What started out as entertaining quickly became annoying by
the time the 10th stranger asked us to take pictures. At every major
tourist site and many places in between, Indonesians asked us to pose with
them, for them, or just stealthily taking our pictures without evening asking
at all. It got old quite fast and maintaining a polite demeanor took patience.
We just wanted to go about our normal day. (Is there ever really a normal day in
Asia?)
Highlights of Java included our trip low for accommodation
standards. When the book said “clean” it seemed to be code for “basic,” and
more often than not, “unclean.” Hello little cockroach! We’d come too far to be
overly bothered by this…
A redeye train took us to Yogyakarta to my favorite of all
guesthouses, run by warm Indonesian women serving a mighty fine breakfast on
the patio. That combined with laundry service was another rebirth for us.
Prambanan Hindu temples and Borobudur Buddhist temples filled our days while
good eats occupied our evenings…literally. More often than not our we’d feast
on progressive dinners over the course of several restaurants…more
compatibility points for Robin and Allie.
From there we were off to the eastern laying volcanoes of
Bromo and Ijen. Upon leaving Seoul I anticipated a month of constant heat and humidity.
My little raincoat did not leave me prepared for the near freezing temperatures
of the volcanic highlands. Was this Indonesia, the country that straddles the
equator?? Our daily activities/hikes essentially began in the dead of night (or
rather the beginning of night, as was the case with Ijen.) So I’ll write about
what I think happened on this trip. The
hour made it all too surreal…it was probably all a dream.
Barely awake we embarked on a massive jeep convo and across
the dusty volcanic plain, along with every other traveler in Indonesia. We were
en route to watch the sun rise over Mt. Bromo. Perhaps had we reached the rim
by horseback I would have a cheerier memory, but the volcanic dust storm
blinded and left us looking like coalminers. By breakfast we’d basically finished
the day’s activities. It was onward toward Ijen where I called it a night at
5pm. Literally. Praise the eye mask and melatonin.
Before deeming me insane, there was good reason to wake up
at, wait for it, 12:30am. We had a volcano to ascend and a crater to descend to
witness the sulfuric blue fire before day break. I had never seen nor heard of
anything like it and it only added to the skyrocketing level of surrealism. It ended
up being a highlight of the trip and I feel bad for the suckers who slept in to
hike Ijen by daylight…but by that point they had no idea what they had missed.
One more Javanese sunrise…but we could almost taste Bali!
The Washington Monument of Jakarta...the Obama connection continues...
Breakfast in Yogya.
Missing my deliciously flavored though gritty Indonesian coffee.
Prambanan silhouette
Prambanan Hindu Temple
On top of Borobudur Buddhist Temple
Posing for pictures...this time in front of one of our own cameras.
Caravanning across the volcano
Doesn't appear as if a dust storm was looming...
Not falling into Bromo
Tree blocking the bridge at 1am...Ijen adventure nearly foiled
Ijen crater
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