Java smokes, not just the people!

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Gunung Bromo

We arrived at the town of Probolinggo at 1:30 in the morning after 10 hours on the bus from Bali. At this time it would have been possible to continue straight on to Gunung Bromo (the whole point in us being here) to catch the sunrise but as we were both completely knackered from getting no sleep on the bus we decided we’d wait a day and do it the next morning, so we’d feel a little more refreshed and maybe more appreciative of what we were seeing. Our first task was to find somewhere to catch some shut eye, which wasn’t too much of a problem and then spent the rest of the day wandering round the town, still trying to get used to being an attraction in ourselves to the local people.

The next morning was a real chore. Having to wake up and be ready for 02:15 to catch the minibus was tough, and as it turned out we should’ve done it the night before as we were no more refreshed that morning either. It was a two hour drive to our destination though, so we could at least catch up on a little sleep, and it’s much better to close your eyes anyway, rather than watch the maniac driving in this country.

Gunung Bromo is one of the many active volcanoes that make up this country but its draw is that it’s part of an incredible volcanic landscape. It sits in the centre of the massive Tengger Massif Crater which stretches 10km across. Inside the crater next to Bromo is a couple of other volcanic cones and in the background is the huge Gunung Semeru, the highest mountain in Java, and the most active volcano in these parts. All this together makes an incredible vista, and our plan was to be at the top of Gunung Penanjakan (a tall volcano on the calderas rim) for the sunrise so we could take it all in!

We made it on time and sat waiting in the stands for the moment that dawn breaks, it was a pretty cool experience, even though there were some huge crowds jostling around for a better look, but the view from this position is unsurpassed. We were told to bring jackets, but nothing prepared us for just how cold it would be up there, maybe we’re actually starting to get used to the tropical heat, we’re from England for God’s sake, we should be used to cold! We took hundreds of photos trying to get that perfect picture postcard, before jumping back in the minibus to go down into the crater and climb the volcano.

It was a short walk across the sand to the foot of Bromo from where the minibus pulled up, and after a brief climb up some steps we were standing on the rim looking into the smoking volcano. The smoke was quite thick but the smell wasn’t half as bad as I was expecting, figuring it would be the usual ‘eggy’ sulphurous whiff that usually accompanies thermal activity, it was much more reminiscent of burnt gunpowder, the smells you experience after a good November 5th celebration!

After the climb it was back n the van for the drive back to Probolinggo, which once again was just another opportunity to catch up on some sleep. Once we returned we had a couple more hours to sleep at the hotel before we had to jump on another minibus, bound for our next destination Yogyakarta nine hours away.

Yogyakarta/Borobodur/Prembanan

Situated in central Java, Yogyakarta has a lot going for it, it’s the centre of a lot of artistic and cultural heritage (specifically batik) and located nearby are a couple of iconic temples which are a must see on any journey to Java. Our first day in the city was spent wandering around checking out the many shops, and being repeatedly warned about the batik mafia from the locals, which if you’re not careful will lead you to a batik ‘gallery’ and then apply the hard sell to get you to buy loads of stuff you don’t really want at vastly over-inflated prices. The guide book also warned about this practise, so we expected to be confronted at every turn, but didn’t experience anything at all; maybe we look too poor to work over!

While being warned one of the guards at the palace did tell us about a batik art group where people learn the art, and which is only open for a couple of days a week to sell the batik that is made. Instantly sceptical (as we’d been warned so much) we were a little wary but we had nothing else to do, so we thought we’d try and find it. As the guy wasn’t intent on showing us the place either it seemed like maybe he was genuine. While we were busy getting lost in the back streets, another guy asked us where we going, and again, sadly, we instantly put our guard up and was sceptical about everything that started coming out of his mouth. We relaxed after a short while when we learned he was from Kalimantan (Borneo), working at the palace on a five year contract and was just on his way to a local mosque to pray. He turned out to be a really great guy, he reinforced the warnings we’d already got and gave us some great insights on his life and his faith. He told us he only needs three things in life to make him happy… money (as he’s got a job that’s not an issue), praying and friendships and he must have plenty of all because he was a really jovial chap, who really loved to talk. After showing us where the place was he shook our hands and swiftly departed, even happier than when we’d met, hopefully it’s because we helped fill his friendship quota for the day.

The arts centre turned out to be a really great place, we were welcomed by one of the batik masters who gave us a run down on how batik is created then told us that the price of an individual piece is not only determined by its size, but also by who created it (master, teacher or student), how long it took and what it’s on (cotton or silk). He gave us a price code list and let us loose in the showroom. It turned out that every piece I liked was made by a master, some by the guy we were speaking to, and every one Faye liked was by a student, I really can’t help having good taste. In the end we bought a large piece made by a master (£29), a piece the same size but by a student (£10.58) and Faye also got a small really starter piece (you could still see the pencil lines) by a student that they were almost giving away (£1.59) but we thought it was really nice.

The next day was a really early start to be at Borobudur before the crowds start turning up. Borobudur is a giant Buddhist temple constructed in the 9th century, consisting of square tiers topped with circular tiers with a giant central stupa on the top. Each square terrace is circled by intricately carved galleries, most of which is still intact, and many Buddha images look out over the scene from numerous chambers. The circular terraces on top are dotted with 72 Buddha statues encased in lattice stupas. We had a good look around the many terraces working our way up to the top to enjoy the view, once at the top we were repeatedly accosted by English students who were on their final exam and would like us to grade them on their conversational ability. It wasn’t too bad and it really is amazing what they’ve achieved in the few months that they’d been learning. After having a good look round and taking hundreds of photos we made our way out of the complex glad that we’d come early as hundreds of tour groups had turned up and there was a wave of humanity working its way in towards the temple.

Our next stop was another temple complex located just outside Yogyakarta called Prembanan. These temples were built around the same time as Borobudur but are an example of Java’s Hindu period. We sadly weren’t allowed to get too close to the temples as they’d been heavily damaged by a recent earthquake and were being restored, but what we were able to see was really impressive, and once the restoration work is complete they will be pretty spectacular.

Once back in Yogyakarta, We had a look around the palace, which didn’t turn out to be too interesting and Faye got better acquainted with the shops, taking full advantage of the ridiculously low price of things before we leave.

Bogor/Jakarta

From Yogy, we caught an overnight train to Jakarta, where we would be catching a flight out in a couple of days, but as there are not really a lot of sights in the city, we caught an economy train back in the other direction for the day to Bogor.

Bogor is famous for its huge botanical gardens, an oasis of tranquillity amongst Java’s traffic and noise. We spent a few hours exploring the gardens, getting destroyed by mosquito's, and although they were good, we’ve been lucky enough to of visited Singapore’s botanical gardens, and it couldn’t really compete. We did have a moment of excitement on the way back to Jakarta however, when after buying our economy train tickets, the guard pointed at a train leaving the station, and said that it was ours so we’d better run. We felt like those hobos in America you see on TV running by the side of the train and jumping on. Once we’d thrown ourselves though the open door though, everything was fine and out of breath we were happily on our way back to Jakarta.

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Photos

Gunung Bromo
This volcano smokes less than the people!

Comments

[Dad]

its a long trek!
We are going to book tickets for Honkers for Feb, take care, Its great to see the world in your pictures and stories, See Yah! XXXDad