14 hour flight back to London was a bit hard for me. Because of the daylight savings we could not understand how much is left till landing, and last two hours have been really long! In London we had to run through the airport to check-in for our Dublin flight… One more hour… Back in Dublin…In general, the trip was very good, but nature was particularly beautiful. I would actually say that I enjoyed the nature most with waterfall swim and volcano climb being my favorite moments of the trip.
Big cities were the biggest disappointment, unless one can do some dining or shopping there, like in Singapore, for example. Jakarta and Padang have been the ugliest spots of the trip in terms of dirt and Kuta Bali was the ugliest spot in terms of drugs, prostitutes, drunken tourists and other “sweet life” accessories.
Activities are difinitely the key to the successful trip. We would not last for 17 days with one and the same activities. Motorbikes, volcano hike, beaches, surf board, waterfall swim, night club, etc. – the trip should definitely be activity-centered, rather than place-centered. But changing places once every three days was also a great idea.
Finally, small local villages with authentic experience, local language, and day-to-day habits are probably the best spots to enjoy the country. It was such a peace of mind to be among people, who are happy for you to be there, who smile as sincerely, as you do, and how don’t care about selling something to you, as they have their own stuff to do.
Waiting for another year… Let’s see what happens…
