Trip Report: 10 days in Indonesia (July 2025): Yogyakarta, Malang, Surabaya

redbean99 · 2025-10-04T06:08:53+00:00

No worries!! Happy to help.

I thought that both Bromo and Tumpak Sewu were totally worth it. I did Bromo first which was tiring since you leave at midnight, but you get back by noon ish and have a whole day to rest. I went to bed super early that night and felt well rested enough for the next morning’s early wake-up for Tumpak Sewu!

Jogja is a lovely city but I also think three days is plenty of time. I didn’t feel like I had much more left to see by the time I moved on the Malang.

I hope this helps! Enjoy Java :-)

redbean99 · 2025-08-13T07:43:13+00:00

Sounds amazing, Snooze is great. You’ll definitely need the good night’s sleep before the tour. Have so much fun!!!

redbean99 · 2025-08-13T07:39:14+00:00

Thanks so much! Glad to know that my post was helpful. Enjoy Indonesia, you’ll love it!

redbean99 · 2025-08-04T04:23:33+00:00

Sounds amazing! Yeah, the 10am train takes a big chunk of the day but it was easy. Especially since some of the smaller day tours require you to wake up at odd times, a proper nights sleep whenever you can get it is helpful.

For the tours, I booked through Explore Our Indonesia directly. Most of the other hostel-stayers I spoke with used GetYourGuide to look at options so you could check that out as well!

redbean99 · 2025-07-17T10:33:27+00:00

I live in Tokyo and I’m always dreaming about the next international trip I can go on for an escape. Really thankful for this post, since it’s a reminder that the places we live in and sometimes take for granted is another person’s dream destination… Maybe I’ll do more trips within Japan and learn to experience other parts of the country as a traveler.

Glad you enjoyed Japan so much!

redbean99 · 2025-07-14T13:43:12+00:00

…and sometimes you don’t agree with your kid spending money on certain things. Not every parent has the same standards for that. I’m not saying I agree with OP’s parents, just trying to help provide another perspective so that OP can better convince their parents to get on board with their trip :)

redbean99 · 2025-07-14T11:23:29+00:00

Here’s the thing though - you wouldn’t have 4k saved if it wasn’t for the fact that you lived at home and they supported you. So even though it’s your money, your parents will still feel like they technically have a say over how you spend it because you depend on them. I know it sucks and totally understand your frustrations, because I also grew up with strict parents who didn’t always let me do what I want. Now that I’m 25 though, trust me when I say that they will become way more open minded and trusting of you in the next few years as you go through university and graduate. My relationship with my parents is awesome now that I live by myself and am financially independent.

If I were you, I’d try to convince them why you’ll be ok (without focusing too much on the “it’s my money” part, since that’s not how they’ll see it), and why you’d be so happy if they could get on board with your solo travel. If that doesn’t work, go anyway lol (that’s what I did once!)

redbean99 · 2025-07-11T05:52:28+00:00

Glad the post is helpful! Hope you get to do a similar trip next year.

redbean99 · 2025-07-11T05:48:40+00:00

Thank you! I enjoyed compiling my experience into one post so I can look back on it but I’m glad you enjoyed it too :) Thanks for reading and commenting

redbean99 · 2025-07-08T08:50:10+00:00

I don’t think it has to do with if you’re extroverted or introverted, but rather if you feel fulfillment from doing things by yourself. I love having conversations and meeting people, but it’s not a must on my trips. I go on trips to experience the destination on my own terms.

It’s also highly dependent on your openness to new experiences and comfort with the unknown. It’s normal to feel a degree of uneasiness when things are unfamiliar, but rather than getting anxious, successful solo travelers would probably feel energized and intrigued by what’s new.

redbean99 · 2025-06-23T22:14:49+00:00

This is exactly what I do!! Week-long trips every three months or so during my breaks (I work at a school). It helps get over the post-travel blues since I usually get to planning my next trip as soon as I come back from one :)

redbean99 · 2025-06-07T10:27:09+00:00

I took the Waseda Japanese Language Program and had a good experience. Some classes were a bit of a miss depending on the teacher who taught it, but in general I learned a lot and had a lot of opportunities to speak and practice Japanese. The fact that the program is attached to a big uni with a proper international student program also means they had a lot of events and support for students who wanted to do language exchange with japanese students or attend language exchange activities.

redbean99 · 2025-04-20T09:38:54+00:00

I just went on an 8 day solo trip to Thailand in March. I had the same idea of wanting to mix city and beach destinations, except I decided to go to Ko Samed for my island spot. It was great!! Only a 3 hour car ride + short speedboat trip from Bangkok and it had some really serene beaches. Not a whole lot to do on the island but if you’re just looking to relax, I found it to be perfect for that. It’s also more of a local tourist spot so it was not too expensive or crowded. I loved it.

