Traveling in Indonesia as a Foreigner – The Quirks and Realities

Most visitors to Indonesia ask the question – What is it like traveling in Indonesia? There seems to be a very wrong concept of Indonesia being hard to get around. That is totally wrong, and even during the Pandemic there was no problems traveling in Indonesia. Even between cities.

During my travels, I have found the Indonesian people to be wonderful hosts. Being a foreigner, or “Bule” in their country makes traveling a lot more interesting. Locals are genuinely interested in you, and even though most of them don’t even speak English, they will try to interact as much as they can. Even in places far removed from tourism centers such as Bali.

This article may contain affiliate links. If you click on those links and make a purchase, at no extra cost to you I will get a small commission. This will go a long way toward keeping this website running. As always, thank you for your support! Click HERE for more information.

In fact, some of my favorite experiences traveling in Indonesia have been in the most remote areas.

In this article today, I am going to go over a few of the reasons that traveling in Indonesia is something that everyone should try. Indonesia is an amazing country, and diversifies so much from island to island. Going for a holiday to Bali is just not enough anymore. You HAVE to travel around to really experience it.

Be prepared for lots of photos

As a foreigner traveling in Indonesia, you will be a minor celebrity. I’m not joking when I say that since I left Bali, I have posed for so many photos with locals that I have lost count. From remote waterfalls to massive temples, everywhere I go I am STILL stopped for photo requests.

I actually remarked to my girlfriend when we were in Jogja, that I think I can understand what it is like to be a celebrity. Not that I am comparing myself to them, but I can sympathize with how they feel whilst in public.

In Bali, things are a bit different. There are a lot of foreigners on the island. The locals are used to seeing them.

When you get to places like Yogyakarta, and then some of the remote areas away from there, you start to get the wide eyed stares. Some people out there have never seen a “Bule” face outside of Netflix. In some cases, they never would have expected to actually MEET one!

The first time it happened

This phenomenon first occurred for me at the incredible Tumpak Sewu Waterfall in East Java. I was standing at the lookout on the Coban Sewu side, and a nice local lady approached me red faced, and asked for a photo. I was totally confused at first, until I realized what was happening. I happily posed for a photo, and then suddenly 10 MORE photos as other locals jumped in on the act. They had been too embarrassed to ask me for their own photo. But once someone else had asked, the flood gates opened!

So many good stories!

A couple of my favorite stories are from around the Yogyakarta area. First was at Candi Prambanan, one of my favorite temples in the area, and in fact, all of Indonesia. We were getting photos in front of the main temple, and I could see a man with a little boy waiting nearby. I glanced over at them and he caught my eye, making a sign as if to take a photo. I misinterpreted it to mean he was offering to take my photo. It turns out, I was totally wrong.

His little boy had never seen a Bule before, and wanted a photo with me. Of course I was MORE than happy to do that for him! We posted for photos, and I gave the boy a little “fist bump” handshake. He was ecstatic, and pretty much followed us around the rest of the tour taking every opportunity to ask for another fist bump along the way!

What I didn’t think of up until that moment was this. After two years of a pandemic, little children – let’s say 5 and under – have NEVER seen a Bule before. If they have, then they were probably too young to remember. Seeing me wandering around at that temple was a major deal for that little boy, and interacting with him will be something I will remember forever.

I am Facebook official!

Another of my favorite stories was from when we took a daytrip out to a remote waterfall near Jogja. We had to ride over an hour, passing over the nearby mountains and through some pretty remote areas until we were finally getting close to our destination.

About 5 minutes out, Jo mentioned that she was thirsty, so instead of stopping at a convenience store, we stopped at a little local warung along the side of the road. This particular warung was run by a young girl who, I noticed, was shyly sort of hanging around out of my sight as she served Jo and our friends. It took a good 10 minutes for her to pluck up the courage to ask for a photo with me.

It turned out that I was the first Bule she had had in her warung, and once we had taken a couple of photos, she was straight onto social media to tell all of her friends. I now have pride of place as her Facebook profile photo!

Local obsessions can seem very strange

This is one that you will find in most countries, but whilst traveling in Indonesia, I found it happening a lot.

In Australia, we are a pretty down to Earth and humble lot. So being around the very out going and overly bubbly Indonesians can sometimes make you shake your head in wonder. Here is one example.

Selfie Spots!

Something that has begun to really spring up at nearly every tourist spot in Bali is “Selfie Spots”. You would have seen them. Even in your home country. Usually they come in the form of a seat, or a sign that you stand in front of. Usually with a view in the background. You will be charged (usually) to use it to take a “selfie”, unless it is included in the entry price to said location.

Now, as I mentioned, they have been springing up everywhere in Bali, and I actually began to wonder WHO told them that we love getting selfies. Because honestly, as a Bule we usually just walk straight past them, shaking our heads at why they insist on installing them.

