java

kenoathtravels.com - java

Just go . . .

When Edna and I went to Java in 2005 we sent 3 emails during our travels to family and friends.
I have combined the 3 emails to create the story below of our adventure.

It's quite amazing how things change . . . since this trip Bali had its second bombing, Air Paradise went broke and shut down, Mount Merapi has and is still erupting and Jogya and central Java was hit by a horrific earthquake.

The story so far . . .

It always amazes me when it comes to taxis, they try to rip you off somewhere along the line.
We were told not to pay any more than $8 for our intended journey but when we arrived at our destination the little bugger tried to charge us $16. You see it was the old 'I forgot to turn on the meter' trick.
I threw him $10 and nearly told him where to stick it.
And this was a taxi in Adelaide to the airport ! ! !
Did the booking in bit and through customs and waited patienty to be boarded onto our flight to Denpasar Bali with Paradise Air.
Very good service and they keep feeding you and plying you with Bintang all the way to our Indonesian destination.
About 4 flights arrived at the same time so the scene was chaotic, but amazingly we got through the Visa/Entry/Customs part quite smoothly.
With luggage, and the boogy board under the arm, we were met by our driver Made (pronounced Marday). I swear every second male in Bali is called Made!
Pretty good hotel with swimming pool right outside our door.
Had a wander around and found the area to be quiet with a lot of boarded up shop fronts.
I think they are still suffering a bit from the bombing.
Not too many Aussies but heaps of Europeans, the Euro is a very good rate up here at the moment, but the Aussie is hovering around 7400-7550 Rp so that's not to shabby.
On the Monday night we had dinner with others from the Bali Forum Online, mainly Aussies but also from NZ, Pommyland and Canada.
Edna had to hang on for dear life as we got a lift back to the hotel in the back of a dune buggy!
The next day we headed to the bus terminal in Denpasar for our trip to Java.
Local bus so we were stacked in like sardines, but what a trip, the driver was practising his training to become a Formula 1 driver, two speeds, flat out and faster than flat out.
Over the ferry to Java and into a Banguwani hotel where we were rocked to sleep that night by an over zealous crowd in the dining hall practising their Karaoke until about 1am.
With bloodshot eyes, and feeling more than a bit tired, we walked the three kilometres (uphill) to Kawah Injen, our first volcano.
Words cannot describe the sight that greeted us when we got to the top.
Spewing sulpher out of a crystal clear turquoise coloured lake, we just stared gobsmacked at the sight.
There are sulphur miners who venture to the bottom and fill cane baskets which are carried on their shoulders.
They then take them to a weighing station half way down and then continue their descent to the bottom only to head back up the top and into the crater again.
Although they get a daily lungful of sulpher fumes each one I passed asked me for a smoke.
I believe their life expectancy is not that great.
Back to Bangu and then we did a deal for a mini bus to Bromo. This driver had a death wish!
I think we got to Bromo 15 minutes before we set off ! ! !
He made the Starship Enterprise look like it was stuck in 2nd gear.
We got to a hotel after dark, booked in, had a feed and wandered around the narrow hilly streets before hitting the hay.
Now, I have seen some pretty good sights in my day, The Great Wall, Ayers Rock, Moonta on a pushbike, but, well this was special.
Just type in Mount Bromo in Google and you will see what I mean.
Edna wanted me to check it out, to get the lay of the land, so that we could do the 4am walk next day to see the sunrise.
Down a shear outer rim, along the valley of sand, past the temple, up 200+ steps and I was on the rim breathing in that distinct smell of sulphur again.
Back to the hotel, 2 hour round trip.
4am next morning we ventured across a misty plain to the volcano.
Went a bit too far to the right but in the early morning light got our bearings again and found the temple then the steps to the top.
After a reasonable looking sunset (I would not class it as spectacular, in fact one guide tells tourists not to expect too much
now, global warming has a lot to answer for) we decided to walk the one hour trek around the rim of the active crater.
Not a hard walk but the last 20 metres is about 20cm wide with a shear crumbling drop of about 400 metres either side, very, very scary indeed.
After changing our undies and heading down the steps again we venture back across the sea of sand and back to the hotel just in time for brekky (10am).
Pretty well relaxed the rest of the day and ate out at some very yummy restaurants.
I am now sitting in an internet cafe in a beautful town in Eastern Java called Malang.
