Indonesia’s Sacred Temples and Natural Sanctuaries

Singapore is one of the great embarkation cities in the world, and a day here before boarding Le Paul Gauguin rewards anyone who arrives early enough to explore it properly.

Nicknamed the Garden City, Singapore stretches across Malaysia’s southern-most region. Experience the vibrant hustle and bustle of this city-state for yourself at the Marina Bay. No too far away is the historic centre, offering up a unique smorgasbord of neoclassical buildings and contemporary towers. Decked out in topiary, the pavements of Orchard Road are also home to countless shopping centres. The colourful markets in Chinatown and Little India are the perfect opportunity to quell hunger pangs in a hawker centre, one of the city’s traditional snack bars. Between the two districts, get a slice of history with a trip to the Raffles dock. It was here that Englishman Sir Raffles, the founder of the city, is said to have arrived one fateful day in January 1819.

A second day in Singapore and the city opens up its less-visited layers for those willing to move beyond Orchard Road and Marina Bay.
The Kampong Glam neighbourhood, centred on the golden-domed Sultan Mosque and the shophouse-lined Arab Street, represents the Malay and Arab heritage of this multicultural island. The Peranakan houses of Katong, with their pastel facades and Straits Chinese interiors, tell a story of cultural blending that is uniquely Singaporean. The hawker centres at Maxwell Food Centre and Chinatown Complex offer the most democratic and delicious introduction to Singapore’s food culture available anywhere in the city. Le Paul Gauguin departs this evening with Java ahead.

Parai Beach on Bangka Island is one of Indonesia’s most beautiful and least-visited beaches, protected by enormous ancient granite boulders that have been sculpted by the sea into extraordinary formations.

The Indonesian Bangka Belitung archipelago, off the eastern coast of Sumatra, is renowned for its beautiful unspoilt beaches and superb diving. Protected by immense granite rocks, Parai Beach, north-east of Bangka Island, is a tropical Eden. Once you’re comfortably installed in the shade of palm trees at the water’s edge, you’ll succumb to the ease and tranquillity of this picture-postcard setting.

A sea day crossing the Java Sea toward Semarang, and Indonesia opens ahead in its extraordinary scale and diversity.
With over 17,000 islands, 300 ethnic groups and more than 700 languages, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country on earth and among the most culturally complex. The Ponant lecture programme on Javanese history and the specific context of Borobudur is worth attending today as preparation for tomorrow’s UNESCO temple visit.

Semarang is the gateway to Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple complex in the world, a 9th-century monument of such extraordinary scale and detail that it remained hidden under volcanic ash and jungle for nearly a thousand years before its rediscovery in 1814.

Semarang enjoys a strategic location on the northern coast of Java, making it a cosmopolitan port town and a melting pot of Chinese, Indo-Arabic and European cultures. Before setting off to explore the region’s treasures, take a tour of the old town and its smattering of old colonial buildings. Here in Indonesia’s most Chinese town, don’t miss a trip to the Chinatown district. If it’s culture you’re after, journey deeper into the green, rolling inland region, passing by volcanoes and rice paddies until you reach the royal town of Yogyakarta and one of its ancient kingdoms, the Borobudur : this Buddhist temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s largest temples.

Surabaya is Indonesia’s second largest city and its most historically significant for the independence movement, the site of the Battle of Surabaya in November 1945 that became the defining moment of the Indonesian National Revolution against Dutch colonial rule.
Surabaya, a dynamic city with colonial heritage, stands before you like an Indonesian jewel at the mouth of the Mas River and along the Madura Strait, in the north of the island of Java. In this cradle of tortured passions and flamboyant fates, you will stroll the maze of narrow streets of this city with a thousand faces, where the fight for Indonesian independence began in 1945. Yet this vibrant and heroic façade hides age-old treasures. Fall under the spell of the Trowulan archaeological site and its emblematic Wringin Lawang gate.

If it’s a taste of exotic authenticity you’re after, prepare to be spell-bound by the island of Bali, tucked away in the heart of the Indonesian archipelago. The beauty and diversity of its landscapes, the depth and richness of its cultural heritage and the plethora of activities on offer here make Bali a little slice of heaven on Earth. The island’s southern coast enthrals with its white sand beaches, its picturesque little fishing villages such as Benoa, and its hills patchworked with terraced rice paddies further inland. Nicknamed ‘the Island of Gods’ for its sumptuous temples, Bali is the beating heart of Indonesian Hinduism.