The answer, I know now, is because they are targeted at LOCAL tourists. Indonesians LOVE these things.

At a beautiful place called Tebing Breksi, just outside of Jogja, there are dozens of them. They sit on top of this amazingly beautiful cliff, and people are lining up to get a photo at every one of them. There are even photographers plying their trade around them, making a decent living taking photos for locals.

Now that I know, I just accept it, like I do all the other quirks of the local tourist. Quirks such as this next one.

The locals LOVE Jeeps!

When I look back on it, I saw the warning signs. In random conversations with locals (read: my girlfriend) the subject of “Jeeps” came up a few too many times. They call any 4WD a Jeep, and as it turned out, they absolutely LOVE them.

This came to a head for me, and full realization set in when we were in Jogja. I had heard all about this amazing Merapi Jeep Tour, and was keen to check it out.

Now, being from Australia, I had grown up in 4WD’s. It was a part of our lifestyle. We would spend weekends driving along endless beaches, bashing through the surf or screaming through the sand dunes. We would chase kangaroos through paddocks or help round up cows on farms. The good old “fourby” was part of life Down Under.

So when we went to Jeep Merapi, I had visions of racing around through ancient lava flows, fording across rapids and raising dust clouds as we dodged hot volcanic vents.

No such luck.

Jeep Merapi, it turns out, is a simple drive in a Jeep around to a few tourist spots on fully sealed and occasionally dirt roads. There is no “off road” experience like you would expect. At the end of the tour, you join a dozen or more other Jeeps as they race you through some water that is a foot deep, taking photos and yahooing.

Not exactly what an Australian Bule finds that exciting.

On a side note. If you are interested in seeing some history of Merapi, and seeing some pretty cool relics of old eruptions, the Jeep tour will take you to a few great places. You CAN find them pretty easy by yourself though, if you have your own transport.

At first I thought that the Jeep Merapi Tour was a one off. But it wasn’t.

Nearly everywhere you go around Jogja, you will find Jeep tours. The locals are crazy for them. Along beaches. Over mountains. They are literally everywhere, and they are happy to pay for them.

We did find a couple that I quite enjoyed though. At Puncak Becici, a lookout on the surrounding hills, the Jeep tour is quite interesting, and they actually take you for a good run down a local river. Also, on the way to the Gondola at Pantai Timang, you HAVE to use a Jeep to access it. Two kilometers of the road is virtually impassable otherwise.

Take a step back and look at it again

After a while I took a step back and forced myself to look at the whole obsession from another angle. Once I did, I gained a new understanding for this Jeep and Selfie Phenomenon. Well, maybe the Jeep one…

The thing is, in Australia I grew up with Jeeps. Here, they didn’t. They don’t have the miles and miles of free to access and use beaches that we have back home. Not every second person owns a 4WD, and you can’t just drive to the end of the street and take off into the bush for the afternoon.

For them, taking a Jeep tour is something that they don’t normally get to do.

Now, let’s look at it from the other angle.

We, as foreigners traveling in Indonesia, love to find waterfalls. Right? Why is that?

Answer – Because we don’t have amazing, beautiful Jungle waterfalls at home. Certainly not like you get in Indonesia. So don’t you think that THEY must be equally intrigued by our obsession with waterfalls? Or anything else that we come to Indonesia to see?

Probably.

Embrace the street food scene

The street food scene is something you really have to look at when traveling in Indonesia. In fact, you can hardly avoid it!

Now, when I first came to Indo, I honestly had no idea about where to eat. I stuck to local restaurants and paid way too much for my meals. Luckily, though, I was holidaying in Bali and around the tourist areas, so that wasn’t such an issue.

Since I came to Indonesia nearly two years ago, and have been traveling in Indonesia pretty much non stop since then, street food has become a way of life. Before I go any further, let me just clear one thing up.

When I say street food, I don’t mean sitting in a gutter eating something cooked (or not even cooked) by some dodgy guy on a roadside Bunsen burner. Far from it.

Street food in Indonesia is the little warungs beside the road. It is the carts that you see being wheeled from one place to another. In some areas, it is a row of quite nice little restaurants with wooden tables and and chairs, and all amenities you would find at a decent restaurant. Minus the toilets.

Since I began eating street food – pretty much introduced to me by my girlfriend – I have eaten some of the best meals I have tried in Indonesia. We now have our favorite warungs located all over Bali that we frequent. Around Nusa Dua, we rotate between 4 or 5 different stalls every night.

Some of our favorites

We have our fave Sate Babi place in Gianyar. A great place set under the big trees in a park.

Sate in Tuban, run by a wonderful Moslem family.

Stir Fry Babi in Sukawati.

Ayam Goreng in Kuta.

Dadar Guling in Munduk.

