New Lands of Discovery

October 2014

A Visit to Indonesia 

&

Sri Lanka

The People

People and Places

The Places

Borobudur an ambition satisfied

Temple from Heaven

It's more than twenty five years since a friend returned from his holidays and showed me the pictures of the fabled Buddhist temple of Borobudur. I must admit I had never heard of the temple and had to look at an atlas to find its location in far off Java.

I filed the information away and set it as an ambition to visit one day. That day came in October this year when I travelled to Jakarta to explore Java and its treasures.

Dutch Style Jakarta Square

Boris bikes Jakarta style

I was not sure what to expect, as although a seasoned traveler I love the excitement of the unexpected. Jakarta is much busier than I expected, hot, humid, noisy and a little grubby. Old and new rub shoulders with new high rise buildings adjacent to down to heal neighbors. The traffic is frenetic and jostling for every place.In all honesty its not a great opener for a tourist but it gets you prepared for the driving across the whole country. It was great to leave the City and head out into the hills to visit towering hills with sweeping valleys, small villages surrounded by tea plantations. It was also my first chance to see evidence of the many volcanoes and their effect on the landscape. 

I was excited on our third day to turn and head for Jogjakarta a large city still influenced by the Sultan. In contrast to Jakarta it has endless opportunities for the tourist. It is also the gateway to Borobudur

My First View

Borobudur was not as I expected. I imagined the temple surrounded by jungle and a site of continuing worship. Today it stands in a manicured garden as a World Heritage Site. Its worshipers are the very many tourists that visit. Yet it is unbelievably beautiful. An amazing piece of architecture unlike any I have ever visited. At its lower levels it shares many features of Hindu temples, yet as you rise the levels the many stupas become evident. All of which once held a Buddha Image. 
It was a place to sit and wonder.

The pictures show the wonders of the temple. The immense work it took to create and the serenity of the many Buddha images looking out from the ancient temple to our modern world. 
They've seen many changes since they were hewn from the rock to dominate the landscape. 
They were lost to the forest only to be rediscovered to be a wonder of our modern world.

Pranbanan a giant jigsaw puzzle

Another day and another temple. 

I am still in Jogjakarta and today I visit a second World Heritage 

site of Pranbanan .I'ts going to be very different from yesterday as 

Its Hindu rather than Buddhist. The pictures I've seen resemble

 Angkor Wat  in Cambodia. I'm really looking forward to the day.

Pranbanan is an exciting work in progress. Repairs are still
being carried out from a recent earth quake. Yet in other areas
the stones have been laid out by patterns. It's like a giant
impossible jigsaw.
The site is very much a historic monument rather than a place of worship. Very different from Borobudur but every bit as interesting.
Both sites are alive with visitors. It was a Saturday when I visited. I loved the sounds of laughter as many groups of young people explored the site. Almost all the students were in school uniforms. They wore bright colours of reds and blues or blues and yellows. Most people in Java are Moslem and many girls hair was covered by a hijab

I was really impressed by their good manners and enjoyment of being out together. They were typical young people out in a group. They explored the monument but were having fun sharing the company of friends.

As a lone traveler I'm a little like wallpaper and can explore the sites and observe the people without notice.

This is not the case in Java. I was a cross between a minor celebrity and a rarity. Being tall, fat, old and distinctly European marked me as someone to approach and ask for a photo. My guide tried to send people away. I loved it. It gave me a great chance to talk with young and old alike. Thanks for letting me share your afternoon.

Can I have copies of your pictures?

Thanks for all the fun, fantastic sites and your friendship.

Sultans Palaces and Chastity Belts

I was amazed to find that in the new Indonesia several of the Sultans have important political positions in government. I was lucky enough to visit the palaces in Jogjakarta and Solo.

Both had public and private apartments and are a central focus for visits, meetings and cultural events such as performances of traditional music and dance

The morning I visited Jogjakarta a full practice of dancers, musicians and singers was taking place.  Everything was so different from home. The music was played on a collection of drums and  kettle like musical belles.The sound was slow and haunting and the singing was low and formed patterns with the sounds of the music.

The dancers started sitting on the floor and it took many minutes before they stood. Their motions slow, measured and very precise. They moved with perfect balance and could hold impossible positions for long periods. Their instructor moved between them correcting the smallest of errors. I watched for nearly an hour. It was truly fascinating.

So what about the chastity belts?

Its time to meet my guide in Solo.

Shes a delightful young lady and is a student at the local university. Her family has worked for the Sultan for several generations. She has a part time job showing English speaking visitors guests round the palace.

She had a real sparkle about her and had real knowledge about everything.

Confidentially she took me to a large glass cabinet and showed me a mixture of artifacts that had been collected over the years. 

She pointed to two strange items in the centre of the case and with a smile asked did I know what they were. Sorry no not a clue was my reply.

She laughed and explained  simply they're chastity belts for him and her!!! 

Dawn on a Volcano

Bromo Exploration

The mountain and village of Bromo was never a visit I planned and was recommended by my travel agent.

I arrived at Surabaya the previous day and planned the next couple of days as  a pleasant break from travelling and a restful fill in.

