For only the 2nd time in my life (the other one ending in a fantastic trip to Namibia) I found myself with time and resources for a trip, but I just couldn’t decide where to go.

To be more specific, I’ve always had lists (if you saw my bedroom wall as a small boy, there were lists of things everywhere).

In this case, many of the places on travel lists, were either already booked, in hand for future years or I’d costed them AHP (after house paid for !).

So, I resorted to reading through a brochure. A train trip across Indonesia looked interesting. I’d had no previous plans to visit the place and since I knew so little about it, seemed quite exciting.

The 1500k journey would take us from Jakarta, by train and minibus to Kalilbaru, where a boat would take us on to the Island of Bali.

As usual on tours like this, we arrived a day early. You need to be rested and ready to go, when a trip like this starts, so the obvious options are:

1. Fly business class, and arrive 3 hours before the tour starts
2. Arrive 24 or 48 hours early, to acclimatise and get some rest

1 or 2 extra nights in a budget hotel are far cheaper than business class, so we always pick option 2.

We arrive in Jakarta, get some rest and then visit the National Museum.

It had too many interesting things to show here (ranging from canoes to dinosaur bones).

Three wheelers (or Tuc Tuc’s as they were originally known in Bangkok, and now practically everywhere else) are a cheap and quick way to get around.

The National monument.

A symbol of Indonesian independence from the Dutch.

The park it’s in was enormous.

We wander around the old town.

Our organised tour included formal visits to all these places, so we just used the time to relax and find somewhere nice for coffee (were on an Island called Java after all :).

At 6pm, our tour begins in the hotel reception.

Although I’ve already filled in my insurance and NOK details onto the web portal I end up being handed a form and told to fill them all in again (this happens on every trip).

Although everyone in the group has been told how much the tip kitty is and in what currency, half the people have to go back to their rooms to collet the money etc. (this also happens on every trip).

Enough of my moaning, our guide introduces himself, gives an overview of the trip, and then takes us to a local restaurant to try a local version of Thali (which washed down with cold beer, is quite delicious).

Up early the next morning, and we start our city tour with a trip to the local antique market.

None of the antiques are too my liking, but I find a useful knife sharpener in the hardware stall.

After an uprising against the Dutch by the Chinese, they were moved to an area just outside the city call Glodok.

Here we visited the Dharma Jaya Toase bio temple.

Wandering into Fatahillah Square in old town Batavia.

The Si Jagur is an old Portuguese canon with a sort of rude thumb arrangement at the back.

Across the square, the exclusive Batavia café where we have lunch in Colonial surroundings.

Cafe Batavia had this strange urinal in the gents toilets with a full length mirror.

Sunda Kelapa port.

They only allow smaller ships now, which travel between local Islands.

Standards of health and safety fall a bit short of what we’d expect in the UK, as shown by this “ladder”.

And this unusual way of transferring people from dock to boat !.

One of the most incredible sights I’ve ever seen, the Istiqlal Mosque.

As the largest Mosque in South East Asia its 4 stories has and the size of a football pitch.

And just for religious balance, a picture of the Cathedral Church.

Jakarta was quite a modern city. Although our hotel wasn’t in the centre of town, we managed to find this nice Italian Restaurant with an excellent selection of wine.

The following morning, and it’s time to leave Jakarta.

The train is spotless, the seats comfortable and there’s even a film on the screen for those who don’t have anything to watch on their tablets or phones.

Best thing about it ?. It’s a train, so I can read without getting motion sickness as I would in a car or minibus.

And the view out of the window.

After an easy five and a half hours on the train, the next leg of our journey to Pangandaran is by minibus.

Although air-conditioned it was another three and a half hours and very tiring.

Moral lifted briefly, with this amusing scene of a man on a bicycle, holding onto the back of a lorry and being towed home.

We finally arrive. The peninsula is beautiful, but we’ve arrived late and its about to turn dark.

So we go straight to our first activity a tour of the Penanjung Nature Reserve.

Pangandaran is 80% secondary rain forest and I’m really looking forward to a couple of hours in “proper” nature.

The park was about to close, but they let us in all the same.

Near the entrance, these beautiful friendly animals introduce themselves to Tina.

A bit deeper inside the secondary rainforest, I see the sort of tree’s common to the Daintree rainforest in Australia.

