Backpack in Indonesia

[danielyamseng]

I plan to backpack to Indonesia for few weeks. I'd be traveling to few cities.

Thus if I carry a luggage bag and Tamrac expedition 7, it's quite hard to move around.

Another concern is my tamrac bag kind of attracting attention. I felt it's too large.

So how do you guys moving around the cities with your camera gears and your luggage?

Would you get a smaller bag for the gear and carry a backpack ( to store the clothes) instead?

Any recommmendation?

[bigpow]

how many times have you been there? is this the first time?
will you be renting a car + driver or going with a tour? Any friends/families?

Traveling in Indonesia could be challenging for those not prepared -
with 2 bags, you better have everything prepared/booked ahead if this is the first time and no friends/families to drive you around.

depending on how you look (race), you could be attracting a lot of attention from the locals (good and/or bad).

which cities? Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Denpasar (Bali), Surabaya, Medan?

[danielyamseng]

bigpow, this is my first time.
No wont be renting a car. Just taking public transport i.e bus, probably a cab depending on the distance and accesibility.

No I don't have any friend over there and I'd be going alone.

I'd be traveling from Jakarta, then to Yogyakarta, Surabaya and then to Bali.

Plan to go to the cities, historical places i.e the temple, probably going for trekking and have some shoots there.

Since I'd be moving from one cities to another, it's quite inconvinience to carry those huge luggage bag.

Unless I stay in one place, then at least I just carry one bag.

But another thing is I just feel the tamrac bag that I have is too huge for street walk or standing on the public transport( sometimes the bus/train might be crowded)

[theslip]

When will you be travelling if i may know?
Taking the public transportation or even a taxi wouldn't be as safe as you thought,especially when you are travelling alone in big cities like Jakarta

[tvphotog]

I like the Rotation 360 (http://www.rotation360.com)by Thinktank, which is smaller than the Expedition 7X. It's expensive, but much more versitile than other packs, as you can access it without taking it off.

[2mnycars]

I'm just starting to look for something myself....seems to be a couple of exteme choices.

Most photo bags only hold photo gear; I think I read that you want to have a single bag that holds everything? I have a large Lowepro backpack that's heavy as the dickens before I load it!

Some put a photo insert in their regular backpack, and just buy a backpack that suits them. Tenba and Domke make some of those inserts.

I've yet to find a composite bag that I want to buy. So I don't have experience there.

Best of luck!

DaveL
Toronto

[berniesiao]

I'm headed to Indo in July and will be living out of a 65L internal frame pack. My camera gear is going with me inside a Thinktank Change Up with two Skin 50 attached. I'm only taking two lenses with me. IMHO people usually bring too much on trips.

[danielyamseng]

When will you be travelling if i may know?
Taking the public transportation or even a taxi wouldn't be as safe as you thought,especially when you are travelling alone in big cities like Jakarta
Will be there on October.
Would I get mug in the bus?
The taxi driver would kidnap me?

theslip, then what the advice on using this two modes of transport? Anything to look in particular?

Look like I can't wear expensive stuff like a Rollies watch :-)

Yeah, I'm kind of planning to bring at least 3 lenses, 2 prime and one zoom lens.

Those camera backpack bag is not spacious enough to stuff 2 week clothes.

Sometimes I thought just bring the 24-105mm.

[berniesiao]

You don't really need to pack 2 weeks of clothes. Avoid bringing cotton if you can. Get some good fast drying clothes that are fast wicking and possibly have insect repellent in the fibers. All you need are two pairs of pants, shirts, and undies. Wash a set each night and wear the other set the next day. These types of clothes should dry in 2 to 4 hours. Check out REI and ExOfficio.

[2mnycars]

You don't really need to pack 2 weeks of clothes. Avoid bringing cotton if you can. Get some good fast drying clothes that are fast wicking and possibly have insect repellent in the fibers. All you need are two pairs of pants, shirts, and undies. Wash a set each night and wear the other set the next day. These types of clothes should dry in 2 to 4 hours. Check out REI and ExOfficio.

Sounds like Tilley Endurables too.
http://www.tilley.com/home.asp?countryCode=US

Regards,
DaveL
Toronto

[DarthVader]

Be as low profile as you can, don't flash too much bling or camera. If you take bus inter islands is mostly OK, if you take local bus in Jakarta be careful pickpockets are everywhere. Taxi is OK. I suggest not to bring more than 3 lenses.

Will be there on October.
Would I get mug in the bus?
The taxi driver would kidnap me?

theslip, then what the advice on using this two modes of transport? Anything to look in particular?

