Today we left our luxurious accommodation in Padangbai to return to Ubud and the final leg of Dawn’s trip to Indonesia. Still, it was an interesting day. Alison wasn’t picking us up until the afternoon so we had time to kill between then and checking out. It wasn’t a problem. Our gracious Danish host was happy for us to laze around the pool and watch the world go by until our lift arrived. As the day was overcast we didn’t get fried by the sun, instead we spent our time catching some filtered rays and enjoyed a warm shower courtesy of mother nature!
The birdlife around the pool was amazing. Various species were attracted by the plants so I managed a couple of decent shots using my new Nikon S series 100-400m lens which is proving to be a really useful bit of kit – even at very silly slow shutter speeds that you’d never have got away with in the past.
Nope, I’ve no idea what this one is either…UPDATE: Mystery solved, a Malaysian friend (Alan Bligh) has identified it as a female olive sunbird.
Part of me would have enjoyed staying longer as the hotel was fabulous and the location was so peaceful but there’s just too much to see and do – and ground to cover. On the way back Alison introduced us to another different world. We stopped at a natural sea salt farm in Kusamba, where a lovely old chap called Nyoman Warta and his family produce sea salt by traditional (and rather labour intensive) methods by harvesting sea water off the beach, Nyoman takes it through several natural processes to refine and dry it before it’s bagged and sold. Here’s a few pictures.
Having filled his bags with sea water from the sea behind me, Nyoman scatters the water on the volcanic black sand beach as the first part of the process. The second part of the process takes place inside his wicker building, where the volcanic soil is washed and the salt separated. The final part of the process takes place outdoors where the salt is washed in these long troughs, then the water is allowed to evaporate, leaving behind the pure sea salt which is then dried and bagged up. Inside his workshop, with equipment that hasn’t changed in generations.
Needless to say, we couldn’t resist buying a couple of bags to take home with us. This isn’t something you get to see everyday. We get to see something different on Saturday too, as we’ve been invited to a local family ceremony – but more of that tomorrow…
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Well, that was the plan. Sadly (like many plans) it didn’t quite go the way expected. When we woke up this morning after a night of torrential rain we found the day was dull and overcast. That wouldn’t have been a show-stopper, but Dawn’s digestion decided to interject (or in her case eject). A grumbly tummy isn’t the most ideal thing to have when you’re well away from sensible sanitation, so Dee decided to have a day lounging around our luxurious accommodation. I opted to stay with her in order to be around if needed and also sort out some work and travel stuff.
I’ve now altered my flight so that I’ll be staying on in Asia after Dawn flies back. I’ll be here until the 20th February in order to have a look at various rail projects in this part of the world – including the high-speed line between Jakarta and Bandung on Java. I’ve not planned all my trip yet but the intention is to visit Thailand and Malaysia to catch up with progress on rail schemes there as well. It’ll be a bit of a whirlwind tour but doing it solo means I can separate the trip into first having a holiday with Dee before exploring in more ‘backpacker’ mode (and covering a lot of ground). This means you’ll be getting insights into Asian life, travel (and railways) for some weeks yet.
I had considered staying even longer but I received an invitation to go on a press trip to Norway on the 25th February which was too good to miss. So, I’ll be flying back to the UK and swapping singlets and shorts for something slightly warmer!
As I’d sorted out some business and Dawn was happy to relax at the hotel I ventured out to visit an old haunt – Bias Tugel Beach, which is hidden behind a headland not far from where we’re staying. I’ve fond memories of spending time here back in the 1990s but I’ve not visited since 2003. Getting there involves a trek as there’s no road access, you have to use steep footpaths through forest. Now the locals charge 10,000 rupiah (around 50p) admission in order to keep the beach clean, which it is (just don’t look too hard at the condition of the footpaths). There used to be a couple of ramshackle warungs (eating houses) at the back of the beach. Those have now multiplied and they’ve added sun-loungers and umbrellas, but it’s still a lovely little beach on a gorgeous sea where you can watch ferries and small boats to-ing and fro-ing from Padangbai harbour whilst sipping a cold beer or basking in the sun. Here’s how the beach looked in January 1995…
Here’s a similar view that I took today. Sadly, the dull skies don’t show off the clear waters.
