Hi people,
I'm 18 from england and just finished school. Coming solo to bali and lombok on 10th Aug for 5 weeks. I apologise if any of the following questions have been answered elsewhere:
1. I'm flying into Jakarta cos flights were much cheaper than to denpasar - will i be able to get a cheap transfer by plane on arrival or should i go overland (and sea obviously)?
2. Are internet cafes commonplace on bali and lombok or only in the kuta region (i get my a-level results on aug 17!)?
3. I've never surfed before but would like to learn: how hard is it cos some people say it takes months to become even slightly competent but that seems a bit extreme (i'm pretty athletic and can ski and wakeboard pretty well)? how much would lessons cost/where is the best place to learn?
4. I'm planning to stay in the cheapest accommodation i can find, what hooks do they have for mosquito nets - 1/2/4?
5. what is the likelihood of things being stolen? should i leave items like ipod, phone, expensive sunglasses at home? will i be fine leaving my things (including wallet) on the beach while i swim/surf/snorkel? and do i really need one of those hidden money bags?
6. i'm heading to kuta first to surf and because i figured i'd be most likely to meet people in a similar situation to myself there. in people's experiences are there often people keen to join up with others to explore other areas (i'd like to go to the gilis and climb gunung rinjani)?
wow, thanks very much if you've read all of that, i would welcome any advice you can offer!