There is no place like NYC on this planet. One could easily say that they would never travel to North America as they might think it is boring. Indeed most places within the States or Canada aren’t interesting at all, but NYC is not America- NYC is an Urban Agglomeration of the World. If you aren’t able to move there you should at least came by to get an impression of the very special lifestyle. Skip the stuff what is recommended in your guidebook. Just stroll down the different parts and you might be able to realize what’ s all about! Places to stay: NYC is not cheap at all, but due to economic crises and the weak dollar you will find a places which suits to your budget. For good offers check out Travelzoo or bid for a room on Priceline. I am not a fan of chain hotels and New York is a good place to look for something different than a Mariott or Hilton. If you are on a shoestring but would like to have a little bit more comfort try Pod Hotel in Manhattan. This venue offers rooms with and without private bathrooms. Boutique Hotels are very famous in NYC and prices are sometimes out of the world, but there are options if you are willing to stay for example in Brooklyn. Sure you have to travel to Manhattan, but depending on the area you like to go it might takes just a few more minutes. Try Nu Hotel on Smith Street. This is a very new design oriented hotel in a very hip area. Getting around: There are three main airports- JFK, EWR and LGA. If you can choose I would strictly recommend to use La Guardia as this is the smallest airport of the three, located in Queens. Flying in and out is amazing as you have a very nice view on the city. There is a bus service connecting to the MTA, but its worth to think about a taxis to your hotel. A taxi to Nu Hotel in Brooklyn will cost about 30 bucks all in and if your traveling together with somebody its a bargain for the 25 minutes ride. Organizing travel during your stay is pretty easy as you should use public transport! A ride on the subway will set you back 2 bucks. You have to buy a Metro Card at the vending machines within the stations. Buy a 20USD card which is worth 23USD- you need to walk a lot anyway as a first timer. Keep in mind that you can use the Metro Card also for two people. Stay tuned- Will be continued!
Yogyakarta, also known as Jogja used to be more or less my second home. I used to life there for a longer period of time on two occasions and whenever I am in the region I also fly there for a brief visit. The good thing about returning to places where you used to life is that you can just come to visit friends or drive around with your motorbike. Nevertheless time is always to short to do everything you wish before for example to visit all the restaurants where you used to eat before. But for First timers coming to Jogja this is a different story as Jogja refers as the Cultural Centre of Java or even of whole Indonesia. Places to stay: If you are on a shoestring you might stay down town in the "Backpacker" street named Jl.Sosrowijayan. This small street is a cluster of western oriented guesthouses and restaurants and a good spot to explore everything. I do stay always in Bladok Losmen- which is the most famous guesthouse in this area. Most people in this Area know me in person so it is very convinient for me to organize daily life. Bladok runs also a restaurant which serves food in a decent quality. The rooms might be slightly more expensive than other guesthouses around, but rooms are clean and the staff is lovely. Cheapest single room with a Mandi (indonesian bathroom) and fan is around 80k IDR. They do have also a tiny pool in the backyard! If you are seeking something more calm I would recommend to stay in the north, but keep in mind you need to organize your transport- no problem so far as taxis are cheap! In the north there are two options- The huge Hyatt with a well done landscape pool area and a relaxed garden atmosphere or Rumah Mertua, which is a small indonesian hotel with a good restaurant. Booth place are next to each other out of the city center- by taxi it will takes you around 20 minutes and by motorbike around 10 minutes. Enjoy: The most impressive Highlights within the Area of Jogja are the buddhist Tempel Borobudur and the hinduist Tempel of Prambanan. If you are short on time your should rent a car with driver or a motorbike to reach booth within one day. I would recommend to visit Borobudur in the morning, have lunch in the very impressive and expensive Amanjiwo Resort and go for Prambanan during the afternoon. If you are in Jogja during dry season, there is even a kind of nighttime show near Prambanan which is worth a visit as you will be able to see the temples at night. Most people du visit the famous Kraton in Jogja, but to be honest I never been there and I guess its not worth a visit. You should check out the Tamansari- know as Water Castle. For exhibitions check out Cemeti Art House. There is even a "Yogyakarta Internasional Film Festival" which is pretty interesting and of cause they do organize good parties! If you just wanna hang out and maybe watch a movie you should look out for Kinoki, this is kind of independent place with a small coffee shop serving drinks and snacks. Night time entertainment is limited in quality but still you will find something what might make you happy. Just check out my other reports about Jogja. I strictly recommend to start your evening in Bintang Resto in Jl.Sosrowijayan, have a couple of Bintang and a Club Sandwich. Later you should take a taxi to Embassy. Ask some locals or expats where to go or just join them. If you are seeking a place for your sunday roast i would recommend the all time favorite in Jogja- the Gadjah Wong, try the home made Ice cream! Or the expat choice Hanis. Gadjah Wong does have live music including Gamelan! One of the all day favorite spots for the young expat crowd is Parsley on Jl.Kaliurang. Behind the famous bakery shop is a relaxed restaurant which offers tasty international dishes and free Wifi- sometimes slow, but it doesn't matter if you stay a couple of hours to get rid off your last night headache!