As I was on my own I stayed long enough to have a beer and a bite to eat whilst reminiscing about past times here and watching the ferries ply their trade. Otis Redding eat your heart out!
One of the Lombok – Bali ferries passes a local outrigger canoe taking people on a diving trip.
Before long I headed back to check on the ‘patient’ who’d recovered enough that we managed to grab some time together in the pool. Where we’re staying is very quiet so you’re surrounded by birdsong. I’ve managed to grab a couple of long-lens shots of some of the local feathered-friends, although for the life of me I couldn’t tell you what this one’s called!
Tomorrow we take our leave of Padangbai to head back to Ubud. I’d liked to have stayed longer, but this trip was very much a taster for Dawn – who’s never been to Bali before, so it’s a bit of a whistlestop tour.
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This morning we left Ubud for a couple of days on the coast, courtesy of my old friend Alison who was driving to Candidasa with a friend for a couple of nights and kindly offered to drop us off at Padangbai on the way. I’ve not been back here since 2003. It was a place I used to know well so I was curious to see how much it’s changed. The entire trip was a voyage of discovery for Dawn as it’s her first trip to the island.
The first thing I noticed en-route was just how many more vehicles are on the road nowadays. What makes it worse is they’ve all grown in size – even the scooters have been taking steriods. As for the SUVs – God help us. None of the bloody things are capable of navigating the narrow, winding roads, especially when they’re driven by tourists. Traffic is becoming a real problem on the island and public transport seems to have ceased to exist. The old Bemos and local buses I used in my youth were conspicuous by their absence.
Still, Alison’s been living over here for many years and is a relaxed driver. Giving way isn’t an issue even if the language from behind the wheel can be a bit fruity at times! Thanks to her co-pilot we found the place Dawn had booked without a problem. Villa Aryani is just outside the town towards the coast. It’s a new building commissioned by a Dane and his Balinese wife – and it’s gorgeous (as you can see from the link). It’s a 10 minute walk from the town and not far from the best beach in the area (more of that tomorrow). If you don’t fancy the beach there’s a fantastic swimming pool at the villa. Oh, and we made a friend. Here’s Hugo, their 12 week old puppy saying hello…
I’ve a sneaking suspicion that he was just tasting me…
Having checked in and met our hosts we wandered into Padangbai itself. It’s changed a lot since I was last here. Now the town beach is rather dirty as the bay isn’t just a terminal for ferries to Lombok. Instead, there’s dozens of fast boats that will take you straight to the Gili Islands. They’ve started crowding out the local fishing boats, many of which have become truncated in order to fit into the space available. Plastic litters the place which is really sad as you know most of it will end up in the sea. But then, plastic has become an endemic problem in so many places I’ve travelled to over the past 40 odd years.
Despite that, there’s still some of the old Padangbai left. We called in for a bite to eat at the Ozone cafe, a place I’ve fond memories from back in the 1990s. It’s changed a bit, but the food’s still good – including the Balinese yellow curry.
Padangbai’s always been great for fresh fish and today was no exception. The old Warungs that I remember lining the back of the beach are long gone so we took a punt on a place at the back of the ferry terminal. We ended up in the Warung Bu Jero which had a selection of fresh fish on display outside. I opted for the Barracuda whilst Dawn went for the Red Snapper.
Freshly grilled barracuda with garlic and lemon, served with a fiery local sambal and a mixture of onions, tomatoes and herbs.
We weren’t disappointed as both were delicious. What was nice about the place was the mix of westerners and locals who frequented the place – plus the people running it – who were a delight. I’m not a fan of Karaoke (at all) but the staff had a little competition between themselves and the woman who was minding the cash had an excellent voice.
I always remember Padangbai for live music (oh, the old stories I could tell and pictures I could post if I had the time) so it was lovely to see such melange of nationalities enjoying themselves and smiling and laughing together.
Walking back to the hotel was so different to built up Ubud, instead of streets lined with shops and restaurants we were soon in the country with just the odd local warung. We could see stars aplenty whilst watching the lighting behind us heralding the arrival of the next rainstorm. Tomorrow the plan is to have some beach time. In the meantime, here’s a few pictures from today.
