In Reply to: Sumatra, Java, Lombok, Sumbawa etc posted by Mooball on Tuesday, 9. November 2004 at 17:22 Bali Time:
Hi Mooball,
Wow, I am exhausted just reading about your hectic plans.
Have you been before? I guess not. I think you will find once you start your trip you will want to stay much longer in certain places than a day or two like you would only be able to do with an itinerary like you have listed.
I have been to Indonesia quite a few times since 1997 and even now I could not imagine doing such a long hectic trip.
In 1997 I did get to see Bali, Lombok, Gili Trawangan, Yjoga, Jakarta, Padang, Bukit Tinggi, Muara Labuh and travelled back to Bali all with public transport over a five week trip which was just fantastic and wetted my appetite for more visits.
These days you could move about a lot easier as there are numerous new airlines and the prices in many cases are even cheaper than the long bus trips.
Companies like Lion Air, Adamair, Mandala, Merpati and so on.
Since then, I have spent 4 months in Indonesia in 2000 and 4-5 weeks in 2002,2003 and fly back to Jakarta again this year on December 23rd.
As I only have 5 weeks these days I always fly from Jakarta to Padang and Padang to Medan.
Have a fantastic guide contact for Sulawesi if you decide to go there!
If you would like to ask any questions of me just email me at pamela_fuge@yahoo.com.au and I will be very happy to help you.
I would post your itinerary on the Thorn Tree Board of Lonely Planet as well and get some more opinions. Have a look at the website below for general information and history on Indonesia.