Bali or Yogyakarta

[ottawa24]

We are having a difficult time deciding if we should go to Bali and Yogyakarta and see Borobudur or just pick one and if so whcih one? As usual I rely on CC;)

We leave Singapore March 4 and return to Singapore March 8 when we leave for home.:( That gives us 5 days including flying there and back.

Thanks for any help.

lesley

[Mexfolkart]

I would choose Bali for the whole time. Stay a couple of nights in a lovely hotel in Nusa Dua and a couple in a B&B in Ubud to get a taste of both.

Go to Trip Advisor and find a driver..for a couple of days and you have a fabulous time.. (We stayed in the Sheraton Nusa Dua and in Oka Wati's Guest House in Ubud..our driver transferred us from one to the other.

Wish we were going!

Sherry

[Fletcher]

The ultimate would be to stay at a hotel called Amanjiwo which is near Borobodur - expensive but worth every penny. Beach resorts in Bali can be disappointing - Nusa Dua in particular is just one mega-hotel after another and devoid of character.

[ottawa24]

Thanks for both of your suggestions. We looked at Amanjiwo, unfortunately for us but fortuanetly for our pocketbook it's booked. We are just wondering if there is much to do in either city.

lesley

[Fletcher]

Amanjiwo is popular and with only 30-odd rooms it fills up quickly. When we first went to Borobodur that hotel wasn't open so we stayed in Yogyakarta - a big, busy quite exciting place with several things to see. You can also visit another big temple complex called Prambanam. Neither that or Borobodur are on the same scale as Angkor in Cambodia - I guess you may have considered that or perhaps already been there? Aman has a great hotel there as well.

 

The hotel scene in Bali changes all the time but I think the ones that are currently top of the heap are the Chedi at Legian beach and also the Chedi in Ubud. Unless you want a US-style hotel strip I'd avoid that Nusa Dua area, although the hotels there are beautifully landscaped.

[ottawa24]

Amanjiwo is popular and with only 30-odd rooms it fills up quickly. When we first went to Borobodur that hotel wasn't open so we stayed in Yogyakarta - a big, busy quite exciting place with several things to see. You can also visit another big temple complex called Prambanam. Neither that or Borobodur are on the same scale as Angkor in Cambodia - I guess you may have considered that or perhaps already been there? Aman has a great hotel there as well.

 

The hotel scene in Bali changes all the time but I think the ones that are currently top of the heap are the Chedi at Legian beach and also the Chedi in Ubud. Unless you want a US-style hotel strip I'd avoid that Nusa Dua area, although the hotels there are beautifully landscaped.

"Yes" we have been to Siem Reap and loved it. We end our cruise in Singapore and have 5 days. of which we would like to experience somewhere different. We appreciate your input and if you have anyother suggestions of where to visit we would appreciate it.

Thanks lesley

[Fletcher]

Without knowing where your cruise is going - well, Langkawi island in Malaysia has some beautiful beaches and hotels (Datai and Four Seasons) and you can also fly direct up to Phuket in Thailand. We spent a week in Luang Prabang in Laos two years ago, staying at Amantaka, a converted colonial-era hospital, and had a wonderful time. And we found Brunei surprisingly interesting - a vast floating village, good beaches, wildlife trips. Also on Borneo is Kota Kinabalu which has some fine resorts and orang-utan opportunities. However, when all is said and done, Bali does look like the best option, although we can always amuse ourselves in Singapore - superb hotels, a vast choice of restaurants, always warm . . . hope this helps.

[ottawa24]

Fletcher thanks so much for all your ideas. We are on the Millennium that is going to Vietnam,Thailand,Singapore & Hong kong. We have been to all these countries other then Vietnam. We enjoy historical vs beaches . We just seem to be having a difficult time making up our minds as we are not sure if we will be back to this part of the world.

lesley:confused:

[Fletcher]

I think it has to be Bali, then, given your cruise route. Easy to get to from Singapore, great hotels, gorgeous scenery, temples, rice fields etc. On a ship the size of the Millenium (about 2000 pax) you are very limited where you can go - I do these trips on expedition cruise ships with about 100 pax - so Bali would seem to fit the bill.

[ottawa24]

I think it has to be Bali, then, given your cruise route. Easy to get to from Singapore, great hotels, gorgeous scenery, temples, rice fields etc. On a ship the size of the Millenium (about 2000 pax) you are very limited where you can go - I do these trips on expedition cruise ships with about 100 pax - so Bali would seem to fit the bill.

 

I have heard Bali is for a young crowd with safety issues. What's your take on that????

As always thanks

lesley

[Fletcher]

Lesley - That would never worry me and I'm no longer part of the young crowd, probably never was, though I am old enough (and lucky enough) to have been to places like Bali and Phuket and Bora Bora back in the 1980s. That doesn't stop me going back and we were last in Bali two years ago and will be going again in January 2014 at the end of a cruise that will take us from Auckland and up through New Cal, Vanuatu, Solomons, PNG, West Papua and Malaku. That's a month on a UK ship called Caledonian Sky.

 

As far as Bali is concerned, because it's next door to Australia it's very popular with young Aussies as well as a wide mix of Asians and Europeans. Kuta Beach is the hot spot for bars and clubs though I don't think it's anything like as druggie or as threatening as some 'party islands' in Thailand, scene this week of a gangland shoot-out in which a UK citizen got caught in the crossfire. I also think the one-off bombing in Bali some years ago was just that - a one-off.

 

If you stay at a smart hotel you will have absolutely no security fears. Also, take a proper island tour. The only real danger in Bali is the appalling driving . . . a good reason not to have a rental car.

 

Bali is a stunning place but I'd still recommend you avoid the Nusa Dua area - it's busy, traffic-choked and you could almost be anywhere.