Trekking along through the trails. After hours in a minibus the sense of exploration and adventure was a welcome relief.

We wander into the mouth of a cave, where lots of bats and small creatures live (quite difficult to photograph in the dark unless you work with David Attenborough).

As we continue through the cave, there is an opening at the other end, which leads out onto the beach.

We wander back along the beach to our hotel.

After getting changed and having dinner, Nikki and I wander around the town.

Not much going on unfortunately, but lots of local tourists, were driving around in these pedal cars with music “blasting” from phones.

Surreal.

In the morning before breakfast, we go for a walk along this beautiful beach.

But all around were these Tsunami Signs – our guide said to make sure at any given time, we knew which direction to run to reach high ground.

Didn’t seem particularly dangerous to me, but thousands had died during the Tsunami so it made sense to take it seriously.

A visit to the village to see local culture and commerce.

The vegetable market. I only really like potatoes and I’m frequently criticised for my lack of variety.

A stall holder took his through her entire selection. There were over 30 kinds of vegetable. I’d lost interest after 4, but I kept quiet so others on the trip could immerse themselves in the experience.

In the fish market, they even have Shark.

We wander into the main village.

There’s a special celebration today ! Several young boys are being circumcised.

Were asked if we’d like to join in. Err, no.

Away from the disfigurement, were shown how palm sugar is made and see these rice crackers drying in the sunshine.

Wayan Golek puppetry is very popular in Indonesia.

The puppeteers have to make their own puppets, and this chap gave us a demonstration (he even had 2 apprentices).

He gave a brief demo of a scene from the Ramayana. In a “fight scene” he made a loud clicking sound, did some background music with symbols (while still operating the puppets).

A school in the village where nurses were trained.

The nurses were thrilled to meet visitors, but unfortunately, only females were allowed inside the school.

Also, the nurses weren’t allowed to be photographed, so our womenfolk got this picture with the Director of nursing.

The final excursion of the day, a bot trip up Green Canyon.

As we got further into the canyon it was right out of Dr Livingston.

We finally stopped and people were allowed to disembark the boat and swim the remaining 200 metres up the canyon.

It sounded like a fool’s errand to me, so I relaxed in the boat.

People sometimes see pictures of me relaxing and think I look bored. I’m not, its just when I relax, I relax my face as well.

Meanwhile, the swimmers reached the top of the canyon and took this picture.

Daft buggers.

Leaving Pangandaran, we head to the next destination on our journey across Indonesia.

Yogyakarta is described by Explore.com as the hidden gem of Indonesia, so I’m really looking forward to seeing it.

We get taxis from the train station to our hotel. Quickly checked in and then headed out for some sight seeing.

The opulent Sultans palace.

I really enjoyed it there, there were loads of interesting things to see and the present Sultan still lives there.

Next the Taman Sari bathing complex with loads of areas like this one.

After a couple of hours, we head back to the hotel and get a couple of hours rest (were all exhausted).

Delighted I find a steak house in the town for dinner.

The next day, were off out to see Candi Borobudur, the largest Buddhist structure on earth.

Our local guide follows route of the ancient pilgrims, through the mandala shaped structure from the early realms towards nirvana.

We’re given a chance to relax in a place of enlightenment.

We’d arrived at 7am, so about 10:30am we headed back to the hotel.

Time for a soak in the pool.

Later, we visit the Prambanan temple complex.

The area suffered during the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake. It had caused all kinds of damage, and hundreds of researchers had worked to put many of artefacts back together.

But a lot of work still remained to be done and our guide showed us piles of hundreds of stones that were being catalogued.

Machine learning computers were trying lots of permutations to see how the blocks could fit back together.

Some of the amazing frescos. This one is a scene from the famous Ramayana.

Inside one of the temples, this Ganesh statue.

Wandering around, you can see the size of the site.

That evening, Nikki attended performance of the Ramayana (I’d already seen it, so I went out for a few drinks in Yogyakarta).

After the performance, Nikki was able to take this photo of the sun setting over Prambanan.

But later that afternoon, we pedal out of the city on a 6k bicycle tour visiting local villages.

One of our group didn’t fancy cycling himself, so he had a sit down cyclo and got to see the place at leisure.

