The Most Populous Island in the World

On an island the same size of Greece or New York state lives almost half of the Indonesian population, namely 114 million people, and still growing. Small wonder that Java is the most populous island of Indonesia and of the world. Population density is an amazing 860 persons per km² (2250 per mile²). It contains some of the biggest cities of the country, like Jakarta (8.5 million), Surabaya (2.7 million), and Bandung (2.2 million). Due to its population size, many less populated areas are cultivated for rice, tea and other crops, sometimes leading to beautiful scenery like the tea plantations near Bogor.

Despite the huge population, there are still beautiful natural sights, most notably the Green Canyon area near the coastal town of Pangandaran or the magnificent volcano landscape in the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park in the far east of the island. In a few cities you can see some nice parks and gardens, like in the country capital Jakarta, but especially in nearby Bogor with the beautiful botanical garden and the adjacent garden of the presidential palace.

The most important historical sights are all clustered around the so-called culture capital of Java, Yogyakarta. In the city itself are the old Dutch fort and other Dutch colonial buildings, an old mosque and the Kraton, an old Javanese palace complex. In the neighbourhood you can find the famous Borobudur temple and the less famous but at least equally beautiful temple complex of Prambanan. The town is also famous for its arts and culture, e.g. for the shadow puppetry play Wayang Kulit, batik, a special technique used to paint cloth or the gamelan, a traditional Indonesian music form.

Other historical sights are mainly situated around Jakarta, the cosmopolitan capital of Java and of Indonesia. The centre is modern, with large squares and broad avenues. Here you can find the huge white National Mosque and the ugly megalythical structure of the National Monument. The historical sights in the town are mainly around Kota district, place of the old Dutch West-Indies capital of Batavia. An other interesting town near Jakarta is the relaxed garden city Bogor (see above).

Quick Tips:

The vast majority of the population on Java is Muslim, most of them not very strict. Unfortunately, a small minority is willing to use terrorism, allegedly in support of their religion, which lead to the bomb blasts of former years.

On the other hand, most people are very friendly as long as you show respect, e.g. don't consume alcohol in places frequented by Muslim locals (although a few of them might drink it occasionally, but always in private), or don't wear bathing costumes away from the beach towns. A good advice is to always stay calm, as is the case throughout Southeast Asia. If you do get bothered by a local, it mostly helps to say 'tidak' (no) a few times. It will definitely not help you to shout to the person, as it might give the opposite result.

Indonesian food is often referred to as Chinese food with a sting. Local favorites include gado-gado (mixed vegetables with peanut sauce), nasi goreng (spicy fried rice) mostly eaten with ayam goreng (spicy fried chicken) or soto ayam (chicken soup). Many dishes, even Western-style, are served with spicy red sambal sauce. Local beers like Bali Hai or Bintang are of the general Pilsner type, quite drinkable and incredibly cheap, around 10,000 Rp for a large bottle (660ml). Heineken is the most wide-spread international beer. The coffee (kopi) is good but sweetened milk is added unless you order "kopi tidak susu" (coffee without milk). Other sweet drinks are the drinks starting with "es" (ice), coconut milk mixed with anything ranging from red beans (es kacang) to sweet jelly (es cendol). It's not as bad as it sounds! Other sweet drinks like Fanta or Coca-Cola are widely available. Be sure to check the date as sometimes they are standing there for years.

Best Way To Get Around:

We arrived on the east of the island on the Gilimanuk ferry coming from Bali, only a short passage. On the island itself there are plenty of transportation possibilities. On the main east-west tourist route (Bali - Yogyakarta - Bandung - Jakarta) many kinds of buses are available, from luxury air-conditioned VIP buses with television and lots of space, only stopping in the major cities, to age-old buses almost falling apart where the fresh air comes only through the windows and stopping a 100 times every kilometer. Depending on the bus type this will cost you a cheap 2000-20000Rp (0.2-2 euro) for 100km if you buy your ticket at the bus station and not through a travel agent, that may ask triple the regular price!