If it’s a taste of exotic authenticity you’re after, prepare to be spell-bound by the island of Bali, tucked away in the heart of the Indonesian archipelago. The beauty and diversity of its landscapes, the depth and richness of its cultural heritage and the plethora of activities on offer here make Bali a little slice of heaven on Earth. The island’s southern coast enthrals with its white sand beaches, its picturesque little fishing villages such as Benoa, and its hills patchworked with terraced rice paddies further inland. Nicknamed ‘the Island of Gods’ for its sumptuous temples, Bali is the beating heart of Indonesian Hinduism.

During your journey at sea, make the most of the many services and activities on board. Treat yourself to a moment of relaxation in the spa or stay in shape in the fitness centre. Depending on the season, let yourself be tempted by the swimming pool or a spot of sunbathing. This journey without a port of call will also be an opportunity to enjoy the conferences or shows proposed on board, depending on the activities offered, or to do some shopping in the boutique or to meet the PONANT photographers in their dedicated space. As for lovers of the open sea, they will be able to visit the ship’s upper deck to admire the spectacle of the waves and perhaps be lucky enough to observe marine species. A truly enchanted interlude, combining comfort, rest and entertainment.

Between the islands of Sumbawa and Florès, Komodo National Park welcomes you to discover its natural wonders. At the very heart of the Indonesian archipelago, the three islands that form it – Komodo, Rinca and Padar – owe their renown to the famous eponymous dragons, enormous lizards over two metres long, which live in its grassy savannah. This jagged and hilly volcanic territory belonging to the Sunda Islands is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its incredible terrestrial and marine biodiversity. Admire its palette of colours, intermingling the sparkling whites of the beaches, the deep blues of the coral-filled water and the soft greens of its pastures.

A sea day crossing the Savu Sea toward East Timor, one of the world’s newest nations and among the least-visited capitals in Southeast Asia.
East Timor, known formally as Timor-Leste, gained independence from Indonesia in 2002 after a long and painful process that involved Australian peacekeeping forces in the late 1990s. The briefing on Timorese history, the Portuguese colonial legacy and the resilience of the Timorese people in rebuilding their country is both important context and genuinely moving preparation for Dili tomorrow.

Located on the northern coast of the island of Timor, along the narrow plains between the central mountains and the Ombai Strait, the seaside resort of Dili is the capital of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony that has been independent since May 2002. The uniqueness of this territory, still preserved from the tourist routes, is unveiled thanks to the beauty of its intact landscapes, with dense tropical forest covering undulating hills, coral reef and immaculate sandy beaches. You will be enchanted by this small and peaceful town with a distinctive Portuguese atmosphere, and will discover the riches of its historic and cultural heritage during your visit.

A final sea day as Le Paul Gauguin crosses the Timor Sea toward Darwin, and the journey from Singapore to Australia draws to a close.
Fourteen days have taken this voyage through seven countries and as many cultural worlds, from Singapore’s multicultural city-state to the Hindu temples of Bali, the Komodo dragons of the Lesser Sundas and the Portuguese-infused independence of East Timor. The Ponant farewell programme and the expedition team’s summary of the voyage’s cultural and natural highlights typically takes place today. Australia arrives tomorrow.

Darwin is the most distinctive capital city in Australia and a fitting final port for a voyage that has moved through the edges of Asia — shaped by Japanese bombing in 1942, by Cyclone Tracy on Christmas Eve 1974 and by a multicultural frontier culture that feels genuinely closer to Southeast Asia than to Sydney.
Australia’s only tropical capital sits just 800 kilometres south of the Indonesian islands visited earlier in this voyage, and the cultural overlap is immediately apparent in the food, the faces and the energy of the city. The WWII Oil Storage Tunnels memorial, the Adelaide River jumping crocodile cruise and the Mindil Beach Sunset Market are all worth the time before transfers to the airport. Disembark Le Paul Gauguin this morning and let Darwin make its own impression before your flights home.