Pesta Blogger is an annual blogging conference that has been held in Indonesia each year since 2007. 

Pesta Blogger means ‘Blogger Party’ in Indonesian.  And that title is an extremely accurate reflection on what happens! 

I was lucky enough to be invited on a week long trip in November 2008 throughout Bali and Java and was treated to some fantastic sights, and met some wonderful, friendly people.

I had such a great time then, that I had to come back and I have been pestering the organisers to fit me in somewhere!

 My wish has been granted, and I’m excited to announce that I will be part of Pesta Blogger 2009!

 However, this year I’m planning to undertake something a bit different – a ‘Blogger Community Trip’ across Indonesia, namely the islands of Java and Sumatra. 

One thing that I found fascinating about Indonesia is that blogging is so popular there and has been enthusiastically embraced by so many people. In fact, there are ‘Blogger Communities’ where bloggers actually meet ‘offline’ – that is, face to face, in social circles.

During Pesta Blogger 2008, I met Blogging Communities from Bali, Yogyakarta, and from other places in Indonesia, and found them to be so warm, friendly, enthusiastic and hospitable.

This gave me a wicked idea. Why not undertake a blogging trip across Indonesia, and see the place through the eyes of the local Blogging Communities?

I pitched the idea to the Pesta Blogger 2009 committee, and they loved it.  AirAsia have also been kind enough to provide the flights to and from Australia for me.

So how is this going to work?

• I fly to Indonesia in late September to start off in Banda Aceh.  The trip will be approximately 4 weeks.
• I will spend time with each blogger community, and even stay with some of them at their houses (if they’ll let me!) – and they would show me around their part of Indonesia.  The key here is that I want to experience the REAL Indonesia, through the eyes of local people via the blogging communities.  I’m hoping this would provide a fascinating insight into Indonesian culture.
• Once I had finished staying in one Blogger Community, I would then travel to the next blogger community and so on.
• Throughout the trip, I would send out regular posts on my website, The Travel Tart, and regular updates to my Twitter account.
• Once I had finished travelling, I would enter Jakarta during the last week, and talk about my experiences at Pestablogger 2009, which is on Saturday October 24.

You can see more at the official Pestablogger site.  

I’m excited already! Stay tuned for more information about the Air Asia Pesta Blogger Communities Trip!

 Cheers

Anthony, The Travel Tart

The Pesta Blogger Communities trip is kindly supported by AirAsia.  Check their website out for their extensive network all around South East Asia, Australia and Europe!