Traveling in South East Asia.

egt

egt

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I had 3 months backpacking around Indonesia and can honestly say it's the most interesting country i've ever visited. Worked our way through Java, Bali, Lombok, Gili Trawangen, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores (Kelimutu is a must see) and finally West Timor.

Do it!
 
Don
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chrismox said:
A grand choice, give the elephant a banana for me and make sure you visit the little bar just up from the front gate.

done them both :)

the bar looks quite grotty but is fun in an afternoon

I hear they have stopped the Elephant walking round the pool now because as he grew he started cracking the tiles ( not sure where ) :( , my missus always used to grab handfulls of bananas for him every morning when we went to breakfast :D


DSCF0034.jpg
 
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That's him - he was certainly still doing his daily tour about 6 months ago when we were there.

Damn you, I'm jealous now! I need to sort out a few more holidays...

You just doing Bangkok & Phuket?
 
Soldato
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egt said:
I had 3 months backpacking around Indonesia and can honestly say it's the most interesting country i've ever visited. Worked our way through Java, Bali, Lombok, Gili Trawangen, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores (Kelimutu is a must see) and finally West Timor.

Do it!

Nice. Was the 3 months enough to see all that? Ie did it not feel like a bit of a rush at all? Also how much did that cost if you don't mind me asking? :)
 
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Solari said:
Malaysia is a good place to go too so you might want to check that out (Langkawi is lovely).

Yep, Langkawi is a good place to relax. Might want to go to malaysia's Genting Highland, penang and Kuala Lumpur.

But given the choice, I would rather go Singapore/Malaysia. If outside of SEA, I love Hong Kong.
 

egt

egt

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messiah khan said:
Nice. Was the 3 months enough to see all that? Ie did it not feel like a bit of a rush at all? Also how much did that cost if you don't mind me asking? :)

Tbh, it didn't feel too rushed at all. We saw all the things we planned to see except the Maluku Islands (Spice islands). I highly recommend the Lonely Planet guide for visiting this country.

As for cost, i can't give you an exact price, but if you live as a backpacker...it's very cheap. There's plenty of cheap accomodation (losmans). Getting around is easy, just jump on one of the numerous mini busses or book coaches. Use ferrys to get to other islands. Eat where the locals eat (Warungs) and you can't go wrong.

Be prepared though, in some of the off the beaten track villages, the locals don't give you much peace. They're fascinated by westerners and all want to be your friend, insist you visit their homes, want show you around etc. It sounds good but can be a bit overwhelming at times lol.

There's too many things that we did to list here but i can tell you, the Indonesian experience was something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Highly recommended :)
 
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egt said:
There's too many things that we did to list here but i can tell you, the Indonesian experience was something that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Highly recommended :)

yep, Indonesia is a good place to go too.
 
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Rotty said:
didn't know that, what is good to feed them ( don't tend to have a lot of sticky buns put there :D )

Elephants mostly eat plants and while they will eat fruit if it is available, it can upset their digestion if that's all they eat. Corn is good for them and provides both roughage and energy. The Thai mahouts buy bananas to sell to tourists because it's easy for them to get, and has a high profit margin. The mere fact that they are taking these elephants into busy streets shows how little they actually care about them. The roads are bad for the elephants' feet and the crowds cause them severe stress. In a recent incident, a large female became so stressed by the noise that she stamped on a pickup truck and completely dismantled it. The police decided she was dangerous and shot her!
 
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MikeTimbers said:
Elephants mostly eat plants and while they will eat fruit if it is available, it can upset their digestion if that's all they eat. Corn is good for them and provides both roughage and energy. The Thai mahouts buy bananas to sell to tourists because it's easy for them to get, and has a high profit margin. The mere fact that they are taking these elephants into busy streets shows how little they actually care about them. The roads are bad for the elephants' feet and the crowds cause them severe stress. In a recent incident, a large female became so stressed by the noise that she stamped on a pickup truck and completely dismantled it. The police decided she was dangerous and shot her!


:mad:


Not sure re the Elephant at this hotel, it seems to live just outside the hotel gates on a big complex but I know little more

I would hope that the hotel would do something if it was not properly cared for but I may be being a bit optomistic here

Fortunately I have never seen one in a crowded public place or out on the streets
 
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