Very picturesque and the people are very friendly.
This is our fourth day here now, we did a tour yesterday of 5 ancient Hindu/Budhist temples dating back to the 8th-13th century.
We even crashed an Indonesian wedding on the way back, took heaps of ophotos (us and them), met all the family and villagers and we gave them a monetary gift as a wedding present (40000 rp, about 2 weeks wages for them!!).
I will now go for a wander to check out the old Arab quarter of the city, many sights to be seen there I believe.
Last night Edna and I ate at a curbside cafe cart, have no idea what we were eating but I enjoyed it, very yummy.
Unfortunately, Edna has the dreaded 'Java Belly', there was Tofu in the dish and she has had a reaction to it, so she will be resting while I just wander around the city, I hear there is a Cinema close to where I am now so may even take in a movie.
Indonesian Independence Day tomorrow (60th), so the place is all decorated in multi colours and the red and white of the Indonesian flag.
May be off to Blitar tomorrow (another temple, biggest in East Java), and then to Jogyakarta and Boroboruda in central Java to see the big one!
Anyhow, hope everyone is well and will keep you up to date on our continuing travels on the 'Edna's Never A Dull Moment Tours'.
With Edna's tummy in reasonably good shape again we ventured west via mini bus to Yogyakarta.
The trip took just over 8 hours but at least the driver wasn't setting out to break any land speed records.
Being Independance Day in Indonesia we came across a festival/parade/street party in just about every town we went through, full of life and colour.
Unfortunately a bus which tried to sandwich a scooter between us and it was in a bit of a hurry and gave us a shock as we ran off the road to avoid becoming a highway statistic.
We finally made it in one piece to Yogya.
When we left Malang our first driver was given the name of the hotel to drop us off . . . we were up to our third driver and the instructions were well and truly lost by now.
So, here we were, standing like two Shags on a rock in the middle of a lane with a driver whose entire grasp of the English language was 'Hello'.
Fortunately we were took pity on by a little bloke who phoned our contact in Malang to find out what the name of the hotel was.
As luck would have it we were in the right street and about 10 feet away from the Bladock Hotel (Bladock in Indonesian means full, as in when you eat too much).
Fortunately the hotel was not bladock and we booked ourselves in.
The on-site pool was a welcomed sight and our room was right next to it, and we were in it in a
flash . . . luxury!
We spent a total of 4 days in Jogya, wonderful city here in the cultural centre of central Java, with lots of shopping to be had.
Saw the Prambanan Ballet under a smoggy full moon, should have brought a pillow with us, had a numb bum about one hour into the show.
Visited silver shops with exquisite jewellery (must hide the gold card from Edna), batik shops and galleries, shadow puppet making shop and visited the Sultans Palace in all its glory.
And of course stocked up on books and DVD's and CD's from off the street and ate at some very yummy restaurants.
And, surprise, surprise, saw a parade on the Saturday afternoon.
The parades over here are so long that people don't just stand still and watch, the parade stops for ages and the people walk along the length of it!
Our main aim of this visit to Java was to see Borabodur, the ancient and largest Buddhist temple in Asia, a truly great man made wonder of the world, so, on Monday we got an afternoon mini-bus to the Manohara, a flash Harry hotel which sits on its grounds.
Awesome is probably the best way to describe the wonder that greeted us as we ascended up the ancient stone staircase, passing the four levels until we reached the top to view the numerous Stuppas which house statues of the Buddha.
Unfortunately at the base you have to fight off the hoards of sellers flogging of T-shirts, books, postcards and all sorts . . . and they do not take NO for an answer!
We spent two nights with a full day to fully explore this wonder and take it all in, and did we what ! ! !
I think we took about 300 photos, I just love digital cameras, and the 20 gig iRiver is filling up nicely thank you very much.
Now, I know there have been travel warnings about travelling in and around Indonesia, but we had a scare around 2pm on the Tuesday as we rested on the second level of this mighty temple.
My heart raced as I looked in horror at Edna.
There were no 'Be Alert, But Not Alarmed' fridge magnets to refer to, no reasuring photo of Steve Lieberman to bring down the blood pressure, no, we were on our own.
They suddenly appeared, and they surrounded us quicker than we could blink . . . yes . . . we were surrounded by . . . by . . . Indonesian School Children ! ! ! ! ! At least 20 of them ! ! ! !