As you can see, we’re really slumming it here in Padangbai. This is our 1st floor room (one of only 4). Outside is a large common area with seating and a massive TV with a balcony to the left. Wait until you see the communal kitchen…The port beach with the ferry terminal with one of the Lombok – Bali ferries docked. Sadly, this beach is getting crowded and polluted. I’ll add comparison pictures from the early 1990s to tomorrow’s blog. Engine overkill. This is why the fast boats are fast. Quite how this is economic (never mind environmental) is a very good question…Some things never change. Whilst we were out we passed this group of local people on their way to one of the local temples for a ceremony.
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Sorry for the gap in blogging but the two of us have been busy catching up with old friends of mine (and meeting new people too) so there’s been little time for blogging. Plus, we’ve had one day where the weather changed to glorious sunshine so we kicked back and spent most of our time by the hotel pool, making the most of it before the rains returned – which they did – with a vengeance! It’s not that it rains all day, every day, but we’ve had some spectacular thunder and lightning storms with torrential downpours to accompany them. Then, everything dries up and the heat and humidity make a return. Having such variable weather’s actually rather nice. It gives you a break from temperatures that hover around 31-32 degrees and sunshine that’s really intense – especially when you’ve come from the UK where we’ve had such a miserable summer that we’ve not had chance to catch much of a tan.
Here’s a small selection of pictures of life in Ubud.
Not a sign that you’re likely to see in many places, but then – this is Monkey Forest Rd!Yes guys, that sign means you! These critters have spread beyond the confines of the forest with one troupe taking up residence in a half finished multi-story building, from which they raid the surrounding area.Needless to say, the monkeys are represented in local art and sculpture like this…Moneky Forest Rd is one of the main North-South streets in Ubud and it gets incredibly busy at times. Here it is during a quieter moment. These scooter-based food stalls aren’t as common as they once were in central Ubud (compared to less touristy towns) but they still provide a service of cheap eats to the people who work in shops around town. The band – again! We went out again on Monday night to catch the guys playing at a place down the road from where we’re staying. Only this time I took the camera… We passed this gathering of the local men earlier today. I’ve no idea what it was about but it lasted for several hours.Another old friend I had time to catch up with at his cafe (Maha on Monkey Forest Rd) was Putu Sukalawa. It’s as if I’d never been away…How’s this for a splash of colour? Some of the guys from the local Vespa scooter club.Mingling at Mingle cafe on Jalan Dewisita. A great place to sit and have a coffee (or something stronger) and watch the world go by. Needless to say we’ve not been slow in trying various local Indonesian dishes. Here’s a Nasi Campur, which is different to the standard Nasi Goreng in that it contains sweetcorn and comes with a sliced omlette and chicken satay.
Tomorrow we take a break from Ubud to spend a couple of nights in Padangbai, which is a little town on the coast. It’s the port for ferries between Bali and Lombok, but it also has a couple of really nice little beaches. Oh, and great seafood! Expect updates from there…
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Today we woke up to the sound of rain bouncing off the swimming pool and roofs outside our room, so it seemed as good a day as any to relax and enjoy a bit of a lie-in. Apparently, Bali has had a very wet wet season so far this January. But, it’s a minor inconvenience compared to back in the UK as – if nothing else – it’s warm rain and it can be quite spectacular, as it was the previous evening.
By mid morning the rain had abated and the sun popped out for a while, drying out most of what was left, so the two of us ventured out to explore different parts of Ubud before ending up at Mingle cafe for brunch and a rendezvous with my old friend Alison. We timed it well as the rain returned whilst we were there, a great excuse to linger and chat for longer whilst also watching the world go by. People watching is a particular pleasure here due to the combination of nationalities, backgrounds (and dress). Plus, the food’s always good. I tried something different, crispy fried tempe and tofu with a home-made sambal sauce.
Finally, the rain called it a day, giving us the opportunity to explore more of the backstreets, nooks and crannies of Ubud before returning home to relax. Here’s a couple of shots from our explorations.
A woman lies out offerings to the Gods on a street corner next to a sigh advertising just how many shops and places to stay there are down that particular street. There’s nothing like hedging ones bets! A house displays both Hindu and Chinese symbols for prosperity
We tried somewhere different for our evening meal – a cafe just a few doors down the road from where we’re staying. The food was perfectly edible, but nothing to write home about. What was far more enjoyable was our next venue. Alison had told us that Made (another old acquaintance) was playing with a band at Otokafe, on the corner of Monkey Forest Rd and Jalan Pengosekan. I’ve been coming here long enough to remember when the site was rice paddies, but I was impressed by the venue and Made and the band were excellent. They covered a lot of rock and blues classics with real style, so much so that we stayed right to the end of their set. Gosh, a late night in Ubud, whatever next?