There is a railway connecting Jakarta through Bandung and Yogyakarta to end in Surabaya in the east of the island. Again, three types are available, namely eksekutif, bisnis (business) and ekonomy class, with comparable prices but slightly slower and more comfortable than the buses. For short distances in town and to get to smaller places, a bemo (mininbus) is a useful and cheap alternative to a taxi. They ply set routes, ask around in the bemo stations to see where yours will arrive. Also occasionally check what other passenger pay because some drivers will ask a higher price to tourists. Other transport possibilities includes bicycle or car rental shops or the fun but small Indonesian becak or trishaw, where two persons can take place in the front of a bicycle taxi. Haggle over the price and it may drop to a price up to 10 times lower.

The major international airport on the island is the Soekarno-Hatta airport near Jakarta, which can be reached easily by bus from Bogor and Bandung as well. Other airports can be found near all major cities like Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Bandung.

A nice place to stay in Bogor is Puri Bali, 300m south of the train station and 700m west of the botanical gardens. The guesthouse is located inside a beautiful old Dutch-colonial building. The huge rooms with high ceilings are clean but run down and humid. The bathrooms, built later, are outside and not so clean. A room, including a good breakfast and free water and coffee the whole day, costs 50,000 to 100,000 Rp (€5 to €10) depending on the season. Just next-door in Jalan Paledang 48 is another decent guesthouse, Firman, with the same room rates. A little bit further, in number 54, is yet another guesthouse named Ramayana that offers the same room rates.

To explore the Bromo area a little you would need at least one full day, so it's best to spend two nights in the village of Cemoro Lawang, on the rim of the Tengger caldera. A few cheap basic places are available to sleep (a few dollars a night will do). Most places will offer early morning jeep trips to the Penanjakan viewpoint. This is definitely a must, despite the unholy hour to get up (around 3am). It can be very cold, slightly above freezing temperature, so you will need a sweater or a jacket. The viewpoint is half an hour away, and when you arrive there will probably be some people already, waiting for the sun to rise.

When it gets clearer you will notice the fantastic landscape of the area, with amazing views on Gunung Semeru. Inside the caldera you will notice the perfect cone of Mount Batok, the ever-smoking Mount Bromo and the "sea" of black lava sand. The sunrays will set the area almost like on fire. Semeru will puff a few smokes as almost every day before turning to sleep again.

Most vehicles will leave for the village again and if you are leaving the same day it's better to go. We had the whole day so we decided to walk back to the village along the rim. As time went by Semeru got more and more cloudy and when we arrived in the village at lunch time, the mountain could not be seen anymore.

After lunch, we decided to explore inside the caldera, a steep climb down from the village. You can rent a horse to go down but we decided to walk down and across the black sand to Batok and Bromo. At the foot of Mount Batok you can see a Hindu temple. You can climb Bromo for a view and smell inside its smoking caldera. If you walk beyond Bromo you will notice that the caldera continues beyond another large mountain inside of it. And at this part of the caldera, the black sand has made place for grass and flowers. From here a path continues all the way to Mount Semeru, but be prepared for a long hike (2 to 3 days). We stayed in the caldera and returned the same way to the village when the path started to climb. It was evening when we returned to the village, exhausted but delighted by the wonderful landscape of this area.

This is definitely one of the most beautiful landscapes in the whole world!

The magnificent Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park (or Taman Negara in Indonesian) is a volcanic area with still a few active craters. The world heritage listed N.P. spans more than 50.000 ha and consists of a mountainous highland at least 1000m above sea level, making it cold during the night and chilly during the day, a welcome surprise after Indonesia's tropical climate. Highest mountain of the park and of the island is Gunung Semeru, a still active volcano. Almost every morning the volcano will blow some smokes. You can hike almost to the top of this mighty mountain, but it is supposed to be very difficult and it's far away from any passable road.

Easier to reach is the Tengger caldera on the north side of the park, probably formed after the collapse of an old volcano resembling the mighty Semeru. The caldera forms a depression in the highlands, with a width of almost 20km at places. The rocky rim rises almost 300m above the caldera floor. On the rim is the village of Cemoro Lawang. To reach this tiny village you will have to take a minibus or taxi from Probolinggo, 1.5 hours away at the foot of the mountains, and right on the Surabay to Bali road, at 4 hours from the Gilimanuk ferry to Bali. If you are staying in the north of Bali, the village of Cemoro Lawang can be reached in one day.

Kraton or keraton is simply a Javanese word meaning palace. You can find a few kratons all over the island, most notably in Yogyakarta, Solo (Surakarta) and Cirebon. A palace not on Java or its neighbour Madura, will be called with its Indonesian name, istana.