What is your name . . . where do you come from . . . how old are you . . . what is your favourite Indonesian food . . . can I have your autograph.
We were interrogated for about an hour . . . small groups would appear, disappear and then another group would appear again ! ! !
The local school was on an excursion and they had a list of questions to ask foreigners for their English project . . . they were great and we felt like movie stars signing all their little books.
We took photos and gave them our email address so that they could contact us and we can email the photos to them.
We had a ball chatting to them all as they practiced their English on us.
I'll tell you what, Indonesians are the most friendliest people you could come across and all you have to do is give them a great big smile and you get an even bigger smile thrown back at you . . . if you have ever had any concerns about coming over here, fear not, life is too short to be brainwashed by the likes of paranoid little Johnny the Hobbit and Alexander Bummer into thinking that a terrorist lurks behind every tree and rock over here or anywhere in the world for that matter (of course a side trip to Iraq could be a tad risky thanks to George W. Gump!).
It's not the Yellow Peril or Communism anymore, it's now called Terrorism girls and boys . . . same same but different.
Anyhow, enough of that banter, that will be expanded upon in my forthcoming revamped website and book.
Apologies to the people who have been trying to get on my website, the web host has been a shocker and you get heaps of pop-ups and ads, fear not, a new improved web site will be on its way with a new web server, no ads ! ! !
So, we are now back in Jogya, back in the Bladock, Edna is having a bit of a kip, I'm across the road having a Bintang and typing this little dit, I will wake her up and we'll get into a bit of Indonesian tucker for lunch.
We still have lots to do and see, so stay tuned, as we continue 'Edna's Never A Dull Moment Tours'. So, after seeing Borobadur, you would think that we had 'templed' ourselves out?
Wrong . . . there were more to see just outside Yogya . . . Prambanan.
Built in the 8th century, a collection of over 200 ancient Hindu temples didn't stand for long, nearby Mount Merapi decided to erupt and an accompanying earthquake knocked them all flat.
Today 6 large temples and about a dozen little ones have been rebuilt and are standing proudly for all to see but the surrounding area has thousands upon thousands of stones just waiting to be re-assembled, one day.
So, said Edna, let's go and have a squiz . . . we'll take a local bus.
A No. 5 from the city centre to the bus station, then onto the Solo bound bus, easy.
The conductor gave us the nod to get off, so with the bus still travelling at a slow 2-3 kmh we jumped off, literally.
The cheeky bugger let us off about 2 km from the main entrance!
BUT . . . there were plenty of blokes who were willing to give us a ride to the entrance, at a price . . . I think they may have been some rellies of the bus conductor, they did look familiar.
It was a nice morning for a walk, so we entered the grounds and immediately set upon by enthusiastic seller, the usual suspects, books, postcards, things!
Locals pay 7500 rups (A$1) to get in, other, ie tourists, pay US$10!
Told the sellers in the grounds that we could not afford to buy anything, did our dough on the entrance fee.
To think that these huge temples were rebuilt without any plan, just matching up thousands of loose stones, is just mindboggling . . . but they did it and did it well.
The sight of these temples are quite amazing, very different from Borobodur.
Again we were set upon, this time by 'Trainee Guides' who showed us around, and of course practiced their English on us.
After a few hours we found our way to the main road again facing Yogya and we hailed a bus back to the station and then a No. 5 to our hotel.
Travelling by local buse is quite an experience.
When the bus stops for some reason, ie to pick someone up or at a set of lights, or even when the bus just slows down, someone usually jumps aboard, but not necessarily to get to a destination.
One bloke jumped on and sang a song . . . around came the hat for some change . . . another two played the guitar, a little Muslim bloke jumped on and gave us all a prayer (the speed these buses go you need it!) and another just shaked a stick with some old bottle tops nailed to it, bit boring that act, he only got 100 rups for his trouble.
Anyhow, the next day or so we hung around Yoga and generally relaxed and did some shopping.
One night we went to see the shadow puppets.
I saw shadow puppets in Ubud in Bali a couple of years ago and was quite impressed so thought this might be good for a look.
It was based on the 5th chapter of the Ramayama, same as we saw at the ballet the week before.
Well it was all in Indonesian and I think one of the puppets actually moved an arm after 20 minutes . . . and this show was going for 2 hours!
Not much animation going on here so after about an hour we slipped out under the cover of darkness to escape total boredom . . . I believe the 5th chapter was the most boring of the 8!
