Berry – thanks for the additions! Most of them I never heard of, I know Pelabuhanratu (south-west Java) and enjoyed the hot springs there (which are really hot by the way). I came out a fresh cooked lobster.

And for sure – Sulawesi is a beautiful place on earth, the islands around Manado are a true feast for divers and lazy beach bums. I definitely have to check out your other recommendations!

I didn’t know about the boycott though, but yes, there are plenty of kiosks and businesses. Rubbish too, I tend to overlook that sometimes, as environmental responsibility seems to be less developed here. But when you go a bit off the beaten track it’s easy to avoid it as well – vendors, garbage and all.

Seems you haven’t heard that a couple years ago an Indonesian travel association “embargoed” Puncak as a tourist destination to promote, since the Bogor and Cianjur regencies (they administered Puncak region, the border is in Puncak Pass monument) apparently lacked of planning for Puncak environment. Rubbish and illegal kiosks everywhere, villas that were built everywhere (you can see the results in Jakarta’s newspapers during rainy seasons anyway).

Sieht so aus, dass die Lage ein bisschen verbessert.