The Yogyakarta Kraton or the Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat as it is called officially, situated right in the centre of the city, is the residence to the Yogyakarta sultan. The kraton is a 1km2 square area, completely surrounded by whitewashed walls. Main tourist attraction behind the walls is the sultan's residence itself. To enter the residence, you have to pay a small fee (around €2), a guide inclusive. He will show you this 18th-century palace, nicely restored. The rooms are spacious and it is remarkably cool inside. A few times a day a gamelan (Indonesian orchestra) plays, a wayang kulit (shadow puppetry) performance or Indonesian dance show is held here. Your guide knows the times. When you are here for half a day (the palace is opened until 3PM), you should be able to check them all out.

Behind the walls lived the sultan's servants, making it a city within the city, complete with houses, decorated according to the servant's status, an old mosque (Masjid Gede Kauman) just outside the walls and two "sultan grounds", large squares previously used by the army as exercising grounds, one in the north (alun-alun utara) and one in the south (alun-alun seletan) of the Kraton. Inside you can also find the sultan's batik workshop, but the batik is rather pricey here. Another famous building is located in the southwest of the Kraton, namely the partly ruined Taman Sari (also known by its Dutch name waterkasteel or water castle). This used to be the sultan's pleasure garden, part of which used to house his harem.

To get to the Kraton just walk south along Yogyakarta's main tourist avenue, Jalan Malioboro, until you reach the main entrance gate of the Kraton. You can enter the Kraton through the gate for free, but vehicles are not allowed in, not even bicycles. Just beyond the gate is alun-alun utara, with the palace to the south of it. Inside the walls, the only way to get around is by foot.

The best thing to do is pay a visit to the palace during the morning, taking in a few performances inside. For lunch, you can buy snacks on the food stalls set up on the alun-alun utara. In the afternoon walk to the south of the kraton towards the Taman Sari. Normally this will be closed already, because it's open only in the morning as well. You could visit it the next day, but apparently it is not so interesting inside, we gave it a miss. Anyway, the ruined gate is already a nice sight. Walk back to the northern sultan's ground. The buildings around it will be nicely lit during the evening, so be sure to check it out.

The city of Yogyakarta (prononunced and sometimes spelled as Jogjakarta or simply Jogja) is located at the central south of Java, at 20km from the sea. It is the capital of the special region of Yogyakarta, of which the border reaches the ocean. The city itself is relatively small (400,000 inhabitants), but the populated areas stretches far beyond the city and even beyond the special region's borders, making it one of the most populated areas on Java (1,000 inhabitants per km² for the region). The nearby temple complexes Borobudur (800AD) and Prambanan (900AD) show evidence of the long history of the region.

If you look at the map of the city (for an interactive map see this link), you will notice a square siting almost in the centre of town. This is the most important sight, the Kraton or Sultan Palace (see separate review). Another interesting sight is the old Dutch fort "Vredeburg". The parliament building and the Bank Indonesia building are 20th-century neoclassical buildings. South of the Karton are a few nice gardens to relax a little from the hellish traffic in Yogyakarta's bustling streets.

The place to shop in town is Jalan Malioboro, lined with shops and street vendors selling anything from cutlery to copied Swiss army knives and towels to highly elaborated batik. The street lies just north of the Kraton. When we were in town, there was a music festival (called Esoteris) in the street with traditional and rock music together. This is also the place to find accommodation of all ranges. Budget accommodation can be found in Jalan Sosrowijayan, a side road of Marlioboro.

Yogyakarta is deservedly touted as Java's art and culture capital, comparable with Ubud on Bali. After all, many Indonesian art forms originated from this region. Vital still to the regional economy is cloth art called batik. The technique to batik is simple but efficient. A cloth is painted with wax on certain places. After that the wax has dried, the cloth is put in dye. Wherever the wax is applied, the dye cannot reach the fibres of the cloth. The wax is washed away, whereafter a negative image remains on the cloth. On the most elaborate versions this technique is repeated several times with different colours. If you want to buy batik, make sure that the cloth has got the same colour on both sides, otherwise it is a cheap stamped copy.

Another famous art form of the area is the gamelan, a musical ensemble. The instruments are mainly a wooden xylophone, a series of different sized drums, plucked string instruments and sometimes a human voice. To the western ear the sounds are strange at first, but after a while you may appreciate it. Next art form I want to discuss is a shadow puppet play, called wayang. The puppets are elaborately carved and painted.