'Edna's Never A Dull Moment Tours' was nearly complete, just one more place to visit, Dieng Plateau, with its temples, bubbling mud pools and surphur pond.
It took us 4 1/2 hours and 5 buses to get there!
Again we took local buses and we were able to get rid of nearly all our loose change to the throngs of entertainment that followed us all the way.
Dieng is not really set up for tourists, people usually get a mini bus from Yoga, do a couple of hours, then head back to their hotel.
We decided to stay the night.
We booked into a very, very basic hotel, had a feed in the hotel next door to it (about the only place you can get a feed in town) and did the temples and bubbling mud pool, via foot, in the afternoon.
Very impressive temples and the mud crater was just as you would imaging hell to look like.
I thought it would just be a slow bubbling, no, it was just like a kettle boiling, bloody eerie!!
The entire town goes to sleep at about 7pm, which was OK because we had organised a guide to take us up the side of a mountain to see the sunset next morning . . . at 4am.
So an early night was on, but not much sleep here, the bed creaked and moaned as we carefully got onto the 'mattress', visions of large pieces of splintered wood making its way into our backs were being thought by both of us.
It could easily have been a scene out of Vlad The Impaler!
3.30am and the alarm woke us up, splashed the face with icy cold water (and that was the hot water tap) and downstairs to meet the guide.
Now I know we were only paying 25000 rups each for our guide, but I did have visions of jumping into a nice van with the heater humming away and thawing us out.
WRONG . . . our guide arrived wrapped in a blanket . . . we were to walk 10 km to the top of a mountain to see the sunrise ! ! !
Nice morning for a walk as we ventured through still sleeping villages, up hills, down hills, up again, then up the side of a mountain the see the sunrise.
IT WAS WORTH IT . . . in the far distance, just behind a huge volcano next to Mount Merapi, came the sun, it was a clear morning, no mist or pollution.
The view was spectacular . . . 5 volcanoes, 3 still active, sitting high up on a mountain looking down sheer drops to valleys all around us . . . breathtaking.
We stayed up there for ages just taking it all in and taking about 50 photos!
Unfortunately no helicopter arrived to pick us up from our vantage point, so we headed back on foot to Dieng via the sulphur lake which was a sight to behold, it changes colour all day, from light green, dark to blue/yellow, and with that distinct smell I remembered all the way back to Bromo.
On the way back we took short cuts through the terraced fields which made the trip back most enjoyable, saying good morning about 1000 times to locals as we passed them by.
We got a tourist bus back to Yogya, 1 bus, dropped back straight to our hotel, slept most of the way, knackered would have been an understatement!
Back to Bladok Hotel and into the pool to sooth the aching bod.
Last couple of days in Yogya, finished the shopping and Edna purchased quite a large painted stone fish head (I kid you not) which just fitted into my day pack and weighing about half a ton!!!
This is going to be the centrepiece for a water feature which is to be constructed out the back yard at home in the Alice . . . all the way from Java.
We flew from Yogya to Bali last night, arrived 11pm local time, took only 50 minutes, took 60 minutes by taxi from hotel to the airport in Yogya!
We have arrived a day early in Bali, and as we were booking into your hotel Thurs and Fri night, so sent an email to book for Wed night.
Nothing booked for us but we were give an executive suite for the price of a standard.
Saw the boss this morning and we were to go into the standard room for our 2 paid voucher nights.
Looks like there has been a stuff up . . . they forgot to book us in and the place is full . . . we have been given the executive suite for the rest of our stay, I'm happy, Edna is over the moon, the bed is so comfy, aircond, TV, hot and cold water (hot water works!!) just what we need after our travels over the last 4 weeks.
We will be flying out of Bali 1.30am Sunday morning, arrive Adelaide 6am.
I must confess, I feel like I have been on holidays for 4 months, not 4 weeks . . . unreal time, and Edna seconds that.
Well, that's just about it for our trip over here, we will be relaxing and swimming in the pool and no doubt I will be having a Bintang or two as we wind up our holiday in style!
Those who have asked, I will post photos onto the net, will let everyone know where they are, so be patient, all will be seen and revealed later on, and Edna, who always writes a journal during our travels, has nearly written a small novel . . . so the stories will continue to be posted . . .
And of course the web site will be revamped, and better than ever . . . then again, I do have the fish head project to contend with first . . .