Holiday bucket list Indonesia

On the plane back from Florida this week, I was reading an article about Indonesia. It really is a fantastically interesting place. The Republic of Indonesia (to give it its full title) is actually made up of something like 13,000 islands and is actually the world’s fourth largest country by population (I know!) which makes you wonder why most of us have only heard of Bali!

Of course, I want to visit the stunning white sand beaches of Lombok, explore the temples of Bali and swing on the famous ‘swing in the sea at the Ombak Sunset resort on Gili Trawagan island (a must for your Instagram account - my friend Helen from Passport Stamps has been there recently - it looks stunning), but I also want to visit some of the stunning places I’ve pinned.

The swing in the sea (picture via Pinterest)

One of the places I really want to get to, since pinning a picture a while ago, is the City of Tangerang. I’ve got my hotel planned out, the Novotel Tangerang (which has the best, most Instagrammable pool I’ve ever seen in my life) - you can book it via Traveloka.com:

Most visitors to Jakarta will visit Tangerang, as it’s home to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. It’s about 25km west of Jakarta and it’s mostly a bit of an urban jungle, but it hides a secret treasure:

Masjid Raya Al A’zhom (image via Pinterest)

I’ve got a thing about beautiful buildings: churches, museums, but especially mosques. They’re always exquisitely decorated and the Masjid Raya Al A’zhom is no different. Whether you can actually go inside, I don’t know, but the dome, thought to be one of the largest in the world, looks stunning. Also nearby are the Bogor Botanical Gardens, 60km south of Jakarta and covering over 200 acres. They’re supposed to be lush and beautiful. I’d love an afternoon wandering and smelling the flowers!

Click here if you want to see more of my holiday bucket list choices. What about you? Visited Indonesia? Love a bit of Bali? Seen that gorgeous mosque? Do let me know 🙂