Pulau Bidadari | Indonesia

Counting down the days until summer, we decided the best way to pass the time was on a tropical island! Despite some minor communication issues with our travel agent and ominous weather, we safely landed on Pulau Bidadari a mere hour and a half after our original scheduled time. This particular island was once a Dutch fort, the majority of which is still standing. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite far enough away from Jakarta to make swimming a possibility, unless the object of your snorkelling was to observe the composition of Jakarta's refuse. We spent some quality time hanging out in a bungalow, which was almost as cool as the treehouse on Gili Trawangan. And, we decided that next time, we would come armed with hammocks, marshmallows and matches.