My, But Where Did All This Rain Come From Borobudur??

After the beautiful Mount Bromo I was packed straight on a bus to Yogyakarta, or Jogja as the locals call it. It was actually a lovely bus (for most of us, my mate Marie had a seat right at the front with almost zero legroom and was half sat on the gear shift), the only problem being that my arse has taken to complaining at even the shortest sit-down journies. I think that last epic trip did me in. All was good, we were on our way to Jogja, a cultural epicentre of Java.

Once we arrived we checked in at one of the only places with any room left, a tiny place called Losmen Anda. I initially balked at the room, it looked filthy, but upon further inspection, the sheets and mattresses were clean, the bathroom was clean, it could just have done with a bit of a spruce up really. The staff didn't speak much english, but were really lovely and helpful, plus it was down a little alleyway and quite enclosed, so you felt very safe at night.

Jogja is where most people come to to visit Borobudur. The standard set up is that people go for either a sunrise or sunset trip, a few hours in total as Borobudur is only an hour from Jogja. Marie and I decided we'd quite like to stay overnight and explore the town a little bit. We managed to nab our own private minibus for less than a fiver each by wandering around the small tourist offices until one guy just offered to take us in his little van. WIN!

We stayed in a really cute and quiet place right opposite Candi Borobudur. It's a buddhist temple built during the 9th century, but it's use declined as Islam took over throughout the 14th century. It was only really rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Stamford Raffles (London Zoo anyone??), who then brought it to the attention of the world. A huge restoration project was undertaken in 1975, finishing in 1983, and Borobudur is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Quite deservedly, though I'm glad I didn't go for either of the sunrise or sunset tours...I was there for both and the weather prevented any decent shots. Indeed, sunset was a complete loss with an epic storm starting about half an hour beforehand. RUN!!!
Still, Candi Borobudur is an amazing temple, rivalling Angkor Wat as a major temple attraction in SE Asia. I'd apologise for the mistiness of the pictures but IT'S NOT MAH FAULT!! So there :o)

Gorgeous carvings on the galleries of the temple

These bells along the top of the temple each contain a buddha image

See! You have to reach in and touch his toes or hands for good luck

The only thing that slightly interfered with the experience was the hundreds of photographs I was asked to pose for. I'm not entirely sure how many schoolgroups were there, but it seemed like thousands to me, after I'd been asked to pose for photos with at least half of them. At one point I was sat down with a videocamera stuck in my face and 30 screaming children jumping around me. I couldn't help but laugh when I was stopped by a group of 2o kids who had a group photo taken with me, and then passed their mobiles to their mates to get a pic by themselves....THEN took their mobiles back and took a pic of me by myself. I felt like a zoo exhibit. Those guys at the end of the video above were the first to ask me for a picture.

As if the temple itself wasn't enough, we went for a wee wander in the afternoon whilst waiting for 'sunset'. At one point we stood around wondering if there was anything else to see, we spotted a building over to the left and I thought I could see some people inside. Marie thought it was an animal. We got a bit closer and we realised that it was an elephant. An Olifant!

Of course we crept closer, not seeing anyone nearby, and stood posing for pics in front of the gated complex with the elephants in the background. Then we heard a voice calling hello, and a guy appeared from around the corner. Far from being in trouble, he actually invited us in to feed the elephants bananas, whoop! Believe it or not, in the 3 months I've been travelling around Asia, this is the closest I've gotten to an elephant. *How much will THIS cost us?* I thought. But afterwards, as we chatted, said thank you and goodbye, they didn't ask for a thing.

Genuine human kindness does exist :D

Indonesian Bus Journies....to Wonderful Wonders

I went on an epic journey yesterday, instead of using my return ticket to Padangbai in Bali, I bought a ticket on an AC bus through Mul's brother going to Probolinggo in Java. Probolinggo is the platform for forays to Mount Bromo (by 4x4 I hasten to add!!).

The bus was lovely and big and AC, it's still a local service though, so I was the only Westerner on board. I was slightly concerned when I read 'Primitive Service' emblazoned across the side of the bus.....and even more concerned at the huge crack that spider-webbed across the entire right side of the windscreen....right in front of the driver. Noone else seemed concerned though, so I settled down and we set off.

It was a bus-ferry-bus-ferry-bus journey encompassing Lombok, the whole of Bali, and part of East Java. The first ferry was fun, we arrived at the port and were told that we couldn't get on a ferry until after 10pm, it was only 8pm. The bus turned the AC off and it was so hot that most people chose to mill around outside rather than stay on it....there wasn't much to do in the dark and so I mostly stayed on the bus and sweated it out.

At about 11pm we finally boarded the ferry. I had to take my big bag and so when I walked on looking hot and bothered....and conspicuously white....I was offered a cabin. Huzzah! It wasn't much, but it was private and had a bunkbed...I could have a nap. So I settled in and down for a few winks. I heard some strange noises whilst half asleep, but didn't think much of it, the whole ferry was groaning around me.

3 hours later my alarm went off and I groggily climbed down from the top bunk and turned on the light.....only to see a rather large furry body and pink tail disappearing under the bed.OMG!!! I tiptoed to my bag and found that the little bastard had been into my bag and nibbled through the little sealed watercup that I'd been given earlier with my lunch...all into my bag.....joyous.

There were also a couple of rather large cockroaches on the wall near where my head had been.

Iz niiice.

I still stuck around in the room....it was actually preferable to being outside and hanging around with nowhere to sit. I installed myself on the top bunk, keeping one eye on Colin and his mate, and watched the ferry approach the harbour....whilst thinkinng of all the rat-bourne diseases I could look forward to. I kept hearing squeaking, it may have been from the ferry, but I imagined a nest of hungry rat-babies under the bed. Cute.....not so much.

So, back on the bus for the journey through Bali. It wasn't long before we hit Ubung station in Denpasar, and there we stayed....for 2 hours. Apparently there was something wrong with the engine. I was getting some amused looks, being sat outside the bus amongst a bunch of Indonesian guys, all of us looking folornly at the 3 men trying to fix it.

It was at this point I realised what a novelty I was. Sure, all the kids had been running down to the front of the bus to stare at me.....repeatedly, but apparently westerners NEVER use this service. Various passengers came up to me to chat, always the same questions:

Where are you from?

How long have you been in Indonesia?

Where have you been in Indonesia?

What do you think of it?

At this point the language barrier usually takes its toll. One guy came and shared his sweets with me, which was nice! Eventually we were back on the bus and driving through some of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen. I need to take time to come back and see Bali properly. I was dreadig the next ferry crossing from Bali to Java, but to my surprise the coach drove straight on and the ferry was lovely. The drive to Probolinggo from there was also relatively uneventful, and punctuated by a lovely Balinese guy who came up to me whilst we were at a rest stop and gave me great kudos and respect for travelling 'like the locals do'. This guy had been drinking rum from about 2pm until late the day before, and had managed to miss his flight to Sulawesi, so he was bussing and boating the whole way....nutter.

Finally I was dropped in Probolinggo and booked my trip to Bromo which was stunning.....except for the fact that I was being picked up at 2:30am.....and my alarm didn't go off. So I was rudely awoken by banging on my door at 2:22am. Joyous. Was it worth it for this though?

Yes it was :o)