This trip is a little different than most. I was feeling due a vacation as the last several months of work consisted of onboarding some new teammates, training and hashing out a new process. So, what better way to vacation than to fly to the other side of the planet in business class? Follow me along on a week-long trip to Indonesia.


Day 1


The long trip to Lombok, Indonesia.


Delta 757-300 service from Atlanta - San Francisco.


Hanging out in the Delta SkyClub SFO before my China Airlines flight to Taipei around 1:00 AM.


China Airlines 777-300ER business class.


Duck appetizer.


Fish main.


Cheese and fruit for dessert.


Breakfast.



Day 2


I had about 2.5 hours in Taipei to visit the China Airlines lounge before heading to Jakarta.


China Airlines lounge TPE.


A new China Airlines A350-900 taking me to Jakarta.


A similar reverse herringbone seat. The small lamp is a nice touch.


Beef for lunch.


Welcome to Jakarta.


I met up a friend that was coming in from Mumbai during my 6-hour layover and spent some time roaming around since I had no lounge access in CGK.


Getting on an Indonesia AirAsia A320 for the final leg.



Day 3


We arrived at the house rather late the night prior given the airport is a good 1 hour drive from Senggigi. We got a pretty large house for around $65/night.


My room for the next few nights.


Living room.


Jetlag had us up at 6 AM, so we walked to a local restaurant for breakfast. I started with a watermelon smoothie.


Mie Goreng.


We booked a guide/tour for the day on a private boat to take us out to the Gili Islands, which are small islands off the NW coast of Lombok.


It was about a 45-minute ride to the first island, Gili Trawangan.


Some nice views en route.


They dropped us off on Gili Trawangan for about an hour to explore.


Boat.


Gili Trawangan main street.


Beach and Bintang.


We headed out towards Gili Meno to do some snorkeling. Perfect water for snorkeling as well.


Looking towards Gili Meno.


We then headed to a 2nd snorkel location which was quite busy. There was a sea turtle over here which is what attracted everyone.


The next stop was Gili Air, our 3rd and final island, for some lunch.


Nasi Goreng.


Our boat.


Snorkeling in some clear water for a 3rd time.


We headed back to our dock in Senggigi after a day at the Gili Islands.


Back on the beach at Senggigi.


Sunset on the beach at Senggigi.


Sunset.


Sunset with Bali on the horizon.


Fried fish for dinner on the beach.


We also shared some satay.

Day 4


We started our day off early on another tour around Lombok. This time we started at the Pura Lingsar Temple.


Pura Lingsar temple grounds.


The Pura Lingsar Temple is actually used for almost all religions including Hindu, Waktu Telu, Buddhist and Christian.


Tree at the Pura Lingsar Temple.


Purifying water fountain - Pura Lingsar Temple.


We then headed off to see some waterfalls, stopping for a view of Mount Rinjani, an active volcano on Lombok, on the way.


Benang Stokel Waterfalls.


Benang Stokel waterfalls.


It was a short 20-minute hike to the next waterfalls, Benang Kelambu.


Hiking up around the Benang Kelambu waterfalls.


Some curry chicken as a late lunch while heading back to the house. We dropped a friend off at the airport on the way as he was going to Surabaya for a few days while we spent some extra time in Lombok and Bali.


After some downtime at the house we headed out for dinner. We started with some Lawar Ayam salad.


Ayam Taliwang (chicken) for the main entree.



Day 5


We had a flight out of Lombok at noon today, so I started the day with a walk down the beach near the house we rented.


Black sand.


Once I reached security at Lombok Airport, I got turned around since apparently tripods are considered weapons (but nowhere else in the world apparently). I had to go back to check-in, wrap the tripod and then check it.


Welcome to Bali after a short 30-minute flight and a one hour Uber ride! We rented another house, this time in Ubud. There wasn't as much common space room, but the house was decent otherwise.


The room for the next few days.


Outdoor shower.


By time we got to the house and settled in, it was almost 3 PM. We decided to at least get some activity in, so we headed out to the Tegallalang Rice Terraces. Traffic in Ubud is atrocious.


Tegallalang Rice Terrace.


Tegallalang Rice Terrace.


Unfortunately, the swing was closed by time we got there.


I was virtually sprinting around the terraces as the light was dwindling quickly. The humidity made this quite the chore.


