Get Shocked Just After Landing
After 16 hours flight (transit on Malaysia) from Istanbul to Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, I just shocked because the polices are really rude in border control. They are not helpful at all. They just want to get rid of you as soon as possible. So, be prepared for that. But don’t worry, the people in Indonesia are really friendly and helpful. You will love them.
I paid around 45$ for the visa on arrival. It was really easy to get it. You just need to fill a online form and pay the fee. That’s it. After that, you can go to the passport control. Also you need to have a return ticket to your country. They asked me to show it.
Also when I left the airplane. The heat was really high. I felt like I am in a sauna. It was really hot. So, be prepared for that. Also the humidity is really high. So, you will sweat a lot. But don’t worry, you will get used to it.
Depok - Jakarta
After I arrived to Jakarta, I met with my friend. He is a local and he is the best person that I met ever. He was with me all of my trip.
[Special thanks to Rama] We went to Depok from the airport. It was around 1 hour by car. The traffic is really bad in Jakarta. So, be prepared for that.
University of Indonesia is located in Depok. It is a really big campus. We walked around the campus. It was really nice. There are a lot of trees and animals. There is a big hospital in the campus. Very modern and clean.
Bandung (Camping)
We went to Bandung after 3 days in Depok. We use train to go there. In Indonesia there are 3 types of train. Economy, Business and Executive. Of course, we used the economy one. It was really cheap. It was 3 hours journey. The train was really clean and comfortable. The view was amazing. You can see the rice fields, mountains and the villages. It was really nice.
We rent a car from the train station. It was around 15$ per day. Be careful, the traffic is really bad in Bandung. I lot of motorbikes. They are driving really fast. So, be careful. We called them “Mosquitoes”. Because they are everywhere and they are really fast.
We arrived to Bandung. We went to the camping area called Ranca Upas. It was really nice. We stayed in a tent. At night it was colder. We made a fire and we cooked some food. It was really nice. We walked around the camping area. There are a lot of animals. There are deers, rabbits, peacocks. It was really nice. We stayed there for 2 days. It was really nice. The only thing is the toilets are really bad and because of we payed for the camping area, I expected more clean toilets. Anyways, the nature was really nice.
Purwokerto - Banyumas
Purwokerto is a small city. We went there from Bandung by train. It was around 6 hours journey. All the views were amazing when you use train in Indonesia.
There was a active volcano called Mount Slamet near to here there is a place to visit called Baturaden. We went to Baturaden. It was really nice. There are a lot of waterfalls and the nature is really nice. We walked around the area.
I really enjoyed how peoples says “Hello” to me. They are really friendly. Probably the young peoples are meeting a foreigner for the first time. So, they are really excited. They want to take a photo with you. They want to talk with you. They want to know about your country. It was really nice. When I say I am from Turkey, they say “Oh, Turkey! Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş” (the football teams). It was really nice.
Yogyakarta
In Yogyakarta, we went to Prambanan Temple. It is a historical Hindu Temple. The architecture is really nice. They asked me 30$ for the entrance fee. It was really expensive comparing to Indonesia, so I tried to get a discount with my student card. They accepted it. So, I paid 15$. It was really nice. The temple is really big. There are a lot of temples. You can walk around the area. It was really nice.
Also there is a street called Malioboro. It is a shopping street. There are a lot of shops. You can buy a lot of things. Also there are a lot of street foods. You will feel like you are in a festival. There are a lot of tourists there.
There is a zoo called Gembira Loka Zoo. It was really nice. There are a lot of animals. I highly recommend to visit there. Also the entrance fee is really cheap. It was around 3$. It was really nice.
Semarang
There is a building called Lawang Sewu. It is a historical building. It was used as a headquarter of the Dutch East Indies Railway Company. Lawang Sewu means “Thousand Doors” in Javanese. The ticket was around 1.5 $.
Jakarta - Last Day
In my last day, we returned to Jakarta and we went to a mosque called Masjid Istiqlal. It is the biggest mosque in Indonesia. They asked around 1$ for the entrance fee. But because I am a Muslim, they didn’t ask me to pay. There was a class to teach Quran for kids. The mosque was really big.
There is a church just in front of the mosque called Gereja Katedral Jakarta. It was really nice. I think in Indonesia, there is no problem between the religions. They are living together in peace. Very nice.
Conclusion
Everything comparing to Turkey is almost half price. I really enjoyed my trip in Indonesia. The people are really friendly. The nature is really nice. The food is really delicious. The only thing is the traffic is really bad. But don’t worry, you will get used to it. I highly recommend to visit Indonesia. You will love it. I will definitely come back again.