Comments on: Budget Travel in Indonesia: A Revelatory Night On a Ship

By: How NOT to Budget Travel: The Most Expensive Ways to Experience the World

How NOT to Budget Travel: The Most Expensive Ways to Experience the World — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:26:37 +0000

[...] to eight UNESCO World Heritage sites and the following countries: Japan, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bhutan, India, Rwanda, and [...]

By: Matija

Matija — Mon, 17 May 2010 22:27:19 +0000

Great article, justi reading it up as i’m planning to go to Indonesia for a month in the summer.
def. taking some PELNI rides during the travels, so hopefully i find some friendly people to talk to and get a feel of life in Indonesia

By: Photo Essay: Kadidiri of the Togian Islands, Indonesia

Photo Essay: Kadidiri of the Togian Islands, Indonesia — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:31:49 +0000

[...] For a different Indonesian experience, read Budget Travel in Indonesia: A Revelatory Night on a Ship. [...]

By: C & L

C & L — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 16:00:26 +0000

Great writing! Personal, thought provoking and inspiring. Looking forward to reading your next piece.

C & L

By: Fajar Ajie

Fajar Ajie — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:18:11 +0000

well i hope you keep on writing and inspiring people, simone
i live in northern part of Bandung, about 230 kilometers from Jakarta. One of the best town to lived, especially the northern parts
anyway, thanks for replying my comment before. cheers!

By: Simone Gorrindo

Simone Gorrindo — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 23:55:25 +0000

Thank you so much, Fajar. I can’t tell you how much your response means to me– made me feel like writing can truly be a worthwhile act. I am touched.

What part of Indonesia are you from?

By: Cynthy Weidemaier

Cynthy Weidemaier — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 23:30:34 +0000

Nice job Simone!!!

By: Fajar Ajie

Fajar Ajie — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:49:17 +0000

I havent read any outsider perspective that is more incredible yet touching than yours. Truly, you succeed on framing the Indonesian way of life. You earned the firsthand experiences and i salute you for that. not many people would do what you did, and so not many earn the experiences you earned.

maybe someday you have the time to experience the trans-java train on economic class? you will be amazed.
anyway i’m indonesian and thank you for sharing this wonderful story

By: Jody Coppock

Jody Coppock — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 00:53:44 +0000

Wow!! Really well-written and thought provoking. Please give us more Simone!

By: Simone Gorrindo

Simone Gorrindo — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:03:12 +0000

Hmmm….popular beaches. I didn’t spend a great deal of time in very touristed places. Bali has awesome beaches for relaxing and surfing, but that’s obviously old news. Bunaken Island, which is right off of Northern Sulawesi, is pretty accessible and has fantastic snorkeling/diving but some of its beaches are heavily littered. Siladen, a small island nextdoor has truly pristine white sand and crystal clear water, but most of its accommodations are resorts.

Honestly, the best beaches I found were on tiny, remote, sparsely inhabited islands, many of them off of Halmahera, which is pretty remote to begin with. I wasn’t able to get to the Banda and Kei Islands, but if you can, go! Those beaches are supposed to be incredibl,practically untouched, and totally undeveloped.