Bali is a very special place in Indonesia. It took a while until I hit this island even so staying in Indonesia a couple of times before. To be honest I still would rate Bali not as an indonesian island as the culture is different at all not only on the religious side as Bali is Hindu and Indonesia is a mainly Muslim country. Bali is a typical beach resort island with a nice landscape, well done hotels and spas as well restaurants providing food from around the globe. The main reason for me to travel to Bali is because its the most convenient place to reach within one hour from Jogjakarta and two hours from Jakarta, to have a swim in the sea! Sounds strange, but there is no quality beach nearby Jogja or Jakarta and flights are not that expensive. Places to stay: It depends what you are looking for. I do prefer to stay as far away from other tourists as possible, but indeed for a weekend its not worth to travel that far. The main tourist areas are in the south "nearby" the airport namely Nusa Dua, Legian, Kuta, Sanur and the up market Seminyak. Ubud is another option if you wanna relax in the padi fields and use one of the many Spa's. Here we go with my ideas for your Bali Trip. Sanur is an old school beach resort, nothing special, but alright if you rent a motorbike to drive around. Nusa Dua is a gated comunity for tourists from all over the world- at the moment a lot of russians I guess. Not a place where I would like to stay. Kuta is the same- no way! Seminyak seems to be a good option as it is a little bit more up market, no as many hotels as in the other areas. People here tend to own or rent a villa or an apartment. Clio for example looks nice. If you are looking for a villa to share with some friends I would recommend Canggu Area or Echo Beach. Last time I rented Villa Padi which includes everything you need as well as a car with a driver during the day. In Ubud I would strictly recommend to use one of the Alam facilities- I did stay in Kebun Indah in the Padi room- the perfect place for a "real" balinese feeling! They do run a Spa as well, its not posh at all but the full body massage was one of the best I ever received. Its a little bit like Fantasy Island if you can still remember the TV show?! They do provide free of charge transfer within Ubud with a white car and a tiny driver...Go for it- you won't regret!
Getting around: Most people arrive on Bali by Plane. If you are not on an international direct flight or you life in Indonesia you might need a domestic flight. As all indonesian Airlines are not safe at all, due to high competition on low cost market I would strictly recommend to use the national flag carrier Garuda. Btw this is the only full service airline left. Tickets on GA are generally more expensive than other carriers, but still quiet cheap. The main lack is that one is not able to reserve online. You need a local agent for the cheap domestic fares if you don't wanna book @ international prices. Nevertheless if you gone through the whole process of "e-travel by Garuda" you will find yourself pushed back into the 80ies while on board a Garuda plane- this includes even the flight attendants. If you haven't organize a pick up service from the airport you could buy a voucher for a taxi inside the airport or bargain hard outside- but therefore you need to know prices and speak Bahasa indonesia to get a good price. Keep in mind that prices are slightly higher compared to the rest of indonesia as this is a tourism destination. Traveling around Bali by motorbike is relaxed and one could even rent a car with or without a driver if you to spoil yourself. Motorbikes are available from 35k IDR per day! Enjoy: One of the main reasons to fly into Bali is to relax by the beach, nevertheless I believe the beaches on Bali are not that special, but still fine. I do like Echo beach in Canggu Area- the beach is black sand, but quiet empty, just some surfers and the famous Beach House- the place to be for a sundowner or B.B.Q by the beach! Another option, if not the most famous one, for a sundowner is Ku De TA in Seminyak. Compared to Echo beach and The Beach House Ku De Ta is the hip spot and very crowded. It is recommended to spoil yourself with a spa treatment after a day by the beach as the Spas on Bali are cheap and the overall quality is pretty good. If you are into late night entertainment you probably have to go to Kuta- but keep in mind that this might result in meeting many drunken foreigners. To be honest I skip Kuta at all and still enjoy myself.
