Put your backpack on, come on, come on
Planning ahead for our next country, Indonesia, has been on my mind for a while now. It’s a country I’ve been very much looking forward to from the moment I found out that we could walk up volcanoes there. It makes me feel like a little kid when I think how excited I will be to walk up a volcano. And what makes it even more fun is walking up one with 3 little kids!
As well as the volcano treks, there is an abundance of adventurous activities available to the backpacker who ventures into Indonesia. Of course, there’s Bali, but I think we’ll give it a miss seeing as we have seen so many wonderful beaches already. What really gets me excited is the chance to see some wildlife. There’s Komodo Dragons in their natural habitat. Plus there’s a remote but fairly famous Orang Utan Sanctuary in a National Park on the Indonesian southern side of Borneo where you can live on a boat for a few days and spot them in the wild.
Plus, of course, Fergus wants to do some more diving.
However, joining the dots between the best volcanoes, the komodo dragons, the orang utans and the legendary dive sites leaves us with a daunting set of journeys on our hands. The initial flight to Indonesia is already a complex set of 3 airplanes with fairly long waits between them spanning a 26 hour period, thanks to schedule changes by Air Asia. And we’re 2 days travel from the airport. There’s no information online for the local companies who sometimes operate flights between our chosen destinations, and the Lonely Planet bus and boat estimates are wearisomely pessimistic e.g. 36-48 hour boat journeys – and, I quote, “Don’t expect a cruise ship.” Hmmmm.
However, I am refreshed enough by our time in the Philippines to face the challenge head on and see it as all part of the fun. The ‘travelling’ part of travelling is sometimes the best bit. I’ve seen some amazing things out of the windows of our bus/boat/taxi/train/airplane/helicopter journeys. So it is with an optimistic outlook that we set off tomorrow on what promises to be an epic, but awe inspiring, trip to Indonesia.
Travels with Triplets 
Hi Janet. I am following your blog with great fascination. What an amazing adventure. I have a particular interest because we too have triplets (boys age 12) and also because my husband and I travelled for a year following a similar itinerary. Albeit almost twenty years ago. We too loved the Philipines and all it had to offer. We thought Mount Bromo was a pretty impressive volcano to hike through at sunrise and I have never forgotten the Tana Toraja regency in Sulawesi. Amazing elaborate wooden carved houses, caves and incredible funeral ceremonies lasting days with hundreds attending! Out of interest, is there much squabbling between the girls?! I look forward to the next post. Enjoy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Cath – sorry it’s taken me so long to reply! Thanks for reading. Your adventure sounds amazing, I bet it felt even more remote 20 years ago. I feel pretty far from home right now in Borneo! About the squabbling, there is surprisingly little. Yes, of course, they have minor upsets, but in general they are the best of friends. They are generally in cahoots together planning how to get sneak off with the biscuits without me seeing or some other such monkey business. They very much stick together, united against the world as far as I can tell. The main dispute I have to solve (which seems to happen to all 3 in equal measure) is that the other 2 are ‘playing a game for 2’ and they feel left out. I think we are pretty lucky that they get on so well, I hope it will last. People tell me they drift apart a little as teenagers, but often come back together to be best of friends later in life. How about your boys?
LikeLike
I’ve just read the latest entry. You kids are hardcore!! What a journey. I remember the simply mental amount of hours sat on a bus, and almost crying! I think our worst was over 20 hours on a ‘sleeping bus’ in China. We overshot our destination as we didn’t know where to get off as we couldnt read the signposts out the window! When we were told to get off for toilet stops (out in the open- ie no actual toilet) we had to walk the length of the bus trying in vain to avoid the small river of spit running through the gangway! No sleep on the seeping bus because of ear drum splitting spitting. I really hope that burger cafe is on the horizon. I remember being so hungry on that journey that I had a mouthful of what was offered at some stage and it being somewhat familiar. It then dawned – liver, but liver of what? When feeling particulary desperate for western food throughout our trip my husband used to joke, “look its a spudulike” over there. Funny. Not funny!
Enjoy your burger and the fish and the chips along with several well deserved beers. Fill those depleted boots. Komodo Dragons next. Wowzers.
Cath
LikeLike
There was an Italian, a burger place and a wine shop!!!! Amazing!
LikeLike
Bet it felt like a mirage! Lol. So pleased for you. We have just returned from a no wifi self catering holiday near Stornoway. Had forgotten my earlier question, do your kids get on? Remembered why I asked after a ten hour journey home in the car! Ours argue a lot!! Everything is so competitive all the time. Wondered if its too much time together or just boys or it just seems like that to me. They do frequently stick up for one another and are very quick to forgive but there is very little middle ground. Fifty percent arguing, 50 percent thick as theives! Maybe two identical and one not changes things? Great hol though, just the journey!
We loved HCM. Such an exciting city. Yep remember the coffee. Loved the huge differences too between Hanoi and HCM. Hot french bread sold on the street corners with portions of butter in the north, you can look forward to that.
Loving the blog
Cath
LikeLike