Author archive
9 July 2011
Above: Jembatan Merah, or red bridge in Surabaya where there was a fierce battle in the war for independence. How easy would it be to get from Pasuruan to Surabaya? In theory it takes about an hour … not! Pasuruan is big enough to be unmanageable on foot … but small enough not to have […]
8 July 2011
The beautiful crater of Ijen After yesterdays 0020 wakeup, this morning’s alarm for 0330 seemed like luxury. I put on yesterday’s dirty shirt, trousers and ash-laden socks … our guide said we’d be equally dirty today. Soon after 0400 we took a short drive and walked about 90 minutes to the top of Ijen Crater. […]
7 July 2011
Sunrise over the three volcanoes I set the alarm clock for 0020 in time for a 0100 departure from Malang to Mount Bromo. The journey in our white Land Rover to Cemoro Lawang took about 2h30. Once there, we waited in the chilly highland air for a beaten up local Toyota Landcruiser to take us […]
6 July 2011
Above: Malang is famous for meatball soup “Bakso Malang”. We woke up to the poshest street in town, it seemed. It was dark when we arrived last night and when we left the homestay we realised we were surrounded by mansions. The street was also dotted with private security. As it turns out in my […]
5 July 2011
Above: Restaurant serving dog meat in many ways. Long journey to Malang My three Swiss companions from yesterday were headed in the same direction, Malang, as a stopover for getting to Mt Bromo. We had organised to share the same transport from our Solo homestay. But the “travel” (pronounced trrrruffle, a shared longhaul minivan) took […]
4 July 2011
Solo by bicycle I didn’t have much planned and was going to go visit the palaces here in Solo. The sultan here still exists but unlike in Jogja, he is only a figurehead. The guidebooks suggest that the palaces here aren’t as good; one had been rebuilt due to a fire. Over breakfast, I chatted […]
3 July 2011
Wandering minstrels I had my first taste of Javanese intercity travel today. On the bus at the intercity terminal, wandering minstrels came on in turn to entertain passengers. Each had a guitar and was singing (very well I might add) and had an accomplice to collect the proceeds for their busking. I stopped contributing when […]
2 July 2011
I had a day free to do “unplanned” sights today, so I used it to go see Gunung Merapi (2968m, Fire Mountain). It is the most active volcano in Indonesia, erupting regularly since 1548. Merapi has claimed lives recently as recently as 1994 and 2006. The alert was last raised to its highest level only […]
1 July 2011
I woke at 0430 for a 0500 departure to Borobudur in a shared minivan. After an hour, we arrived and the sun had risen for long. I had opted not to do an alternative trip leaving Yogya an hour earlier … which allows you to see the sun rise over Borobudur. Borobudur is an 8th […]
30 June 2011
Temples of Prambanan I spent the morning considering excursions for the coming days, and whether to use public transport or a shared vehicle (organised through an agent). I opted for the latter as it saves time and it isn’t very much money in the scheme of things. I was picked up along with three other […]