[PUP] Visiting Indonesia

[Eric Grab]

Hi PUPers,

We are currently in Indonesia, and certainly recommend visiting here by
boat. We entered at Kupang, Timor from Thursday Island, Australia. So far we
have had a great time, and everything has been smooth, including the seas!
We did hire an agent to get our cruising permit (CAIT) and to check in.

It is hard to generalize Indonesia since it is a large country and it has
distinct regions. For example the east is more rural, Bali is tourist
central, and the west (Java) is super dense population. Also each region has
different religions, different economics, and different problems.

We have done more rural areas and we are currently in Bali. Via that route
we have had nothing but nice and helpful people. Tourism has been hard hit
recently, and our sense is many are trying to compensate and make it a nice
experience for tourists. We will share our experience through our blog (at
bottom of this message). The first Indonesia posts will go up around New
Years timeframe. We are working on writing the stories and getting the
pictures organized.

The only consistent thing about Indonesia is it seems everyone has a
different story. Ultimately it really does not seem different than any other
destination: Do your homework, make relevant preparations, and go in with a
respectful attitude.

By the way, the food in Indonesia is great, and amazingly inexpensive. It is
anywhere from 1/10 to 1/4 of the price of comparable meals in places such as
Australia and USA.

--
Eric & Christi Grab
m/v Kosmos http://kosmos.liveflux.net/blog (Nordhavn 43-18)