what was I thinking?). Because at 4 a.m. every day, you'll hear the same 'music,' and chances are the guests next door will start 'singing' only after that broadcast ends.

P.S. If you have trouble sleeping, don't skip earplugs — or spend extra on a hotel with good soundproofing. 😂

Alright, that's all for now. Leave a message if you have questions. See ya!