Hiking around the Tegallalang Rice Terraces.


Rice terrace.


Tegallalang Rice Terrace.


Rice.


Ribs for dinner. We had two more fly in to join us earlier in the day, so we were up to five in the group, which made the house and getting around quite cheap.



Day 6


We started the next day at the Ubud Monkey Forest.


The little buggers were everywhere.


Ubud Monkey Forest.


Monkey.


Monkeys.


The tour guide let us stop back at the house before heading out again. My return flights home were via Vietnam and I had forgotten to print my evisa. The house owner was kind enough to drive me around to three different places until we found someone to print it for me.


We hung out at the Tegenungan Waterfall in Ubud for a while, even though it was packed with tourists.


The rest of the day we were supposed to visit all of the main tourist sights in southern Bali. Once we realized how much driving it was (2-hours, stop, 2-hours, stop, 2-hours, stop - back to the house) some of us decided to bail. We had spent so much time locked up in a car this trip, it just didn't seem worth it.
After hopping off the tour, we grabbed some Mie Goreng for lunch for under $3.


We decided to spend the afternoon at a pool-bar in Ubud instead. Traffic in the area is atrocious and relaxing for a few hours sounded ideal.


The snacks and drinks were plentiful.


After sunset, we waited until the others showed up from the tour and headed out for dinner. I ordered some satay this time.



Day 7


My trek home started at ~noon this day, so we headed out to a market in the morning to grab some souvenirs.


On the way to the airport, which is over an hour away in traffic, we stopped for some late breakfast.


After a great week in Indonesia, it was time to head up to Vietnam for the night to catch the start of my Cathay Pacific mistake fare. First up, a 4.5 hour to Ho Chi Minh City on Vietjet.


Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City! My layover to Da Nang was originally only 90 minutes but was now well over 3-hours due to a delay.


With the delay, I decided I needed to fulfill my need for Pho and took a grab-moto to a nearby, highly-rated, Pho restaurant. Sorry for the image quality, this was taken on my phone.


Delicious.


Back at the airport boarding the flight to Da Nang.


Not bad for a $20 quick overnight near the airport.



Day 8


First up, a Cathay Dragon flight to Hong Kong.

The long routing home which started the day prior out of Denpasar.


Departing Da Nang.


Breakfast enroute to Hong Kong.


Descending into Hong Kong.


A newly painted 777-300ER was my ride over to New York.


Cathay Pacific 77W Business Class cabin.


Champagne to start.


Cell phone pic leaving Hong Kong.


Scallop appetizer.


Lamb chop main.


Cheese plate for dessert.


"Breakfast" before arriving at 8 PM in NYC.


Welcome to NYC! I spent the weekend in the city with some friends before heading back to Tampa.


I had a fantastic time in Indonesia, however, I think I'd skip over Bali if I went again. The traffic was atrocious, it was packed everywhere we went and there's just so many other, less traveled, islands in Indonesia, that I'd feel bad going back to Bali. Otherwise, Lombok was great and personally I found it miles better than Bali.

Next up: Iraq

Previous reports:
A Trip to Qatar, Southern Africa and Singapore Qsuite, SQ J, HO J and UA Polaris

A Weekend in the Canadian Rockies: Banff National Park

A Whirlwind Trip Around SE Asia: Bangkok, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia

Two Days in Guatemala

A Weekend in Austin, Texas

Exploring Ukraine - Kiev, Chernobyl Nuclear Powerplant and Pripyat

A Short Trip to Panama City, Panama

A Week in the Caucasus: Georgia, Azerbaijan
and
Armenia

A Landscape Photography Trip to Oregon

A Trip to Nigeria

A Trip to the Grand Canyon and Sedona

A Trip to the Azores.

One Week in India: Mumbai, Amritsar, Agra/Taj Mahal, Jaipur and Delhi CX and EY J

A Snowstorm in Tokyo and Volcanoes in the Philippines

New Year’s in Seoul, South Korea Delta A350 Suite

Keeping it Domestic: Grand Teton National Park

9 Days in Asia: Taipei, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay and Shanghai

Two Weeks in South Africa and Namibia: Joburg, Cape Town, Sossusvlei and Kruger

ˇBienvenido a Cuba!