angusmccoll

Ubud (Friday 15 July)

It’s raining in Ubud. I head off on foot for a look around but my new-found love of the clove impregnated Indonesian cigarette is taking its toll on my hill walking abilities! I will have to get that sorted before the American/Europe trip! The constant battle with the language difference and difficulty in getting aroundContinue reading “Ubud (Friday 15 July)”

To Bali (Thursday 14 July)

A quick dash back to the flash shopping centre to place photos onto the blog. Surabaya as previously explained is a busy industrial city of 2.6 million people. The shopping here ranges from very modern huge shopping centers to the busiest of street markets. All levels of income are accommodated here. An interesting statistic IContinue reading “To Bali (Thursday 14 July)”

Back to Surabaya (Wednesday 13 July)

Today was an easy day after a very full yesterday. The highlight was visiting some genuine Surabayian markets and sampling some genuine Surabayian food. It was obvious from the stares coming my way that tourists don’t often come to these parts! Finally got the photos backed up on to a memory stick and I willContinue reading “Back to Surabaya (Wednesday 13 July)”

Ijen, Java (Tuesday 12 July)

Another early start, 4.30 for breakfast and on our way at 5am. Nick is very I’ll, vomiting all through the night. Nick and Annette did a guided jungle walk a week ago near Jakarta. Food they ate on the walk made them both very ill and requiring hospital treatment. By the time I met themContinue reading “Ijen, Java (Tuesday 12 July)”

Bromo (Monday 11 July)

It’s a 4.00 am start! We head up to Bromo in jeeps (short wheel-based Toyota landcruisers). We climb as far as we can go and then start walking – in pitch darkness. The aim is to get a view of Bromo under the half-light of a sunrise. There are many other tourists here doing theContinue reading “Bromo (Monday 11 July)”

Jogya to Bromo (Sunday 10 July)

The bus to mount Bromo is a van and I’m the last pickup. It’s a squeeze and I end up in the back next to a Nick and Annette, brother and sister from Holland. Interestingly a lot of Dutch travell here in Indonesia, connected somehow from the colonial past. Annette is a medical student andContinue reading “Jogya to Bromo (Sunday 10 July)”

Jogya day 2 (Saturday 9 July)

I wake up feeling a bit fluey so ditch plans for visiting the palace and sleep in. Central Java is ruled by a Govenor who comes with the title King. Jogyakarta is the capital of central java. Apparently central government in Jakarta is trying to replace him with one of their own and the localsContinue reading “Jogya day 2 (Saturday 9 July)”

Around Jogyakarta

The day starts at 8.30 with a taxi ride to Borobudur. Borobudur is a huge Buddhist temple about an hours drive from Jogya. Built between AD750 and AD850 and is now one of South-east asia’s spectacular sites. Though surviving intact despite all of the surrounding volcanic activity, the temple was completely buried by volcanic ashContinue reading “Around Jogyakarta”

The traffic

I must tell you about the traffic here. As in Surabaya, and I suspect in the rest of Indonesia, the traffic has real character! What the hell does that mean? I will try to explain. The roads are shared by horse-drawn carts (5%), push bikes (8%), pedicabs (15%), motor cycles and scooters (800%), cars (20%),Continue reading “The traffic”

Surabaya to Jogyakarta

It’s a 5am start to catch the train at 7am to Jogjakarta (Jogya to the locals). Entering the train station we’re greeted by a live band doing covers of well know 60’s music but in Indonesian. We manage to get upgraded to ‘flash’ class, which means seat allocation and air-conditioning. The train takes us outContinue reading “Surabaya to Jogyakarta”