Our tour ended in Ubud and a number of us stayed for a few days afterwards. I've been to Bali a few times in the past, so used these as rest days (aka there were a lot of massages)...and to catch up on exciting things like laundry.... read more

Somewhat random dairy and fruit/rubber farms heading east to catch the ferry from Java to Bali.... read more

There was some really...interesting entertainment on the train ride to Purwokerto - it was a blend of the cheesiest music videos I've ever seen mixed in with "101 things you can do with xyz" instructional guides. The latter featured helpful advice like how you can make a toothbrush holder out of cds. Or a toothbrush holder out of index cards. Or a toothbrush holder out of a plastic bottle. Or a toothbrush holder out of binder clips. The person making the videos had a serious obsession with his hot glue gun and toothbrush holders (also phone holders). On the plus side, we were all laughing loudly the whole trip. The Seloliman Nature Reserve is an NGO, primarily oriented to teaching locals sustainable farming approaches. It was reallllly peaceful, and we got to spend a lot of ... read more

We spent the morning at Borobudur, the world's largest standalone Buddhist temple - originally built in the 8th-9th century although restored due to earthquakes/volcanic eruptions and some other security incidents. It was too hazy to come out in pictures, but the Merapi volcano was smoking in the background while we were there. It was amazing, I would have loved to explore for a lot longer. It's huge, and covered with artwork depicting Buddhist stories, apparently with the world's largest intact collection of Buddhist reliefs/stories. Adding a bit of chaos, it's the largest tourist destination in Indonesia and was a school holiday of some sort the day we were there - it was overflowing with students, and it seemed like all of them wanted pictures with us and/or to interview us in English for school (this involved ... read more

Starting off 6 weeks in Indonesia in Jakarta - I'm not sure if it was just me, but aside from the traffic, it seemed pretty mellow. Interesting combo of new skyscrapers and ongoing life in the alleys... This is also where we first discovered two odd and unexplainable music trends that would continue across Java - 1) A love of Miley Cyrus (first proclaimed by our tour guide in Jakarta, who declared her a sweet and wholesome girl) and 2) A love of Bryan Adams, who's songs our hotel played exclusively in the lobby. For many many hours.... read more