Java: Smoking volcanos, Buddhist temples and terrifying bus journeys...
December 21st 2006 We arrived in Yogyakarta on a very nice bus from Semarang. For 40,000 rp (under 3 quid) you got air con, reclining seats and a snack box, we were most impressed. We were also impressed by Duta Guesthouse, which had beautiful gardens, a pool and a bathtub (although the water had black bits in it), even an open air garden in the bathroom! On our first full day we visited the Kraton, the old part of
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The Dutch began to colonize Indonesia in the early 17th century; the islands were occupied by Japan from 1942 to 1945. Indonesia declared its independence after Japan's surrender, but it required four years of intermittent negotiations, recurring hos... ... read more 