Indonesia is not gifted with the most pretty capital in the world. It is one of the largest cities in the world with its 8 million inhabitants. Officialy, Jakarta is not a city, but forms a province named Propinsi Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta (or the Province of the Special Capital Region of Jakarta) consisting of 5 cities and 1 regency. It suffers from the problems of many big cities, pollution, dangerous traffic, theft, riots, uncontrolled urban planning, etc making it a difficult town to appreciate, also due to the lack of major attractions.

Nevertheless, people should come here at least one day like we did. We stayed in the much smaller nearby hill town of Bogor, nicer and cooler than the huge city. Locals in Bogor warned us that Jakarta is a very dangerous city, but this is relative. It will probably be the most dangerous city in Indonesia, but compared to any major American or European city, crime in Jakarta is close to non-existing. The only place where we didn't feel completely at ease, was at the American Embassy, looking more like a fortress under siege. Bogor has got plenty of trains going straight to Jakarta's central Gambir station, costing 1500-6000Rp (15-60¢) and taking 20-40min. You should take an "Ekonomi" class train at least one way: there are many strange birds on the train, including people selling anything.

Just a little west of the Gambir train station is one of Jakarta's main attractions, Medan Merdeka or Freedom Square. Right in the centre of this square, almost 1000 square meter, is the Monas or National Monument (Monumen Nasional in Indonesian). This huge 137m high tower, dubbed Sukarno's last erection, is topped with a gilded flame-like structure. There is a lift going up for a good view on the square (5000Rp). Just next to the square is the white Istiqlal Mosque, built in 1984. It is the biggest mosque in South-East Asia. The square lies in the city of Jakarta Pusat (Central Jakarta), the modern centre of the city.

Other major attractions are situated in the city of Jakarta Utara (North Jakarta). Here is Kota, the centre of the old city of Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies. This nice area is still full of old colonial buildings, like the Jakarta History Museum, the former Batavia City Hall. This museum has exhibits on the long history of Jakarta, mainly on its colonial history when the Portuguese, Dutch and English were controlling the city. Kota is located 6km north of Merdeka Square, but the Kota train station is located in the area. You can take a train to Bogor and Bandung, but they are less frequent than in Gambir station. 1km to the north of old Batavia lies the old Jakarta port of Sunda Kelapa, still in use today. Many vessels are nicely painted Makassar schooners, large wooden sailing boats, bringing in wood from other Indonesian islands. You can take a water taxi for a closer look at the ships.

Bandung is the third largest city on the island and in the whole of Indonesia, with its population of around 2.2 million. It is the capital of the West Java (Jawa Barat) province, located on a highland plateau, making it less hot than Jakarta and a popular weekend retreat for the locals. Bandung was once dubbed the "Paris of Java" by the Dutch, due to its parks, gardens, and broad avenues lined with colonial buildings. You can still see today that it must have been a nice city a century ago, but many buildings and garden went into decay due to neglect. They are still a fine sight, but they could use a renovation. Bandung is especially famous for its Art Deco buildings of the 1920s, mostly around Jalan Asia Afrika (south of the railway station), like Merdeka Building or the old Savoy Hotel. A little more north lies the restored City Hall next to a large pleasant square. Two km northeast from here lies the city's most famous building in a beautiful but derelict garden, namely the Regional Government, widely known under its nickname Sate Gedung (Sate Building) because the roof apparently resembles a sate stick (although it's hard to see).

Clothing lovers should head to the so-called "Jeans Street" district around Jalan Juanda, north of the city centre. There are many local and international clothing companies with a factory in or around Bandung. The streets here are full of factory outlets and shopping malls, selling garments that come directly from the factories at low prices.

There is a small airport to the south of the city with flights to other Indonesian cities, but most people arrive here by bus or train. The bus station is just next to the train station, right in the city centre near Jalan Asia Afrika. There are a few guesthouses (losmen) and hotels in this part of town, where you will probably find some place to stay. Jakarta is only 130km away and will cost you 15,000-50,000Rp (€1 to €3; local bus to eksekutif train). It takes 2 or 3 hours to get there. Bogor is on the same road, only 100km away, and will cost you a little less. If you are travelling east, Yogyakarta is 350km away and it will take you the whole day for 40,000 to 150,000Rp.