Look like I can't wear expensive stuff like a Rollies watch :-)

Yeah, I'm kind of planning to bring at least 3 lenses, 2 prime and one zoom lens.

Those camera backpack bag is not spacious enough to stuff 2 week clothes.

Sometimes I thought just bring the 24-105mm.

[bigpow]

October = good time (no rain, trust me, you won't be going anywhere when it rains - also no major holidays, some holidays are stupid because all the businesses have to close shop for days)

Getting mugged or kidnapped, highly unlikely, but again, there's always a possibility.
Just get a good insurance for the gears and keep your travel docs inside a hidden pouch. If you get mugged, just give up your gears - they usually don't try to hurt you if you comply. Resist, that's going to be a different story (the kind of story that gets on the local newspapers)

Travelling/backpacking using public transportation is possible, but just for your information, public transportation in Indo is really bad/inadequate.

Buses come with pickpockets and muggers (gangs), as usual.
Not to forget the street scammers that use some sort of black magic (it's actually more like hypnotism)
Taxis don't usually kidnap tourists, the worst they can do to you is do the round-about, instead of a direct route, they'd drive in circles or deliberately choose traffic jam areas to get the fee higher - this is true even for locals (if they don't know where they're going!) - so it's not like they're specifically targeting tourists.
In big cities, always go with Silverbird taxis. Watchout for fake taxis (no meter, usually try to scam you a lot of cash once arrived since they can hold your luggages). Always call for taxis from your location (hotels, restaurants, etc) - they will call the good reputable taxis for you. From the airport, you could use Limousine taxis (they're not really limos or stretched, most are old Toyota Crowns) - these have fixed rate for going to hotels in the city.

I highly recommend renting a car + driver, it's super cheap (depending on the car, it's as low as $40/day + meal for driver + gas). Driving the car yourself is not recommended, traffic is really horrible, streets signs rare and confusing, etc.

I also agree that you should carry the bare mininum clothing, and just concentrate on carrying camera gears (minimum). Guess what? clothing (even brand name ripoffs) are super cheap, so you could always buy fresh clothes and dispose them at the end of the trip.

I think no matter what kind of bag you carry with you, if it looks like a camera bag - it'll attract attention. Maybe Crumpler bag would be better?
Also, shooting pics in public places can be really bad - dealing with property/business owners (most hotels, restaurants don't allow photography), or even the law (don't even try taking pictures of government buildings!).

It's a lovely place to visit and explore, just act normal and less touristy, and you'll have a great experience. I also think less camera gears would greatly improve your travel experience.

Great culture, great food, great prices (everything's dirt cheap), friendly people (most of the time), and of course, sceneries like no other place on earth.

Don't forget to visit Taman Safari and Puncak (outside Jakarta), Jakarta itself is a city ladden with modern luxurious malls & hotels, awesome to shoot at night. Of course there's Monas, and other touristy areas. Borobudur near Yogyakarta, Malioboro street at night and kraton (palace) in Yogyakarta - must eat: Gudeg. Surabaya has the most delicious food IMO (not much there in terms of scenery unfortunately). Bali, that's just paradise on earth. Tons of info on the internet for Bali places.

Enjoy your trip!

PM me if you want to ask any details (places to go, eat, etc)

[JRP2661]

whatever bigpow has said.

in Jakarta, avoid local bus as much as possible.
Taxis are super cheap, my advice is to stick with Blue Bird or Silver Bird, they are the safest and most reliable.
(I was stuck for 7 hours in a taxi on New Year's eve, and the total fee was less than US$40)

Bali is very safe.

[DarthVader]

There are a couple of places in Bali that you have to avoid.

[danielyamseng]

There are a couple of places in Bali that you have to avoid.
for instance ?

[bigpow]

maverick is probably referring to the 2 Bali bombing incidents in the past.
It happened in Denpasar, basically the touristy areas filled with bars and clubs.

I don't think there's going to be any bombing incident there anytime soon, you'll see why when you get there. The islander have been ramping up security everywhere, since the bombing had a huge impact on their economics.

Best place to stay in Bali is in Nusa Dua (man-made island), separated from the crowded city and most hotels there are 5 stars with their own private beaches. Very affordable (I dare say, cheap!)

[DarthVader]

Across Danau Batur there is a small village called Trunyan..this is where local people let dead bodies in certain forest, they won't smell even for months. You have to use a boat to get there. Some boat operators while in your way back will ask you more money otherwise you'll be stranded in the middle of the lake :).

