Blogs from Java, Indonesia, Asia

If there is smoke, there must be fire… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were travelling south from the Seloliman Nature Reserve to Mount Bromo– by road. We organised our packs, dropped our keys and left the Seloliman Ecolodge in the early afternoon. We had a three-hour drive to Mount Bromo ahead, and it was great to be travelling in a large minibus with a little more room than normal. We crawled over rough rural roads on our way out of the nature reserve, passing a noisy local wedding along the way. The narrow streets gave way to wider and smoother roads once we turned onto a major thoroughfare. As we sped along the highway, the scene playing out on either side of the minibus was all too familiar – rice fields stretching for miles, ... read more

The shadow should be the same length as the body… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were continuing to explore the atmospheric city of Yogyakarta. When we woke at 5am, Ren was feeling drained. The previous afternoon had been difficult, as she had started to feel unwell during our walking tour of Yogyakarta. Rehydration tablets helped a lot, as did an early night with extended sleep – despite being broken. However, Ren was resolute in her determination to take the day by the horns. She hadn’t travelled all this way to spend the day in a hotel room. She was going to continue exploring this bohemian city, and nothing was going to stop her. I headed down to Greenhost Boutique Hotel’s breakfast area around 6am. The buffet was expansive, but it was not overly exciting ... read more

Don't stand on the dew until the sun reaches its highest… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were travelling north (then southeast) from Pangandaran to Yogyakarta– by road and rail. A violent thunderstorm had erupted the previous evening and continued throughout the night, only subsiding around 5am. Each thunderclap shook the hotel, as if a bomb had exploded just above our room. Luckily, we could anticipate each thunderclap. We left the curtains to our room open, and the night sky would turn white with each flash of sheet lightning – then the thunder would explode a few seconds later. We settled in Sunrise Beach Hotel’s large airy breakfast area around 7am and enjoyed a substantial breakfast, as we would not be stopping for a meal until dinner. I enjoyed cornflakes, yoghurt, fresh pineapple, fresh dragon ... read more

The sea becomes the shore, the shore becomes the sea… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were travelling east (then southwest) from Jakarta to Pangandaran– by rail and road. I woke at 5:30am, prepared our packs and headed down to Yello Harmoni Hotel’s breakfast room at 6:30am. After hydrating with hot tea, I opted for a simple breakfast (cornflakes and sultanas), as it was a little too early for a hearty affair. After reluctantly checking out of the comfortable, quirky and very welcoming Yello Harmoni Hotel, we jumped into a taxi and crawled through Jakarta’s narrow and busy roads to the bustling Gambir Train Station. We grabbed our tickets, boarded our train, settled in our assigned seats and left Jakarta just after 9am. There was a lot of well-kept foliage along the initial section of ... read more

Asking questions is the only way to learn… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were arriving in the bustling city of Jakarta. We touched down at Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta around 6:45pm. We’d been travelling for hours, but the flight from Sydney to Jakarta comprised less than eight of those. It was a smooth flight and we felt great on arrival. Unfortunately, it was a slow journey through customs. We’d pre-prepared and printed our visas, thinking it would allow us a seamless path through the formalities, but nothing could have been further from the truth. ‘Snail pace’ is my best descriptive term. We even managed to select the slowest moving line, so we were the very last people from our flight to clear customs. It took the best part of an hour. It ... read more