As we travel around we find more and more places that we just keep going back to. I hardly eat in a proper restaurant anymore.

And street food is not just confined to locals and travelers. No. Ministers, Politicians and even the President himself can be found eating at their fave places.

When we were in Magelang, up near one of my favorite places in Java, Nepal Van Java, we were in a local favorite warung there. I was eating Sate, and Jo was pointing out the photos on the walls of Presidents and influential Indonesians who have dined there.

Five minutes later there was a lot of fanfare out front, and before I knew it I was getting a tap on the shoulder as the Indonesian Minister of Infrastructure enquired about how I was enjoying my Sate! A quick thumbs up and a photo shoot later, and I was once again happy about being a Bule traveling in Indonesia.

Gotta love the perks!

If you can – find a local guide

One great thing I have found when traveling in Indonesia, especially as a foreigner, is to find a local guide.

Just to clarify, I’m not talking about paying a guide. You can, of course, do that if you want, and on occasions you might just have to.

I’m talking about making friends with locals. Ask them if they can take you to places that they suggest you go. You will find a lot of Indonesians very happy to show you around. Especially if they live near to places that you want to visit.

For example. We visited a wonderful waterfall near Ubud once, called Uma Anyar Waterfall. It seemed closed, but in fact had only JUST been opened to the public. We were some of the first ever visitors there.

At first, we couldn’t find the correct entrance, or the trail head down to the waterfall. That was when a helpful local pointed us in the right direction. He ended up coming along with us, and when we got to the Falls, he took some amazing photos for us, all the while giving us some great insights about the area and the people that live there. He was happy to do all of that for us, and when we left we gave him a very generous tip for his time.

Getting a local to show you around is one of the best things you can do.

I am very lucky to have my Indonesian Girlfriend Jo showing me around. She is a Jakarta and Jogja native, and knows everywhere to go and everything to see. If she doesn’t, then her friends and family do!

That is not the same in Bali though, as we are both tourists. But we get to chatting with locals where ever we go, and it’s amazing what we have learnt. Just by being friendly!

Think outside the box to get around

Getting around while traveling in Indonesia doesn’t have to be hard. As a matter of fact, it’s quite easy, and can be VERY cheap.

Between cities, flying is NOT the only option. From Jakarta to Yogyakarta, you should really look at catching the train. We did it a few months ago, and it was a great experience. Check out THIS article for my review. Only a fraction of the price of a plane ticket, and you get to see so much more of the country along the way.

From Yogyakarta back to Bali we caught the bus. Once again it was less than half the price of a plane ticket, even if the trip DID take 19 hours. The upside was that we got the new “suite class” bus. This is a sleeper bus where you have your own cubicle, with tv, charging points, curtain for privacy, and a seat that lays down nearly flat. Not a bad way to travel!

There are options available to get anywhere in Indonesia, so make certain to do some homework before you book that expensive flight.

Traveling in Indonesia locally

Getting around locally is even easier. I am a big advocate of hiring a scooter, and I actually own my own as I have been here for a long time now. It is the best and easiest way to travel. Just check out THIS article for my full write up on scootering in Bali.

You can also hire a car and a driver for the day. This is great, especially if you have a few people to split the costs. A driver will take you basically anywhere you want to go, and you have him all day. So fill your boots!

The other thing about traveling in Indonesia, is not to be afraid to take public transport. In Bali, there is now an electric bus that you can catch to many parts of the island. It is especially handy if you are in Kuta and would like to go shopping for the day in Ubud. Fares are only about 50c, so it’s a no brainer really.

If you have a scooter and want to go to Lombok, or even up to East Java, then consider taking the scooter onto the ferry. You can have your very own wheels to run around with you while there. The ferry to Java leaves from Gilimanuk and takes about 30 minutes to cross. They run 24/7.

The ferry to Lombok takes a lot longer, and leaves from Padang Bai, near Candi Dasa.

If you are in Jakarta, the trains and buses are great options there. Also they have the local Bajai that runs around the central areas. Check out my guide to Jakarta HERE for information about local transport in Jakarta.

Jogja is a must stop location for anyone traveling in Indonesia, and the local transport there is easy. Besides the train to get to other centers such as Solo, you will find the bus that is run by TransJogja. Locally, there is the Becak, that looks like a Rickshaw, or the Andong which is essentially a horse and cart. They are everywhere along Malioboro Street and all around the center of Jogja.

Every city in Indonesia has its own local transport system. So check it out when you arrive and make full use of it. You will save a LOT of money.

Summary

Indonesia is a wonderful place to travel if you are a foreigner. The locals are amazingly friendly, and the things that you will get to see and do are beyond anything you may experience elsewhere. Do yourself a favor, and give Indonesia a chance. It will not disappoint!

DON’T FORGET to leave a comment below. I promise to reply!