The trip started with a car journey out of town and through the countryside. Gradually the road began to rise and then twist and turn as we reached the middle slopes. The car laboured in the heat of the day as the twisting and gradient increased.  At last we reached a mist as we touched the lower layer of clouds. Still the car went up and up giving views of sweeping valleys. We passed through many small villages, all were the homes of farmers. They worked on fields with impossible slopes to walk up let alone till and grow crops, yet all around I could see many fields.

Eventually we reached a large village nearly 8000 feet up the mountain. My home for the next two days.

I woke suddenly the next morning to the sound of my alarm call. It was only a little after 2 in the morning. My body simply was not ready for an adventure and it was only with the greatest difficulty I made it to meet my Jeep driver 30 minutes later. It took only 10 minutes to find that four wheel drive was essential for this trip in the pitch dark. Our mission was to reach the mountain top to see the break of dawn. Our paved road soon gave out to a dust track with hairpin bends and blackness all around. We crossed a featureless plain and continued upwards. Suddenly we reached the end of our journey to step out into a cold and windy darkness.

Sunrise on Bromo

I stood for nearly an hour clutching a sweet cup of tea in the quiet and blackness of the mountain. A glow slowly filled the horizon with an orange light, it grew rapidly in intensity and suddenly the sun rose and showered light over the complete mountain. 

Light filled the World. 

From darkness their was light

I looked in awe at the view

The sky was the richest blue.

In front of me was a giant sea of dust

Behind Volcano's, silent, friendly with gentle plumes of smoke rising into the dawn.

It was time to explore.

Across the sand sea 

its time to climb the Volcano

What this?

Where did the horse come from?

I've told you I can't ride a horse

The view is simply awesome

The mouth of Bromo

Temple in the sea of sand

It was a great day and still only 8am.

Wandering in Bromo Village

Its only ten o'clock and I'm back in the village after my early morning adventure. The day is still very young and I have it all to myself.

The sun is beating down and although we are high on the mountain I can feel its warmth.

The village is large with a single main road spreading out in a small grid pattern and then many small houses of farmers filling the hillsides.

I have only gone two hundred yards and found a small pre school. The walls are full of colourful paintings and the kids are outside playing. Their uniform are colourful and the boys are wearing fantastic hats. 

As soon as I look over the wall they come and smile and wave.

Bromo Village school

This is the ideal opportunity for me to rush back and collect presents from my hotel. I have a collection of fantastic jumpers knitted by the ladies of my local Womens Institute in my home village of Heath and Reach back in England. They are fantastic people and have knitted many, many jumpers for me to give to children on my travels. I am sure they can be used in Bromo as it is so very cold at night.

Teachers sort their gift of childrens jumpers

Thanks from a teacher

I wave goodbye to the teachers and set off to explore. 

Everywhere I am met with smiles and waves. Village life is clearly hard yet the people are open and friendly to strangers. I enjoy stopping and chatting to the more curious that want to share a photo and talk. Its a real joy to share the morning with them.

The afternoon sun becomes hot. Its a great time to wander into the countryside and explore a little more, how do the farmers manage to crop the sloping hillsides.

I have really enjoyed the day. The excitement of the Volcano at dawn and more importantly the time to spend in this very special village

Thank to all.

Surabaya City of Revolution

Raising the Indonesian flag at the Majapahit Hotel

Majapahit today

My stay in Surabaya was at the Majapahit an iconic hotel in the centre of the City.

The hotel played a major part in the fight for independence at the end of the Second World War. The people had suffered greatly with the invasion of the Japanese during the war. They opposed recolonisation by the Dutch in 1945 at sought the establishment of a free Indonesia.

The picture above shows the Indonesian flag being raised at the hotel as part of that fight. 

Sculpture commemorating fight to free Indonesia

In the Centre of the City a monument has been setup to commemorate the birth of the Nation. There is a small underground museum telling the story of the road to freedom.

The centerpiece is a large bronze beautifully made. Its power is not just in its size and artistry, it speaks of sacrifice and strength to achieve freedom.

The Mystery of Sherlock

Students outside the library

English Study Group


Java is such a friendly place and its really easy to get to meet the people.
Surabaya is the ideal place to be out on the streets, smile and get your photo taken.

I spent a really enjoyable hour with a group of students that meet on a Saturday as an advanced English class. I am sorry to say I gate crashed the group to find out a little about what they were doing.

I was astounded to find they were all avid Sherlock fans and were watching the brand new block buster BBC programme. Its one of my favourite shows in the UK and I must admit at times I find the plot difficult.

Their first question was do you know Sherlock?
Tell us what does it all mean?

I love visiting new places seeing great sites and most of all meeting the people. The group was like a breath of fresh air, full of life with open hearts and the will to advance their lives by sharing learning.

A truly memorable morning.

It's not McDonalds

fantastic fresh fast food

fast food team

I am very sorry I truly hate most fast food and only visit McDonalds when demanded by my two Grand Sons.

Surabaya offers something very different a fresh fish restaurant where you pick your food its then cooked in minutes and whisked to your table by one of the friendly team. It was simply delicious.


I'm sorry to say this is my last day in Java.
It's been a memorable stay.
Thank you

Tomorrow I say hello Bali