The band belting out some classics…
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The pair of us are beginning to unwind after all our travels. This bit is the real holiday, where there’s no pressure to do much of anything other than enjoy being here. Of course, there’s slightly different perspectives. For Dawn, all this is new, for me, it’s a bit like slipping into an old and familiar routine. Whilst things have undoubtedly changed sine I was last here in 2017 a lot also feels very, very familiar – such as meeting up with Alison.
Alison’s an old friend of 25 plus years. We’ve met in many different countries in that time but for many years after leaving her native Australia she’s been living here and running the ‘Mingle’ cafe here in Ubud. Despite the gap in seeing each other we just took up where we left off, reminiscing about old times whilst at the same time talking about the present and future. It was a lovely interlude.
The weather’s been cool today. Well, cool for Bali. There’s been a fair amount of cloud around too, which meant I rejected the opportunity for a swim in order to catch up with some work and picture editing back at our room. Having edited over a hundred pictures from this trip I managed to upload them onto my Zenfolio website. You can find the travel pictures here and the railway ones here. Oh, there’s a bonus gallery. I took a series of shots of the rag-bag of ferries used on the route between Java and Bali. They’ve been added to the shipping gallery which you can find here.
To be honest, it was a good day to be staying close to home as late this afternoon the heavens opened and we were treated to another torrential downpour. Earlier, Alison told us that Bali’s experienced a very wet rainy season this year, which has caused a number of problems and led to the death of two tourists in the nearby Monkey Forest when a tree whose roots had been eroded eroded fell and crushed them.
Fortunately, by the time we headed out to eat the rain had abated. Tonight we tried a new eatery on Monkey Forest Rd called Tulasi vegetarian which specialises in Balinese food. This was my meal – and it was delicious!
Tomorrow’s plan is to have some pool time – and to get more pictures edited and on my website. After that who knows? Besides, when you can walk straight out of your room (ours is the first on the right) into this, why wouldn’t you want pool time?
See you tomorrow…
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
After 9 days travelling from Manchester to Jakarta, then overland through Java to Bali, today’s been one to kick back and relax. We’ve travelled nowhere – unless you count walking around the town of Ubud, which is where we’ll be based for the next week and more. The bags can finally be unpacked for a while.
Admittedly, I’m still waking up at 06:00 every morning. For some strange reason it’s my built in default every time I come to Asia. It’s different for Dawn as she’ll still be in the arms of Morpheus for several hours more if allowed. I have to be careful so as not to disturb her – which means always leaving the sound off on my laptop for a start!
Once we finally got our acts together not long before noon we went for a stroll along the famous Monkey Forest Road in search of sustenance. It was also a chance for me to see just how much has changed since I was last here in 2017 (short answer? A lot). Having dodged monkeys and dodgy pavements we ended up at Bumi Bali, a large restaurant and bar which is sheltered from most of the traffic noise. The attentive staff soon served dishes we’d ordered from the Balinese section..
My Balinese brunch. Yellow rice with satay skewers, egg, green beans and all the trimmings. Both well presented and delicious.
Replete, we worked off the food by exploring further as I rediscovered some old haunts whilst mourning the loss of others. To Dawn’s eyes it’s all new, so the effect was rather different. Having stretched our legs we retreated to our hotel where I couldn’t resist trying out the pool. Dawn tried an alternative relaxation outlet and used the hotel’s massage service. Dee tells me they’re very good. Well, she certainly came back relaxed, which us what matters.
After returning to Bumi Bali for our evening meal we’re now relaxing at the hotel before another hard day of doing nothing much at all. We’ve earned it. Hopefully, I’ll have loads of pictures from this trip added to my Zenfolio website tomorrow. Watch this space…
It’s nearly midnight so the hotel pool is quiet. As our room has a private entrance from the balcony I’ll be making the most of this over the next few days.
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It’s Just after midday here in Java and the pair of us are aboard the Mutiara Timur train from Surabaya heading to Ketapang. The torrential rains we had yesterday cleared overnight. Today the weather’s cloudy and overcast with the occasional patch pf blue sky – just to tease!
