Blogs from Wonosobo, Indonesia, Asia

After my trials with the local inter-city bus services, I decided to try instead a door-to-door minivan service that was supposed to pick me up from my hotel in Solo and drop me off at my next destination in Wonosobo. Travel agency said "about five hours", but the total journey time was more like seven hours! Two hour ride back to Jogja with multiple stops, followed by an hour's wait before setting off for Wonosobo, a town at about 1000m altitude with correspondingly agreeable weather. Arrived at Wisma Duta's Homestay, a lovely place with a cozy reception. The luxury rooms looked extremely inviting, but at IDR300k a night, they were out of my budget. I settled for the economy room at the rear at IDR100k a night, attached bath but no AC or fan or hot ... read more

Dieng Plateau, is a marshy plateau that forms the floor of a caldera complex on the Dieng active volcano complex, and is located at Banjarnegara, Central Java, Indonesia. there are Hindu temples from the 7th and 8th centuries, the oldest Hindu temples in Central Java, and the first known standing stone structures in Java. They are originally thought to have numbered 400 but only 8 remain. The Dieng structures were small and relatively plain, but stone architecture developed substantially in only a matter of decades resulting in masterpieces such as the Prambanan complex and Borobudur. The earliest architectural usage of the Javanese demonic masks and marine monsters are exhibited along the niches and doorways of the remaining structures. The name "Dieng" comes from Di Hyang which means "Abode of the Gods". Its misty location almost 2000 ... read more