Bogor is a pleasant garden city on the main road from Jakarta to Bandung, 60km south of the country capital. It is located around 300m above sea level, making it remarkably cooler than Jakarta and a popular tourist destination for locals and foreigners. On the downside, the city is dubbed "city of rain," because it is the town with the heaviest precipitation on Java. This means that if you are here a few days, even during the dry season, you are guaranteed to have a few heavy showers. There are 800,000 inhabitants in the city proper, but 3 million if you include the outskirts. It functioned briefly as the country capital when the island was occupied by the British during the occupation of Holland by Napoleon. Under Dutch rule it was used as the summer capital when Jakarta (or Batavia at that time) was too hot.

Main attraction here is the Istana Bogor or Presidential Palace, a nice colonial building functioning as the residence of the Governor-General to the Netherlands East Indies (currently Indonesia). Currently it is used as a summer retreat of the Indonesian president, making it quite hard to arrange a visit. Applications for a guided palace tour should be made at least 5 days in advance to the Bogor Tourist Office, but even then your application might be rejected on unclear grounds. When we were there, this was the case, probably due to anti-government protests in Jakarta that day. Within the palace grounds, and visible through the entrance gates, is a herd of deer.

The other attraction in town is closely linked to the palace, as the Bogor Botanical Gardens used to be part of the palace gardens. The Kebun Raya, or the "Big Garden" as the botanical gardens are known in Indonesian, are now mainly used for scientific research. The gardens cover an area of 87ha, and are located just next to the palace, right in the centre of the city. It is accessibly through the main gate in the south or a smaller side gate in the west. Entrance to the gardens cost only 3000Rp (30¢). The gardens are very nice with many Indonesian and world-wide plants and trees. There are ponds and an artificial river next to a huge well maintained lawn. In the east of the park is the orchid house, a greenhouse for orchid enthusiasts. You can get a walking map of the gardens at the main entrance.

Bogor is easy to reach because it is on the main road from Jakarta to Bandung. Jakarta is 60km away and reachable by bus or train (1500-10000Rp). To reach Bandung (150km) take a train or bus which will cost you 7000-30000Rp, depending on the type of bus/train that you take. Almost every hour there is also a direct bus to the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta for around 10000Rp, making it possible to stay in Bogor when you come from the airport. Jakarta can then be visited as a trip from Bogor.

The Indonesian island of Java is home to one of the most famous ancient sites of the world, namely the Buddhist temple of Borobudur, inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list (see link). The history of the temple is unclear, but most historians situate the construction date around 800AD during the reign of the Buddhist Saliendra kingdom. Two hundred years later the temple fell into decline due to a political power shift to the east of the island. It was only rediscovered by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the English governor of Java and founder of Singapore, in the beginning of the 19th century. Its restoration was delayed by political tensions between English and Dutch, and it was only after Indonesian independence from the Netherlands that a full restoration plan was proposed by the government, partly funded by UNESCO. Nowadays, the temple can again be admired in its full glory.

The temple is located on a small hill in a fertile valley of the Merapi volcanic range. Due to its location, it can be seen already from quite a distance away. It resembles a step pyramid, with a square base of 120m. Its height is only about 35m and the temple does not have a clear inside. It is meant to be climbed on the side by the faithful. The temple is built as a seven-story stupa. There is one entrance gate for each of the four compass points. The four lower stories are constructed as a gallery, with the stone walls nicely carved with reliefs depicting the life of the Buddha and other saints. The three upper stories, constructed as terraces with beautiful views on the surrounding mountain range, do not contain carvings anymore, but instead they contain 72 stupa shapes around one huge central stupa. All these small stupas contain a Buddha statue inside, which you can see through holes in them. A few of them are opened to be able to have a peek inside to see the statues in all their glory.

Borobudur is located 40km northwest of Yogyakarta. The easiest way to come here is with a tourist bus or minibus (bemo) from Yogyakarta. You should be able to book one in the bus station (better price than a travel agent in town) for less than 100,000Rp (around €8). Getting here by public transport is difficult, because there is only a tiny village next to the temple complex, and means changing buses or bemos a few times. It's best to foresee the whole day for your visit. Entrance to the park was $7, but apparently it recently changed to $10, a reasonable price for such a famous sight! There are a few hawker stands selling basic food in case you might get hungry, and many persistent sellers, trying to sell you bottles of water (better bring your own) or books on Borobudur. Just ignore them and eventually they will go away. Once inside the temple, they are not allowed in anymore.