A small “factory” where Tofu is made.

A typical paddy field you can see the houses in the background where the people who tend it live.

A break on the trail to enjoy the beautiful countryside.

Bricks made of clay. Placed into moulds then dried in the sun.

Back to our hotel and our final evening in Yogyakarta. Being quite international, we were able to find an Italian Restaurant for dinner that served Moretti beer.

In the morning we’re back on the train.

Leaving the train and travelling by minibus, we see some of the countryside that will make up our next stay.

The Seloliman nature reserve is located on sacred slopes of Penanggungan volcano.

It is run by the Seloliman Environmental education centre and it’s volunteers.

We’re shown to our chalets and our bathroom although private, is actually outdoors !.

One of the centre volunteers shows us around the garden.

All the food consumed at the centre is grown here along with various herbs and local medicine.

Income is generated for the reserve by tourists (like me) staying in nice accommodation and eating and drinking at their restaurant.

For the volunteers, its simple dormitory accommodation and were shown around one.

I thought these stairs (in a house built by volunteers) were particularly clever in their design.

Wandering out of the camp, we go into the village to find out about local life.

Tours of the village are done each day from the Nature Research at 9:30am.

… And the local Ice cream “van” isn’t daft. He knows the route so is able to tout for business (and seemed to do quite well out of it).

A woman in the local village makes her own coffee.

She runs a small business with her daughter (who is 70, she is 90 and still going strong).

Were offered a cup. It tastes like mud.

But she’s a simple woman, and very kind, so purely to reward her enterprise, I buy some coffee to take away (and give to someone I don’t like).

The main trade in the area is rice production, so we begin wandering through the rice terrace’s.

Local people are working hard to harvest the rice. We don’t want to interrupt them, so were on our way.

 All the electricity in the area is provided by this Mini hydroelectricity plant.

The rice terraces are that rare thing, completely practical and beautiful at the same time.

We head back to the Nature reserve and this picture is my lasting memory of that place, which I’ll never forget.

We have lunch and then a short lesson on Javanese herbal medicine.

Were shown how the herbs are crushed and prepared. At the end, this concoction will help with cold and flu symptoms.

I’ve no idea if it works, but when I took a sip of it, it certainly tasted like medicine!”.

Getting towards the end of our trip to Indonesia, but with some of the most exciting things still left to see.

Up at 3am, we climb into trucks and head for the viewing point of Mount Bromo.

It’s still dark when we get there and the sun is just starting to be visible (as well as the screens of several camera’s and mobile phones.

The view of mount Bromo and surrounding vista from Mount Penanjakan.

Thinking that the fun is over, I climb back into the truck expecting to head back to the hotel for breakfast.

But no, we head out into the desert.

Mount Bromo. At 2329m, its the most well known location in the Tengger valley. Now in the valley we get a chance to walk up it and look inside.

Someone was even renting out horses to ride to the volcano (one of the Americans on our trip had worked with horses all her life and briefly considered hiring it, but we were told not to as there were “well-being” issues with the animals there).

There was no way I could make it there and back in 45 mins, so I bought some coffee off the local traders and a Gollock jungle knife which I’d use later in the trip.

Nikki however did manage to get to the top, and took this excellent picture.

Finally, back to the hotel for breakfast, a dip in the pool and then off to the train station.

This time were headed for Kalibaru.

Our guide always got us to the locations in plenty of time, so there was time to get out my kindle and catch up on some reading.

Our hotel in Kalibaru was so close to the station that we were able to walk.

I have to say, the hotel was excellent, but the town of Kalibaru itself, didn’t have much going on.

In the hotel grounds, when I went for breakfast, this bat was hanging from a tree near our room. Honestly, it must have been 3 feet long (but perfectly harmless).

We visited a plantation to see how the locals make Coffee, cocoa and rubber.

This picture shows the rubber being harvested from the tree.

And this one the finished rubber after processing.

Afterwards, we had to chance to try Kopi Luwak coffee with fried bananas.

Said to be the best coffee in the world and nicknamed Civetcat Cofffee (as it is digested my a Civetcat and the “output” is processed into coffee).

Its also the most expensive with a Kilo costing upto $700. We got a cheaper version to take home. I have to say the coffee was very nice.

