Pura Jenggala Hotel Yogyakarta

... a new person came along it cracked me up and I jumped into the photo with gusto (ludicrous word), as well as making sure they took a photo with my camera. As a result I have a whole selection of photos with these random people!

Once we left Borododur we headed for Mount Merapi, an active volcano which erupted as recently as three years ago. This drive took about an hour, during which time I began to feel like death. My head hurt, I felt exhausted and I ...

... went to the toilet he said I was meeting my 2 thai girls, which ****** them off and he wound them up some more and they left, once he told me I was very amused!! We said our fond farewells as they were heading to Jakarta in the morning to Rollys house and then fly to Oz for a week a couple of days later. I am glad I was with them as it made it much easier to get to Borobudur and share the experience with, they were a couple of top notch guys!!! A fine day.

... hot springs and mud baths and all things “healthful.”

WHITENING PRODUCTS:

In the US and most other western countries, a golden tan complexion is the height of beauty and attractiveness. The shelves at our local CVS in Marina del Rey were always well-stocked with the latest and greatest in bronzers, self-tanners and gradual-tanning lotions, not to mention the proliferation of tanning salons all across the country. A good tan is the mark of a great vacation spent ...

... a modest 12,000 Rupiah, Westerners are taken to the 'International /VIP' entrance and charged 120,000 Rupiah, which is around $12US; yes, that's right, we have to pay 10x the amount! This struck a nerve, and we decided to kick up a bit of a fuss. Nothing came of it, even though they genuinely seemed quite understanding, but at least the 'VIP' tickets come with a free cup of coffee/tea and a free 'train' ride; one of those 'trains' which aren't actually trains, but a car ...

... oil and flowers. After relaxing in this bath for about 15 mins, you dry off and were given some interesting tasting tea, im sure it is good for you but man the taste left something to be desired. We headed back to the room to take a name and rest up for the Ramayana Ballet later that evening. The ballet was a love story and they gave you a sheet with the story on it but there were characters that weren't on the sheet so it was a bit confusing as who was who. Otherwise it ...

... It was called Prambanan. When we got there we once again had to pay $11 to get in when the locals paid about 70p. The temple had been badly damaged in an Earthquake than happened here in 2006, so much of it was structurally unsafe and therefore out of bounds. But we walked around some of it, that looked like a small version of Angkor Wat. We had lunch at the restaurant and admired the deer in the field, who were very timid. The complex was made up of 4 temples ...

... cherishing his brand new vehicle which probably set him back a few cows and his virgin daughter drove at an agonizing 3-5 mph whenever there was a bump in the road and you can just imagine how slow it became when there was no road to speak of. Finally we arrived at the coffee plantation which is right smack in the middle of a huge (145km wide) extinct volcano (do you see a pattern emerging here?). the suv pulled up to the guest house that they had built ...

... the surface water around you, spewing out of holes in the ground, is boiling at your feet. Gases escape from small holes and finally, a big, black oil-like pit of water bubbles away given off fantastic heat. After Dieng we visited the magnificent temple at Borobadur. Again hewn from the local rock, this is a huge, imposing structure built on levels with intricate carvings, Buddha statues and stupors (upturned ice-cream cones hiding meditating Buddhas). The ...

... of a mistake. We quickly found ourselves walking along theYogyakarta equivalent of Crowchild (near Stoney Trail for arguement's sake). Bikes, trucks, cars, were whizzing by us at topnotch speed... no sidewalks!! We turned Kate's map every which way (and walked every which way!) for about an hour at which point we were both mega frustrated. Miraculously we were able to somehow flag down a taxi (pretty much non existant on that motorway!) to take ...

... in the taxi my stomache went haywire and I desperately needed a bathroom. Of course the half-hour cab ride turned into an hour because we were stuck in traffic (all while I'm doubled over in pain in the back seat). I've never been so excited to exit a cab in my life, really.

The Bali adventure is for the next entry, however.

Java was incredible and I wish I had more time to devote to the other islands in Indonesia. I'll definitely have to come back another time.