The natural wonder known as Green Canyon is located 30km northwest of the beach resort of Pangandaran. The canyon is a narrow gorge, formed by a river cutting through soft limestone rocks. The edges rise up to 20m above the water, always casting a shadow so the gorge stays cool the whole day. Green moss covers the rocks hence the name "Green Canyon." Close to the end, when it becomes to narrow for the vessels to pass, is the most beautiful spot: a natural limestone bridge spans the gorge and stalactites are hanging from the ceiling, dripping with water. You can take a refreshing dip in the water too, and jump of the rocks into the water.

The easiest way to come here is to book a trip in Pangandaran. Normally your guesthouse should be able to book you one for not more than 100,000 Rp per person (€10) or check with the travel agents around the beach. Normally this will be a day trip with a minibus. They will probably pick you up ath your guesthouse early in the morning, but be sure to check this. Normally they will first bring you to a few '"factories" first. We went to a krupuk factory first (krupuk is a salty crispy shrimp biscuit, tasting a little bit like crisps) and afterwards to a man who carved wayang kulit puppets from wood. Of course the people asked if we didn't want to buy anything, but they were not persistent, only a little disappointed, if you don't buy anything.

Next stop was a small kampong (Indonesian village) with bamboo houses and a long bamboo bridge spanning a river. Don't pay at the bridge because the villagers told us you should only pay when you cross the bridge with a bicycle or motorbike. You can jump of the bridge to take a swim in the river, as the water is rather clean. Our tour brought us to a small port afterwards, with nicely light blue painted motorboats, floating on two large bamboo trunks, one on each side. From here the boats sail to the canyon to see this remarkable natural feature. There is also some nice rain forest and village scenery on the way.

Although Java is an island, it is not gifted with the world's best beaches, unlike its much smaller neighbour Bali. However, beach addicts should head for Pangandaran, one of the most visited beach towns on the island. It is still a small fishing village with around 10,000 people. Don't expect a beach resort as Kuta on Bali, meaning there are no top end beach hotels here nor huge clubs with pumping techno music. What you can expect is a laid-back beach town, with decent white sand, reasonable surf waves and the water is clean. Be careful when swimming in the sea as there are strong undercurrents. Due to its status as a beach town, there is plenty of accommodation just next to the beach, mostly of the cheap kind (losmen or guesthouses and one- or two-star hotels for €1 to €10). There are a few bars and eateries (tip: try the excellent seafood) to fill your evenings, and you can rent bicycles and surf-and body-boards.

Within walking distance to the beach (10 minutes) is the Penanjung Pangandaran National Park. This is a rain forest area situated on a peninsula. It is a small but beautiful park, with nice limestone caves full of bats, a splendid beach with a view on the bay of Pangandaran, some ruined houses, and plenty of animals including lizards, snakes, water buffaloes, and deer. The entrance fee to the park is as low as it gets: 2000Rp (around 20¢). You can hire a guide, but you don't need one, as the park is rather small and there are only a few paths through it.

To get to Pangandaran, you can take a direct bus to Tasikmalaya (100km; 5000 to 20000Rp) and Bandung (220km; 12000 to 40000Rp). To get to Yogyakarta, you can either go through Tasikmalaya and change to Yogyakarta or go with the scenic Cilacap ferry (preferred route). For the latter one, you can take public transport: take a bemo or bus to Kalipucang (30km); take the small and sometimes shaky ferry across a lagoon from here to Cilacap (3 to 4 hours; the lagoon is lined with swamps and mangrove trees); take the bus to Yogyakarta (300km). If you are prepared to pay a little more, there are convenient prearranged tourist buses that cover this trip (40,000 to 100,000Rp). Ten thousand Indonesian Rupiah is equivalent to €1, so as you can see transport will not be a major cost here.

