Blogs from Java, Indonesia, Asia - page 3

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Asia » Indonesia » Java » Semarang September 30th 2020

I had a long wish list, indeed, and Dieng Plateau was one of them. I and my friends decided to fly to Semarang from Jakarta and continued by road to Dieng. We arrived late in the evening at Semarang International Airport, where our driver picked us up and took us directly to Dieng. The drive took about four hours; reachingD Dieng at 2 am, I realised I had mistakenly left my camera bag at the airport! Thanks to the airport staff who have kept it safely and had it delivered the next day. We stayed at Lovebird homestay near Dieng and continued our journey the next day. First stop was the famous Sikidang volcano crater, of which molten lava was hot enough to boil eggs. Next destination was Batu Pandang Ratapan Angin, from which hill we ... read more
Atika whose hair started to curl and create natural dreadlock
View from Sikunir Hill
Behind the scene

Asia » Indonesia » Java » Banten » Lebak March 27th 2020

Baduy village was on my "to go destinations" for a long time. It's an Indonesian version of the Amish people given the similarity of their concept of living: community based living, no modern technology and being self reliant. Located 120 km from Jakarta, there are a few Baduy villages in the area, consisting of Baduy Dalam (Inner Baduy) and Baduy Luar (outer Baduy). The Baduy Dalam tribes are not allowed to wear footwear and only wear white color clothing, while their kin at Baduy Luar wear black clothing. All clothings were hand sewn. The Baduy Luar people are those who have left Baduy Dalam, and once left, they are not allowed to return. The Baduy Luar have the benefits of using technologies but remained strict in following other traditions. Up to a few years ago, Baduy ... read more
Ciboleger
Cijahe village, Baduy Luar
A house at Baduy Luar

Asia » Indonesia » Java » Surabaya January 8th 2020

Surabaya is the second larger city in Indonesia. The town where I was born and spent a quarter of my life has changed enormously since I was last there. Everything changed so fast that I needed time to adjust. I didn't recognise my home and my neighbourhood. The home I grew up in was in a massive area surrounded by only a few neighbours with loads of greens. Sadly, that turned into a packed neighbourhood where houses are attached (just like houses built in The Netherlands), and tiny alleyways have separated some in between. Dad designed and built our house himself (with the help of a few constructors), which was cool, but it no longer looked the same. Everything had changed. Despite the massive changes in town, I am pleased that Surabaya city has become more ... read more
Home where food ang giggles never run out
Gemalan: traditional Javanese musical
Scooting in the alleys

Asia » Indonesia » Java » Banyuwangi December 27th 2019

So our quick but so worthy stopover in Probolinggo was over and once again we took the train for our ongoing journey. We organized a grab to go the the train station. Have we mentioned in our blogs that travelling in South East Asia is now so easy with grab or gojek? No hassle with annoying taxi drivers, just use the app and have a cheap taxi drive in a decent car - reliable and fair. And what we exerienced, 99% of the drivers are super friendly and informative.Well, it also has its downsides, as the adventures times are a bit over. From Probolinggo it is a wonderful 5 hours train ride through amazing landscapes to Banyuwangi. We took the cheapest class on the train this time, ekonomi. It still is super comfortable. Unfortunately it was ... read more
Lulu and me with the "batik boss" - she was so sweet
us at the Jagir Falls
on the scooter around Banyuwangi

Asia » Indonesia » Java » Bromo Tengger Semeru December 25th 2019

We left Yogyakarta at 9am by train. Getting train tickets in Indonesia is pretty straightforward once you know how the system works. Kereta Api, the indonesia railway, has a website where you can easily book the train you want. However, many international credit cards are not accepted there. So we booked the train tickets easily on traveloka.com. You can chose between ekonomi class (lowest), bisnis class (middle), eksekutif (most expensive one) on normal trains. You pay the ticket by credit card and will be sent a confirmation. With the confirmation, just show up at the train station 1 hour before departure, scan the code on the confirmation at one of the machines and your final ticket will be printed. Easy, quick and really straightforward. We chose bisnis class for our trip from Yogyakarta to Probolinggo. And ... read more
Sea of Sands
the train that brought us from Yogyakarta to Probolinggo
whale sharks!

Asia » Indonesia » Java » Yogyakarta December 23rd 2019

We arrived with Air Asia early evening in Yogyakarta International Airport. Getting the free visa on arrival for 30 days (which can not be extended) was easy. No questions, no comments we did not even have to show our ticket of transport out of the country. We gave the customs our passports, without looking we got the stamps - that was it. It just started to pour down when we wanted to leave the airport. A real tropical thunderstorm. Problem with the storm: no WIFI which meant no grab car for us. But as we did not want to wait in the middle of really annoying taxi drivers we went through it and found a taxi driver with an ok price. Not as cheap as grab but still quite good. So we took the taxi and ... read more
Borobudur beauty
trying to survive the traffic on the scooter in Yogya - and we made it!
stunning Prambanan temple

Asia » Indonesia » Java » Mount Bromo July 3rd 2019

They say train is the way to travel on Java. The 8 hour train journey through Central Java and east to Probolinggo was bliss compared to the buses. It consistently moved, it was comfortable, we had aircon, even the toilet was usable. The best part of the journey though was looking out of the window across rice paddies to smoking volcanoes. Pretty incredible and so typically Indonesia. We were headed to Probolinggo as it’s the staging post for visiting Mount Bromo. One of Indonesia’s top natural attractions it is another iconic Indonesian sight that is often said to be one of the most magnificent landscapes you will ever set eyes on. Mount Bromo is part of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park. With its top blown off, it is more crater than mountain but the smoke ... read more
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Asia » Indonesia » Java » Solo July 2nd 2019

With sleep severely lacking Marie had to have a power nap before she could consider shipping out. Having splashed out on nice accommodation Emma decided to make the most of it and instead have a swim in the pool and gaze over the rice paddies. We’d decided to take the cheaper option of catching the bus back to the city. Our accommodation dropped us off for free at the bus station. It was deserted except for half a dozen people hanging around, however they assured us we were in the right place and a bus would be along in the next half hour. Sure enough it was, and we boarded with a handful of other passengers. After a 2 hour uneventful journey and we were in Yogyakarta (also known as Jogja). It is said that if ... read more
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Asia » Indonesia » Java » Yogyakarta June 30th 2019

Borobudur temple is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it is one of the one of the most important Buddhist sites in the world and one of the finest temples in South East Asia. Together with Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Bagan in Myanmar/Burma Lonely Planet considers it one of the great cultural icons of South East Asia. Borobudur is different from Angkor Wat and Bagan by being a single (huge) temple, whereas they are both temple complexes. Having now experienced all 3 we can say that they are each very different. Not much is known about Borobudur temple’s origins, as there are no records of its construction. But it is widely considered to have been built in the 8th or 9th centuries. Buddhism was growing in Java at this ... read more
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Asia » Indonesia » Java » Yogyakarta June 29th 2019

Indonesia has been on the wish list for literally years. We’d gazed at it wistfully from Timor-Leste in 2012 when islands were so close it felt like we could almost reach out and touch them. But since 2016 it has been high up the wishlist, when through some work focused on Indonesia Marie discovered the existence of Borobudur Temple. Despite it being NZ’s closest Asian neighbour, earlier attempts to get there hadn’t quite worked out. Then an opportunity presented itself in the form of work giving time back to the one who struggles to build up their annual leave balance. This gift needed to be taken timely i.e. quickly. With a bigger trip planned for a little later in the year this would be unplanned expense that we couldn’t really afford. But after having the thought ... read more




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