The Mutiara is made up of older coaches compared to the past couple of services we’ve used. Even so, ‘Executif’ is still comfortable and the air conditioning is set to a reasonable level other than deep freeze. The buffet car is of similar age, but at least we have one.
After leaving Surabaya we were back on a traditional railway with single track controlled by semaphore signals and absolute block working. Equipment that’s been serving the railways since the Dutch era. I’ll describe the journey at greater length when we get to Bali as it’s worth writing about. Java has 45 volcanoes and this line passes several. Seeing then emerge out of tge clouds as we pass really is rather spectacular. I’ll add some pictures just as soon as I can.
Right now, we’re between Probolinggo (the station for people visiting the incredible Mount Bromo) and Tanggul, passing through a landscape rich in rice paddies, Maize and sugar cane. The further East we go, the more rugged the countryside becomes.
The stock for the ‘Mutiara Timur’, hauled by CC20177 18 arrives at Surabaya. The rugged and volcanic beauty of Java.
16:55.
Having traversed beautiful Java through some wonderfully fertile and rugged countryside, we arrived at Ketapang in the middle of a torrential rainstorm! However, that didn’t dampen our spirits and after a short walk from station to port, we’re now on a ferry like this for the trip across to Bali.
Ferries from Bali (in the background) queue to berth at Ketapang in Java.
00:00.
It’s just after midnight here in Ubud, where we arrived around half an hour ago after a four hour 20 minute journey by road from the ferry terminal at Gilimanuk. The road from the port to Denpasar, the Balinese capital is the islands equivalent of the M1. Unless stuff comes in by air or one of the other seaports like Padangbai, virtually everything that’s used on the island that isn’t home produced comes via Gilimanuk. The only problem is their M1 is a normal single carriageway for most of its length – and a single carriageway that follows the contours of the undulating island to boot. It’s chokka with lard-butt trucks of all sizes and cars – with scooters and motorbikes dashing in between them like minnows. It makes for a very interesting journey – especially in the dark!
But we made it. Now to get ourselves settled here in Ubud. There’s no railways on the island but there’s plenty of other things to keep my camera occupied, although tomorrow’s going to be given over to relaxing and getting used to the changes and developments in a place that was once so familiar.
See you tomorrow…
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‘Tis only a short blog from me today as it’s late, I’ve been up since 06:00 and we’ve another early start tomorrow as we’re moving on by train/ferry/bus to Ubud in Bali tomorrow. Today we bid goodbye to Yogyakarta and said a brief hello to Surabaya. We caught the 11:30 train which took 4 hours to transfer us from city to city. It wasn’t a bad journey at all, although the rainy season has really kicked in these past 24 hours. We had an absolutely torrential downpour last night and intermittent rain throughout the morning. I’d been up early as I had to walk into town to get some cash. I’d forgotten about the ATM roulette that one plays in Indonesia. I’d tried several. The first one had faulty buttons, the 2nd wouldn’t accept my card, the 3rd did but then refused to complete the transaction, the 4th would only pay out 1.25m rupiah at a time. Sounds a lot, doesn’t it? (its just over £62). Just as I was losing the will to live I spotted an actual money changer’s outside the railway station where I swapped actual sterling for rupiah and suddenly became a multi-millionare!
I was back at the station a couple of hours later, along with Dawn and all our baggage. Yogya stations grown a lot since I was last here in 1998. There’s extra platforms and the line East has been electrified. Passenger facilities have been extended and the whole station brightened up. There’s even a shuttle train service to the airport.
Our train trip through the rice paddies and sugar cane plantations of Java was a very pleasant one. Whilst the train was busy it wasn’t rammed, but it was on time. On arrival I booked a taxi to our hotel via the ‘Grab’ app. The discount we got from the Grab staff at their hub at Gubeng station meant that the fare to our hotel cost me the princely sum of 63p Once unpacked and settled in at the hotel we arranged to meet a local friend, Bagus – who took us to a very popular restaurant which specialised in local dishes. The three of us chatted whilst enjoying an excellent meal so time soon flew by. Whilst driving us back Bagus offered to give us a guided tour of the city, which we accepted. The tour was enlivened by the fact it was during the middle of a thunderstorm with rain so heavy some roads were flooding!