A minibus to Gilimanuk, we wait for the ferry across the Java Strait.

We’ve now left Java and are on the Island of Bali.

Staying in a place called Pemuteran, the best hotel of the trip, with another outdoor bathroom.

There were various options for activity’s for the day like Yoga and Snorkelling.

We decided to go on a jungle trek. It was organised by the hotel and the trek was lead by a local park ranger.

The route we’d be taking would be from Tegal Bunder, visiting Prapat Agung and circling clockwise around the coast of the West Bali national park.

The intention was to stop at Waka Shorea at an isolated hotel reached by boat for refreshments then follow the trail around Tluk Terima to finish at Labuan Lalan.

8 miles. It seemed an awful long way to me in baking heat.

We arrived at the start of our walk and were introduced to our guide. We’d brought plenty of water but were given 2 extra bottles each by the guide.

We’d been told to bring packed lunch. The night before we went out shopping for supplies. We had mostly fruit and biscuits, as you can’t buy M&S sandwiches in a place like that.

We needn’t have bothered, when we arrived, they gave is these really nice chicken salad things, wrapped in leaves.

This is mine, opened out later for lunch, with the Gollock I used to chop through the jungle.

In some places, the jungle was quite dense…

… and in others, just brush-land.

After several hours of trekking, I’ve had an amazing time, but I’m exhausted (my companions are raring to go).

Nusa Bay is normally only reached by boat and is an exclusive resort. I have to say we didn’t really look like the G&T crowd when we arrived, but we had a coke and a well earned chance to relax.

At this point, I realise I’m really struggling and regretfully, I consider getting a taxi back the 2 miles to Labuan Lalang. But wait! what taxi?. There isn’t a road, it’s meant to be a secret hideaway.

Our guide is able to help. The staff boat, taking people home who have finished their shift has just left, so they are radioed and come back for me.

Some of the staff seemed quite interested to hear where I’ve been.

Others just looked tired after a day at work and annoyed I’d delayed their journey home.

My companions and guide, continued the last 2 miles on foot, while I hung around for about 90 minutes relaxing.

Finally, were all reunited and and treat ourselves to coconut milk.

A really memorable day. Exactly why I love adventure travel.

In the evening we have dinner at the hotel and the staff entertain us with music and traditional dancing.

The hotel was quite stylish with a really elaborate breakfast on offer.

They wrote our names on the plates, but unfortunately, got Nikki’s name wrong.

Just after breakfast and were back in a minibus heading for Ubud (sadly, the last destination on our trip, before home).

Driving along we get to see views like this.

After stopping for lunch, we visit Taman Ayun temple.

It had loads of open spaces and tree’s and stuff like that. The spirituality of it was perhaps lost on me, but the connection with nature wasn’t.

Unfortunately, there’s very little time available to spend in Ubud.

We quickly put our stuff in our room, then head to town.

A few coffee’s and a walk around the shops.

Before you know it, its dark and we have a wander around a few bars.

It’s the last night of our tour, which officially finish the following day after breakfast.

I’ve met some pretty cool and interesting people on this trip (a German psychiatrist, An American woman who worked for 20 years in a prison and in her youth did Rodeo, a New York city guy who wanted to try something different).

Also, our guide Abe (pronounced Abi). A modern young processional who’s still in touch with his countries culture and history.

Excellent food, excellent wine and excellent company (but sad all the same, I’ve really enjoyed this fantastic trip).

The next morning, we get packed and ready for home.

Our flight is leaving about 2pm, a friend from the trip has booked a local guide to drive him around some interesting places and invites us along.

So, the adventure is back on.

We spend an hour visiting the Tegalalang Rice Terraces. Like the shires from Lord of the Rings.

The Turtle temple (which looked like a sort of cartoon turtle to me).

We wander down the many levels of the Elephant cave temple of Goa Gaja.

There’s even a nice cafe, and some traditional Indonesian coffee.

Our bags are in the guides car, so he drives us straight to the airport. The morning turned out ok after all.

And to top it all, the flight is overbooked, so were upgraded to business class.

The chap serving us wine, is delighted to speak to Nikki, as he finds someone who appreciates just how knowledgable he is.

Indonesia, somewhere I’d never thought of going, but what an amazing trip.