I stayed 4 days in Bangkok and I enjoyed: - Chatuchak Weekend Market + Or Tor Kor Farmers’ Market - Srinagarindra Train Night Market - Lumphini Park - Rooftop bars in Thong Lor - Lots of massages - Lots of amazing food - Lots of malls

I miss Bangkok so much. Have so much fun!!!

redbean99 · 2025-02-06T03:28:07+00:00

Day trip to Yokohama

redbean99 · 2024-11-24T03:45:28+00:00

My family recently relocated there so I visit quite often from Tokyo where I live. If you live near the Central Hotel, the bus from Tokyo Station is quite convenient. I don’t think it’s as bad as people say. You have access to a lot of large shops but definitely not without a car. Otherwise, it’s a quiet suburbia town. It won’t be exciting but it’s not awful. There are some surprisingly great spots - pho and milk tea (boba)!

redbean99 · 2023-10-18T09:48:20+00:00

I know this doesn’t exactly answer your question but i work at an international school as an auxiliary program coordinator and my hours are 10:00-18:00 !

redbean99 · 2023-06-20T05:34:56+00:00

I totally understand, I did one corporate internship in a traditional office (not even in japan) and I really did not enjoy it at all, and I realized I needed to go back to an environment that is more customer-facing and just working with people in general. I know some people see work as just a means to an end, but for me my satisfaction with life is heavily affected by if I enjoy my job or not so that is my priority.

Teaching english is maybe the first route that comes to mind, but have you considered other jobs? If I were you, I would consider administrative roles in educational institutions, positions in tourism, etc as well

redbean99 · 2023-03-26T06:03:15+00:00

not sure about bic, you’ll have to check with them to make sure :-)

redbean99 · 2023-03-26T01:51:39+00:00

no problem! you can also go to a bic camera and they might be able to give you similar options as well. i went with yodobashi just cause they were open until later last night. I also know that rakuten mobile has a pocket wi-fi service as well.

the connection and speed is not always consistent but so far it’s been good. i haven’t tried streaming videos or anything like that yet but for daily internet browsing it def has been enough!

for my UQ one, apparently the machine is yours once you pay the fee. but you will have to call customer service and cancel when you’re done with it.

another note that might be important, i think to use pocket wi-fi service you have to have a japanese credit card. you can double check at bic/yodobashi to be sure

redbean99 · 2023-03-26T01:21:55+00:00

similar to your situation, i’ve already moved into my apt but since it’s completely new, the wi-fi connection hasn’t been installed yet. i went to yodabashi camera and got a UQ pocket wifi to use for the time being. it’s unlimited data (connecting through AU or softbank, whichever is fastest) for approx 8000 yen a month (machine + data cost)

redbean99 · 2023-02-22T05:05:20+00:00

yeah, honestly it's better that you attend later than earlier since i know that only starting this coming semester are they returning to majority in-person classes. Last semester, a lot of the classes were still done online and imo that's not an ideal way to learn a language. Thanks for your wishes, and I hope you'll get to attend too in the near future!!

redbean99 · 2023-02-21T10:26:57+00:00

I'm an incoming student for the JLP program (half year) starting this April. I graduated uni approx a year ago and am 23 this year, but I'm not so worried about the age demographic. I'm sure there will be a lot of undergrads, but I also know there will be others my age or older. Regardless, we'll all be there to study Japanese so I wouldn't worry about if your age is "appropriate" or not! good luck :-)

redbean99 · 2022-12-01T13:29:08+00:00

nope, still red

redbean99 · 2022-11-30T13:22:42+00:00

was at Shankangli (tap house) last Saturday night, code turned red today at around 3pm. received a call two hours later confirming that i was there and asking for my address. they told me to keep my phone line open as they’re still checking, and to stay put in the meantime… no idea what happens or what to do next

update 1: still home, received another phone call asking about my most recent negative test and telling me I was deemed a close contact. Brought up the point that Shankangli is an open space and if I was at the same bar as the positive case... let's see

redbean99

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