Blogs from Java, Indonesia, Asia - page 9

We bounced off the train at around midday and was met by Andy, Erwin's brother. We jumped in the back seat and the 'Hello Kitty' seat cushions and toys gave away that he had a little 3 year old girl called Nayla. We had some small talk with Andy before arriving at the English Centre where we will be working for the next 2 weeks. We met the main man Erwin who owns the place. He was very friendly, welcoming and bought us both coconut water with brown sugar which went down a treat. As is traditional with all Asian countries it was time for a rest. We headed to Andys gaff and he introduced us to Villa (Andys wife) who was heavily pregnant with twins, Nayla and not forgetting Yulie (the household helper). That night ... read more

Møjn la familia Så går turen endnu engang østpå, helt bestemt øen Java i Indonesien. Indonesien består af mere end 17 000 øer - og hvis man besøger én ø om dagen, vil det tage over 40 år at komme igennem dem alle - der er mange! Java er den mest befolkede ø i Indonesien - og verden - med 140 mio.mennesker og i hovedstaden, Jakarta, bor mere end 30mio inkl opland (ca dobbelt så stor som Bangkok). Det er nogle vilde tal der gør sig gældende. Og hvad tager man sig så til på Java? Java er spækket med aktive vulkaner, gamle buddhistiske templer, flotte strande, omkringliggende øer og masser mærkelig, stærk mad - bliver rart at komme "hjem" igen :) Jeg sender naturligvis lidt billeder og indtryk undervejs som jeg plejer, det er skide ... read more

Having drifted off to such a tranquil soundtrack which made us feel as though we were miles from civilisation, we did not expect to be wrenched from our sleep at 4.30am by the call to prayer echoing from the trees, but rouse us it did, and since we were awake, we were able to appreciate the jungle waking up around us before we enjoyed breakfast with a stunning view. We were taken on a walk around the plantation of the centre itself, a not-for-profit organisation designed to educate both children and adults from Indonesia and elsewhere about the importance of conservation, as well as using all profits to benefit ecological programmes for the local area. It was created entirely from barren woodland in 1990 when all the trees that now surrounded us were planted, and has ... read more

This morning started with another bus transfer to the outskirts of the city, where we would embark on a 20km cycle ride. En route, we stopped off at a tofu producer, where we learned about how it's made. We watched the hot, heavy work of boiling soya beans down, before mushing them and boiling them again and pressing them in. a process not dissimilar to making cheese. Then we were fortunate enough to taste fried tofu straight from the source, which was crispy, light and delicious. Soon, we were at our bikes, helmets on (not the usual cycle helmets of the west, but more like the bucket ones favoured by climbers and cavers! Very attractive, and of course, with absolutely ZERO ventilation!) The temperature was already 31 degrees and we would spend the morning with relatively ... read more

This morning started with an early photography walk along the sea front, watching the fishermen haul in their catch and then a little light retail therapy, buying lightweight clothing from the stalls lining the road. Our minibus packed and ready after breakfast, we headed out of Pangandaran towards the train station where we would board our train bound for Yogyakarta. Our journey took us back some way along the road we had arrived on, and the twists and turns were every bit as brutal as they were on the way in. Fortunately, this journey was to be broken up by a visit to a local brickmaker, who would show us his craft and explain the long process of creating bricks from the natural environment. We got off the bus, alighting by the side of the road ... read more