In Reply to: getting adventurous - advice please posted by kepala_udang on Thursday, 9. June 2005 at 21:11 Bali Time:
Banyuwangi is mainly known for being a transport hub. Most tourists would only spend time there while waiting for a train/ferry to go somewhere else.
I've passed through there, but haven't stopped to look around. It seems like a fairly typical town.
Unless you see bunches of people vomitting in the street, the food's probably okay. No vendor wants to make his/her customers ill. Obviously, you should only drink bottled water, same as Bali.
It's not really set up as a place where masses of tourists congregate, so it's not going to have the glitz of Kuta and all the international megastores.
The people will probably be about as different from the Balinese as you are from someone who lives fifty kilometers from you. You're only crossing a channel of water. It's not a gateway into another dimension. I'd imagine most people will be Muslim, rather than Hindu, but from my experience the only real difference is the clothes they wear and the times they pray. The friendliness level in Java is at least as high as that in Bali. And if you hang around in Banyuwangi, you'll be a lot more of a novelty than you would be in Bali, so you'll have no trouble making friends. As in Bali, politeness is important.
The main danger I can think of is that because it is a transport hub, it might attract a larger than usual number of pickpockets and luggage thieves. I don't have any stats to suport this, but it might be something to safeguard against. They'd most likely be hanging around the train station anyway (which is a bit out of town).
You've got the national park and Gunung Bromo nearby, anyway. So if you get bored in the town, at least there's some nice scenery to explore.
I'm glad you're dipping your toe into Java. Hopefully you'll like it enough to want to venture further. I love the place (though I've mainly spent time at the other end of the island). Anyway, there's nothing to lose by going. Even if Banyuwangi sucks completely, you can be back in Bali in a jiffy.