I’ve liked Surabaya since my first visit and Bagus’ tour confirmed why. It’s got some fascinating architecture and an excellent of restored Dutch colonial buildings along with modern shopping malls and tower blocks. The wide boulevards are tree-lined, giving the place a really nice feel. Dawn was very impressed and – it it wasn’t for the fact we’ve so little time to spare – would have stayed for a couple of days just to explore.
Ironically, despite all the city has to offer. Lonely Planet guidebooks have decided it no longer merits a mention in their new Indonesia guide. To be honest, the new LP Indonesia is complete crap, but I’ll save my revue of it for another blog. Suffice to say, Lonely Planet guidebooks have utterly lost their way.
Now we’re kicking back at the hotel before another early start in the morning. We’ll be on the 09:15 train to Ketapang where we catch the ferry to Bali. It’s going to be a long day. The train journey alone is 6hr30m. We should get to Ubud sometime before midnight, but who knows? If I can I’ll do a rolling blog tomorrow. We’ll see…
In the meantime, here’s what we were scoffing tonight, Nasi Goreng Madura.
I’ve a small favour to ask… If you enjoy reading this or any of the other blogs I’ve written, please click on an advert or two. You don’t have to buy anything you don’t want to of course – although if you did find something that tickled your fancy that would be fab! – but the revenue from them helps me to cover some of the cost of maintaining this site (which isn’t cheap and comes out of my own pocket). Remember, 99% of the pictures used in my blogs can be purchased as prints from my other website – https://paulbigland.zenfolio.com/
It’s evening here in Indonesia and the pair of us are relaxing at our little homestay (an old house in the back streets of Yogyakarta), listening to the thunder and the torrential rain bouncing off the roof and into the little pool in the courtyard. It’s been a long, sweaty but enjoyable day that started at 06:55 when we were picked up by our driver who took a small group (just 4 of us) on a tour that took in the magnificent 9th century Buddhist temple at Borobudur and the huge Hindu temple complex of Prambanan (also 9th century).
I’ve visited both before, first in 1992 and again in 1998, but a lot changes in 26 years, as I was to find out. The biggest changes are at Borobudur. Tourists can no longer wander around the structure willy-nilly. Now there are strict controls. You can wander around the grounds until your heart’s content, but if you want to ascend to the top you have to book a 1 hour time slot (running from 08:30) and numbers are limited to 1,200 people a day in order to preserve the monument from wear and tear due to the increasing numbers of tourists visiting.
Now, you arrive at a brand-new, sprawling tourist complex full of shops to gain entry. First off is getting your paper wristband with a QR code, then you’re given a pair of flip-flops to replace your own shoes in order to lessen damage even further – and a bottle of water. The slippers are actually rather cool and comfy and come with a monogrammed bag, making them a nice souvenir! Once the formalities are over you’re taken by stretched golf buggy to a compound nearer the monument where you meet the guide who will escort you around the temple and make sure you’re off on time. We were lucky with both the weather and with our guide who was a lovely older chap with a keen sense of humour. The low clouds that have dogged us most days cleared away, which was great for pictures but the heat and sun were fierce. As the temple’s built atop a hill there’s often a decent breeze, but that doesn’t stop you frying! Here’s a couple of the pictures I took. I’ve loads more to edit when we get to Bali. Last time I visited I was still shooting film and had to be sparing with it as I was travelling for 18 months and the slide film I was using (Fuji Velvia) wasn’t easy to come by. This time I could indulge myself and also see what the Nikon Z9 could do…
With time up we left and headed off to Prambanan which doesn’t have the same restrictions as it’s a very different site. It’s actually a series of temples spread around a large site but this most impressive is this…
I’d have struggled to get this shot on a film camera. There are 4 statues in the main tower, this one is (as the nameplate suggests) Durga. For camera cranks, this was taken hand-held with a 50mm lens, F5.6 at 1/20, 5000asa.
We sweated (and I mean sweated) our way around all the other temples before our time was up and we had to head home where the first priority was a shower, then a drink. Tomorrow morning we leave Yogyakarta by train to hit Surabaya for the night and chance to catch up with an old rail-enthusiast friend, so expect some railway related images in tomorrow’s blog.
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Paul Bigland 