A destination worth a long journey!

---

It was an early start this morning to catch the train to Pangandaran. Once again, we travelled through the city until we arrived at the train station, a lovely art deco building that would not have looked out of place in any European city, where we checked in efficiently and boarded the train, which left dead on time - something that certainly isn't the norm in the UK. Jakarta really has surpassed all of my expectations and it's a city I would be happy to visit again in the future.

The train journey was wonderful! We had food service to our seats, which reclined and had more legroom than I've had before on an Emirates business class flight! There was air conditioning, a western toilet, in essence it was heaven compared to many of the trains we have experienced on our travels around the world, and certainly top of the pile in SE Asia. So comfortable was the journey, that the five and a half hours passed by in a flash. We sailed past paddy fields, backed by swathes of tropical jungle. Workers, their eyes shaded by the sloping hats typical of the region, gathered the rice and harvested other crops as we watched from the window. Even out in the countryside, a huge variety of buildings were to be found - small ramshackle huts, large, vibrantly coloured stone houses and brightly painted mosques, topped with gold leaf, round which flowed slow moving rivers, while buffalo grazed on the grasses and chickens rushed around pecking what was left.

It wasn't long before we arrived at Pukuwerto City, the midway point on our day's journey. Here, we hopped off the train onto an impeccably clean platform before we boarded our minibus that was to take us the rest of the way to Pangandaran. The journey here was a little less comfortable, as it took us through the twisting roads of the Indonesian countryside. We drove past waterfalls and over rickety bridges, the road turning as often as our stomachs did - everybody was a little green around the gills as we approached the midway point. After a brief rest and re-shuffle of the minibus seating, we continued on our way, passing small villages, bedecked in the bright flags we had seen in Jakarta. Men painted patterns onto the pavements, in readiness for the celebrations. Small plastic bags holding coloured water were strung onto trees, reflecting the sun as they dangled and spun in the breeze. We passed a collapsed bridge, caused by a recent earthquake and were reminded of the vast number of active volcanoes in the region, as well as Indonesia's sad history with seismic disasters.

Eventually, we pulled into Pangandaran, which would be our home for the next two nights. After checking into the hotel, a quaint, family run series of cabins organised around snaking stone paths and palm trees, metres from the beach, we headed out to watch the sunset and enjoy a cold beer or two. I enjoyed a Bintang Radler - beer with built-in cloudy lemonade. And, as the owner brought my bottles over (that's not a typo), I discovered that it was buy one, get one free. Result!

On the beach, boats of every colour were moored up in the sand, fish drying on their prows, while others bobbed in the gentle surf. The sun was just about to sink below the horizon, bathing the whole scene in an orange glow. We soon became aware that we were not the only living things on the beach. 2 deer had wandered onto the sand and were just lying in the setting sun, looking for all the world as though they were just there for a romantic sundown stroll. It was incredibly incongruent, but, in an area where we had already seen so may juxtapositions, this was just one more.

Dinner was a delicious spicy chicken and coconut soup, accompanied by the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, before bed called once again. Time needs to slow down, this trip is rushing by, so much is there to see!

---