[theslip]

+1
very well said
just make sure you've booked everything in advance

don't forget to stroll around the old "kota" area in Jakarta, they have old buildings and museum from the Dutch era,that's where most photographers enthuiasts shoot (some potn members too)

Yogya and Bali should be more secure than Jakarta, thus being extra cautious won't hurt

You can pm me too for directions and suggestions :)

October = good time (no rain, trust me, you won't be going anywhere when it rains - also no major holidays, some holidays are stupid because all the businesses have to close shop for days)

Getting mugged or kidnapped, highly unlikely, but again, there's always a possibility.
Just get a good insurance for the gears and keep your travel docs inside a hidden pouch. If you get mugged, just give up your gears - they usually don't try to hurt you if you comply. Resist, that's going to be a different story (the kind of story that gets on the local newspapers)

Travelling/backpacking using public transportation is possible, but just for your information, public transportation in Indo is really bad/inadequate.

Buses come with pickpockets and muggers (gangs), as usual.
Not to forget the street scammers that use some sort of black magic (it's actually more like hypnotism)
Taxis don't usually kidnap tourists, the worst they can do to you is do the round-about, instead of a direct route, they'd drive in circles or deliberately choose traffic jam areas to get the fee higher - this is true even for locals (if they don't know where they're going!) - so it's not like they're specifically targeting tourists.
In big cities, always go with Silverbird taxis. Watchout for fake taxis (no meter, usually try to scam you a lot of cash once arrived since they can hold your luggages). Always call for taxis from your location (hotels, restaurants, etc) - they will call the good reputable taxis for you. From the airport, you could use Limousine taxis (they're not really limos or stretched, most are old Toyota Crowns) - these have fixed rate for going to hotels in the city.

I highly recommend renting a car + driver, it's super cheap (depending on the car, it's as low as $40/day + meal for driver + gas). Driving the car yourself is not recommended, traffic is really horrible, streets signs rare and confusing, etc.

I also agree that you should carry the bare mininum clothing, and just concentrate on carrying camera gears (minimum). Guess what? clothing (even brand name ripoffs) are super cheap, so you could always buy fresh clothes and dispose them at the end of the trip.

I think no matter what kind of bag you carry with you, if it looks like a camera bag - it'll attract attention. Maybe Crumpler bag would be better?
Also, shooting pics in public places can be really bad - dealing with property/business owners (most hotels, restaurants don't allow photography), or even the law (don't even try taking pictures of government buildings!).

It's a lovely place to visit and explore, just act normal and less touristy, and you'll have a great experience. I also think less camera gears would greatly improve your travel experience.

Great culture, great food, great prices (everything's dirt cheap), friendly people (most of the time), and of course, sceneries like no other place on earth.

Don't forget to visit Taman Safari and Puncak (outside Jakarta), Jakarta itself is a city ladden with modern luxurious malls & hotels, awesome to shoot at night. Of course there's Monas, and other touristy areas. Borobudur near Yogyakarta, Malioboro street at night and kraton (palace) in Yogyakarta - must eat: Gudeg. Surabaya has the most delicious food IMO (not much there in terms of scenery unfortunately). Bali, that's just paradise on earth. Tons of info on the internet for Bali places.

Enjoy your trip!

PM me if you want to ask any details (places to go, eat, etc)

[yogestee]

You don't really need to pack 2 weeks of clothes. Avoid bringing cotton if you can. Get some good fast drying clothes that are fast wicking and possibly have insect repellent in the fibers. All you need are two pairs of pants, shirts, and undies. Wash a set each night and wear the other set the next day. These types of clothes should dry in 2 to 4 hours. Check out REI and ExOfficio.


I live in a tropical climate and I wear nothing but cotton for coolness and durability.. I also don't wear t-shirts anymore, I wear loose button up cotton shirts.. They breathe better..

Any synthetic fibres, even a small precentage are hot and uncomfortable.. Even the locals steer clear of synthetic fibres and only wear cotton or silk..

[berniesiao]

In terms of living out of a backpack for a month, cotton isn't going to be useful. Cotton will get wet and stay wet whereas the fast drying clothes are ready to go in a few hours after a wash.

[yogestee]

In terms of living out of a backpack for a month, cotton isn't going to be useful. Cotton will get wet and stay wet whereas the fast drying clothes are ready to go in a few hours after a wash.

The wet season won't hit SE Asia for a few months yet,,it will still be relatively dry..It will be humid though..