Getting high in Dieng

Our first taste of inter-city bus travel in Indonesia was far more enjoyable than expected. Firstly, there is a lovely tradition here of buskers hopping on the bus and playing a few tunes for the passengers. It seems to be a well-appreciated form of entertainment; almost all our fellow passengers (who were all local) gave a few coins to these talented travelling musicians. Secondly, most of the population of central Java seemed intent om helping to ensure that we got to our destination as planned. It was a sign of things to come, as we encountered many smiley, friendly and helpful people during our time in the highlands.

The village of Dieng is perched high up in the misty, green mountains. We had been forewarned about the afternoon rains, which apparently fall almost every day in Dieng's unique climate. We set off early for our first tastes of Indonesia's volcanically created features. First was Telaga Warna, a sulphorous lake coloured turquoise. We then hiked up to the Sikidang crater, an incredible bubbling and steaming volcanic pool.

Exactly on time, the rain started pouring down as we made our way to the nearby temple complex of Candi Arjuna. It was a peaceful spot, deserted apart from a lovely and friendly old man returning from working in the field who chatted away to us in incredibly good English.

After three days up high, it was time to think about Sam's birthday and Alex had promised to take care of the accommodation as we headed east again towards the island of Lombok...

Yogya: Good reasons for 4am wake up calls

We rumbled out of Jakarta, in our 'Executive' seats on the 08.30 express to Yogyakarta. Past the sprawling outskirts of the city and surrounding flatlands, the landscape turned lush and green. The highlands of central Java rose up out of shrouds of mist and the track was fringed with palm trees and banana plants.

 It was certainly an exciting contrast to the high rises of Jakarta. After seven hours which flew by (the incredibly comfortable train was definitely worth the investment), we pulled into the cultural heart of Java, Yogya.

After spending one day exploring the city, our second day started with an early 4am drive to the temple site of Borobodur, making it in time to climb a hill to watch the sunrise over the temple. From afar Borobodur is a magnificent structure of many tiers, the biggest Buddhist temple in the world. When looking closer up the detail of the stone sculptures and the intricate craftsmanship, made it hard to believe it had been created by hand 1200 years ago. In the early morning light it was a very peaceful and spiritual place.

The following day saw us negotiating Yogya's public transport, again to visit a temple but this time from the Hindu faith. The complex of Prambanan is in fact a series of temples, each dedicated to a Hindu God.

As you walk around the temple walls, carvings in the stone depict Hindu scriptures and stories. How well some had lasted over a millennium of erosion, wars and earthquakes was quite incredible.

Following our cultural excursions, we headed for the cooler climes of the Dieng plateau. Coming from 35 degrees and around 80% humidity, we were rather excited about the thought of rain and mist!

Jakarta in the Fast Lane

Jakarta is definitely a city on the move in many senses of the word; from the fast moving four lane highways to the huge five star hotels being built all over town. So much so that there is a sense that the city is struggling to keep up with its own huge ambitions. Rush hour in Jakarta is anything but - no one can rush anywhere! As we discovered during an hour-long rush hour bus ride, there is plenty of waiting, queuing, inching, squeezing, squashing and sweating - but no rushing. All of this, in our case, to cover about three miles.

Our arrival into a new city, and for that matter part of the world, was made that much more enjoyable by staying with our friend Adinda, our old colleague from UNICEF. Adinda made us feel very welcome, showed us around some of her favourite places in the city, and usefully armed us with some good Bahasa phrases.

A particular highlight of our stay in Jakarta was a culinary outing with Adinda and her auntie to some backstreet food stalls; called warung. We were introduced to some delicious dishes that we will be looking out for on the rest of the trip, including tempe in kecap manis (a fried soya bean dish in a sweet soy sauce) and ayum sate (chicken satay - 100 times better than any satay we have ever eaten before). This was all washed down with kelapa kopyor (a deliciously refreshing young coconut juice).

Its been an exciting and fast paced start to the trip. After a seven hour train journey, our next stop will be Yogyakarta, in central Java.

Let's get ready to rhumble

We've packed our bags, said our goodbyes and danced to PJ & Duncan at our leaving party. The agonising decisions over how many t-shirts to take and which shoes to pack have been made (it was a trip too far for Alex's well-loved Birkenstocks). We've got our passports and insurance (not that I'll need it obviously!) I've even had my hair cut.... It's definitely time to start this adventure.

Thanks to everyone for their fare-thee-wells, we've both definitely been bought more leaving drinks than a doctor would recommend. We hope to keep this blog updated now and again with tales of our whereabouts and activities, and we hope you enjoy reading it. Next stop Jakarta.