Monday 16 March 2015

Jogjakarta bird market. Some pets, some food, some fighters. Many other animals too. All seems a bit cruel though sad

Monday 16 March 2015

Scenes from a small market in Jogjakarta. And some that we passed while wondering along in the heat beforehand. Phew!

Monday 16 March 2015

How to secure your becak with a single padlock. Clever stuff.

Monday 16 March 2015

Pratiwi enjoying her street breakfast. As I have said before, looks remarkably similar to lunch or dinner!

Sunday 15 March 2015

Fanatical Manchester United fan spotted in Jogjakarta. Clearly loving riding around on his mobile shrine. Crazy! wink

Sunday 15 March 2015

Local transport in Jogjakarta: the becak. Comes in both motorised & pedal powered forms for locals & tourists alike.

Sunday 15 March 2015

Stepped out for a spot of dinner in Jogjakarta. Pork sate & other goodies on the streets around Malioboro. Yum! tongue

Sunday 15 March 2015

Hmmmm... I'm not sure there is enough ginger in this ginger tea. What do you think? wink

Sunday 15 March 2015

3.5kg of laundry washed & pressed for $2.50 & that was double price because we wanted it express (next day). Bargain!

Saturday 14 March 2015

Pratiwi trying to figure out what's going on with the millions of Rupiah in our group's kitty. Confusing! wink

Saturday 14 March 2015

Dinner at The House of Raminten. Very popular. Large queues. Horse stalls right next to kitchen! Completely crazy!

Saturday 14 March 2015

Sunset at Prambanan. Well... it was close to sunset & post processing got us (almost?) the rest of the way there wink

Saturday 14 March 2015

Sewu temple, right next to Prambanan. Really interesting to wonder ruins that are making a great puzzle for someone!

Saturday 14 March 2015

Prambanan temple. It's Hindu but just as old as Borobudur (where we started the day). I've run out of superlatives.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Lunch at Djun, Jogjakarta. Hot, hot, hot! I've taken to drinking sweet tea to cool down! Very nice for $2.65/person!

Saturday 14 March 2015

All temple'd out! Everyone fell asleep after a very early start. Need to recover for the afternoon's temple tours! wink

Saturday 14 March 2015

Very quick stop by tiny little Pawon Temple. Linked to Borobudur & Mendut one has to look, but really... it's tiny.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Mendut temple looks quite small on the outside. But... go in & look up at that roof! Nice tree in the grounds too.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Last look back through the trees. Amazing to think it's around 1200 years old & was buried for literally centuries!

Saturday 14 March 2015

The lower, square levels here are covered in intricate carvings. Don't skip past them on the way down. Amazing stuff!

Saturday 14 March 2015

Someone told us that if you can touch one of the enclosed Buddhas & make a wish it will be granted. Here's hoping! grin

Saturday 14 March 2015

Photos really can't do Borobudur justice, but one has to try: more shots from between the stupas at the top. Magical!

Saturday 14 March 2015

Putting on a brave face after 2:30am start! Easily worth the sleep deprivation, even if you can't tell from this! wink

Saturday 14 March 2015

Dawn at the world's largest Buddhist temple. What a setting. Even clouds can't spoil this simply stunning experience.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Tried some light painting among the domes but ironically it's this shot of Jo doing the same I found most pleasing.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Stupa silhouettes atop Borobudur before dawn. Not sunlight casting shadows but floodlights just before they turn off.

Saturday 14 March 2015

Tourists climb the stairs on Borobudur temple before dawn. Numbers are limited for sunrise but certainly worth doing!

Friday 13 March 2015

Malioboro St: famous shopping area packed with horse carts & becaks (bike taxis - often with napping drivers).

Friday 13 March 2015

What happens when someone doesn't trim the roots of a potted palm. Notice the one behind has broken it's pot anyway.

Friday 13 March 2015

Lunch at Bu Tini. Not really for the squeamish, but I'm getting used to this kind of thing by now! wink #ChickenBrains

Friday 13 March 2015

Arrived in Jogjakarta. No nonsense approach to leaving the station. Then crammed into a small taxi. Still having fun!

Friday 13 March 2015

On Surabaya to Jogjakarta train. Was going to use time to sort photos but took load more as countryside passed, before falling asleep. Oops!

Friday 13 March 2015

Scenes from a moving train, Surabaya to Yogyakarta. Mostly rural, with a little urban. Love the ever changing view.

Friday 13 March 2015

Decided to take a train from Surabaya to Yogyakarta. Stations either end were surprisingly 'normal'. Here's Surabaya.

Thursday 12 March 2015

Padang food in Surabaya. Yum! This place was pricey but sparkling clean & had the best beef Rendang. Lots o fun smile tongue

Thursday 12 March 2015

Stopped by Singhasari Temple (or is it Singosari?) as we passed. Not in bad shape for something around 700 years old.

Thursday 12 March 2015

Indonesian pavé! Rough as driving up & down. Easy for this guy with a huge bag of something on his scooter though.

Thursday 12 March 2015

They grow a lot of fruit around Malang, so we visited an Orchard. As you do. There were apples here & everything! wink

Thursday 12 March 2015

Priorities in an Indo taxi: Seatbelts? Dashboard? Carpets? Working speedo? Rear door? Or 4500W video karaoke system?

Thursday 12 March 2015

Random flower pictures from the side of the road while we had a little break. Photo ops. everywhere!

Thursday 12 March 2015

Few random hillsides we passed. Amazing how locals get terraces on these. Was same (or even more crazy) around Bromo.

Thursday 12 March 2015

Monkeys at Coban Rondo. Thankfully well behaved. Some tourist spots they will literally take the shirt off your back!

Thursday 12 March 2015

More than just a waterfall - short but nice forest walk to get there. Too short really though, I'd gladly see more.

Thursday 12 March 2015

At Coban Rondo. That spray was refreshing smile

Wednesday 11 March 2015

Bakso dinner, Indonesian take on meat balls. I steered clear of chilli. Wise move as everyone else was ill next day!

Wednesday 11 March 2015

After spending all morning shooting in rain improvised lens drying kit: 1kg of rice & an airtight bag. Seems to work.

Wednesday 11 March 2015

Back at hotel not long after 9am. Could have had a lie in & seen this. Would have missed out on all the fun though grin

Wednesday 11 March 2015

Such a grey day deserves a set of B&W shots. Amazing experience though & easily worth early start & wet conditions.

Wednesday 11 March 2015

Final area of Mt Bromo crater: volcanic sands said to whisper, when they are not soaked! + more FJ40s for their fans.

Wednesday 11 March 2015

6 guests, driver & guide squeezed into an FJ40. Sitting in back an old Landcruiser always feels like an adventure wink