Stay tuned for upcoming reports on beach resorts all over the world!
Right after a couple of days into the new Year I am already fully booked until april! Amazing destinations as well as the chance to meet you all again. I am straight looking forward to meet you in NYC, BKK, JKT, DPS, JOG, JKT (yeah- twice!!!!), SIN, BKK, MNL, TAG, MNL, HKG, ICN, PAR and who knows where else. Stay tuned for my upcoming reports on this destinations.
Well how should I start- Bangkok is one of my favorite places to be in south east asia and for you fellow travelers a very good starting point to explore the region as it is also the hub of Thai Airways (good C-Class service from Zurich). If you are on a shoestring- Bangkok is perfect for a cheap and amazing stopover and one could easily organize onward travel on one of the plenty low cost carriers like AirAsia to most south east asian destination. But please hold on- Bangkok is worth a longer visit and of cause you could easily spend a lot of money to enjoy yourself. Places to stay: Accommodation in Bangkok is compared to other places around generally cheap. I do have several options for you depending on what you are looking for. If you are seeking top notch service compared with amazing views from well done Suites I would recommend the Banyan Tree. For the guys of you looking for something special, not the typical tourist stuff I have the following places on offer. Reflections Thai is a arty place- all rooms are done by a different designer but please keep in mind that they don't have a pool anymore on the new location. Their restaurant near Ari Station (old location) is not bad either. For River a place next to the river go for Ibrik. This is a tiny hotel with just three rooms, so reserve well in advance! Other options for the design fans would be the newly open Tenface or the Luxx on Decho Road. Hotels from the "past" would be the next category. Colonial charme starts right with the Jaguar old timer pick up service from the airport followed by afternoon tea in comfy leather chairs and a soaking bath in a copper tub- if thats what you are looking for you should try to get a room in The Eugenia. Cheaper and a little "younger" the old time favorite The Atlanta is a very good option to smell the former times. Its a little run down and reservations are not that easy done but you should stop by to have a look while in Bangkok, maybe for a very good vegetarian lunch. The hospitality market in BKK is in general really vibrant, so keep your eyes open for the upcoming places to stay or just stay tuned for my next update for Conrad Bangkok. Nightlife: If you are in PORN business Bangkok is the place to be. Since the Vietnam War- the US troops developed Bangkok as a huge brothel for the soldiers and still the opportunities in BKK are growing. On the other side the "regular" entertainment market is growing as well. So don't think Bangkok is just full of prostitutes. Many people enjoy just them self and don't wait for a stupid western guy to paid them a drink. In general the party ends early as most places will close at least at 2am- so come early and drink fast! If you found a local on the dance floor who is attracted to you, he or she might show you around even after 2pm. So be kind and enjoy yourself in the following places. There is one area called RCA- kind of nightlife Cluster consisting of several bars and clubs. My favorite is Club Culure. Other options are the famous Bed and Supperclub or Glow. Shopping: Shopping is a must in BKK- there are so many Shopping Centers to keep you busy for several days. Besides worldwide known brands I would recommend you to shop by @ Greyhound. If you have plenty of time check out the area at Soi Sukhumvit 55 (or Soi Thonglor). There you might find also some nice shops, but take a cab to stroll down the road to find something as shops are coming and going. Smart shoppers will have to stop at Propaganda to find everything they might never need while in BKK. Food: Wherever in Asia- eat on the Street! There are several hawkers around so keep your eyes open and smell the taste of Thailand. Even late at night the best option to get in touch with the people while having a late night supper and a Singha before leaving for bed. Getting Around: To and from the airport take a taxi. Depending and on your destination and the traffic you should be able to reach most places within 40 min using the toll road for a maximum price of 500 baht all in. Within BKK you should consider to use the Skytrain as this is the most convenient way to circle around the city. Its easy to use, cheap and safe! Another option are boat trips on Chao Phraya river. You can buy a day pass or if you just wanna use the service a few times single tickets on the boat. At night take a taxi- if the driver do not wanna go on meter bargain hard! Stay tuned for more in depth reports on world wide travel!
I am a fucked up international guy, born and raised in europe, travelled worldwide, living abroad! Current station: Bangkok, but my heart is still in Indonesia.
You can contact me at:
d.r.j.teitelbaum@googlemail.com