Tangkuban Perahu is an active volcano, 30km north of Bandung in West-Java and the major attraction of the Bandung area. It is more than 2000m tall. The name means "overturned boat," originating from a local legend. It tells the story of a man sent away by his mother because he was disobedient. The mother gained eternal youth from the gods after her loss. Years later the man returned and mother and son did not recognize each other. The two fell in love, but the mother found out that the young man was his returned son. She told here son that they could only marry if he build a large boat to sail away before the sunrise. When the morning came the son had almost finished his boat. The mother decided to simulate a sunrise with red silk cloth. Upon seeing this the son thought that he failed, and in his anger he turned over his almost finished boat, thus creating the volcano.

The Tangkuban Perahu is still very active, its last major eruption was in 1969 and a minor one happened in 1983. Currently the volcano shows an increased activity, so the government has closed the area. If you are allowed to come here, you should take public transport to Lembang (20km from Bandung, 5000Rp or 50¢) and walk the next 10km, or take a trip from the Bandung bus station that will bring you to the entrance gates (4km walk to the rim, 10,000 to 30,000Rp). If you are not into walking, you can take a Jeep taxi from Bandung all the way to the rim, but this can be quite expensive (at least 100,000Rp if you bargain hard), or take a jeep from the entrance gates to the rim (cheaper). Where the road ends are a few souvenir shops and small eateries, where you can have a drink or an Indonesian meal like nasi goreng (fried rice). You can hike all around the crater, but this is very far, so we only did part of it. From the food stalls, we did a second hike that goes down into the forest to the smaller Domas crater with a hot bubbling pool inside. The whole Domas crater area has got a terrible smell of sulfur.

If you drive from Bogor to Bandung, you will pass the 1500m high Puncak pass through a volcanic mountain range. It is easy to reach because all buses connecting both cities (a few every hour) go through the pass. Just ask the driver to make a stop here. The distance to Bogor is only about 40km. You can wave your arm on any bus passing by if you want to leave the place. The main attraction here is tea. All around the pass are beautiful tea plantations on rolling hills, owned by the government tea company of Gunung Mas. They sell a lot of their tea to Pickwick according to locals. You can visit the company but we didn't as it was closed. The visit is free, but they expect you to buy some tea from them although they are not offended if you don't. We just stopped here for one hour, which is sufficient to make a short walk and get some beautiful views on the surrounding areas and the tea plantations.

Also in the Puncak region lies another attraction, namely the Taman Safari or Safari Park. It is supposed to be very nice but we didn't visit it due to lack of time. You can drive through Asian game with your own vehicle or take the park bus at the entrance. Fee is €1 or €2 per person.

For people who want to spend the night on the pass, you should head for nearby Cipanas village (1km away) for a few overpriced (to Indonesian standards) guesthouses or the nice but expensive (again to Indonesian standards) Puncak Pass resort.

Less famous then its Buddhist counterpart Borobudur, the Hindu temple complex of Prambanan is another great historical sight close to Yogyakarta. It is also inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO (see link). It was most likely built in the 9th and 10th century AD by the Mataram kingdom of central Java. Only a century after its construction, the temple complex was abandoned and came into decay. During Dutch power in Indonesia, the temples were being restored, still an ongoing activity today and partly funded by UNESCO.

The largest Hindu temple complex of Indonesia consists of around 250-foot tall pointed candis or Hindu shrines, scattered around in a nice area lined with trees. The three most important candis, centrally located, are the shrines dedicated to the supreme Hindu gods Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, with the highest one (for Shiva) measuring almost 50m. Inside of them you can find statues of them and people around them like their wife. On the outside you can find some nice stone carved reliefs. The smaller temples are not so interesting as many of them are still in rubble, but seen all together it forms a nice union.

Just 800m north of the Prambanan temple complex and still inside the park premises is another temple complex, namely the Buddhist Candi Sewu. This complex consists of one main temple and many smaller ones scattered around like on Prambanan. It is the biggest Buddhist temple in the country after Borobudur, built in the same period as Prambanan. As it was built so near to the Hindu temple, many historians conclude that Hindu and Buddhist people lived in harmony during those days.

The temple complex of Prambanan is located in the village Prambanan, 17km northeast of Yogyakarta. The village is located just next to the Yogyakarta to Solo highway, so there is plenty of public transport available. Bemo's to Prambanan leave every 5 to 10 minutes from the bus station in Yogyakarta. From the centre of the small town, the temples are just 5 minutes on foot. Entrance to the temple grounds used to be $7 but is now fixed to $10, payable in US dollars or the equivalent in local rupiahs, which might fluctuate due to its weakness on international markets.