Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

From all of us

in Oz!

Bye for now!!
A, A, J and AJ
XXXX

After a costly MOT, new windscreen, new brake pads, new tyres (BFG A/T) etc. etc, we finally collected our Landy from the garage today (the delay only being because we could not afford to get it sooner!). After some heartache, it is now for sale. Expediton prepared by Foleys. All details can be found (and how much we paid for modifications/all additions) here. If interested, please contact us via info@overlandwithkids.com. Just under 100K miles on the clock, 1-year MOT, 6 months tax and in excellent condition - well looked after despite what we put it through. VEHICLE IS FOR SALE ON EBAY VIA THE FOLLOWING LINK: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220884062819

And Pssst - our new addition to the family (a little girl called Suraya arrived on 13th August - woohoo! - maybe she’ll be next one day for an overland trip!).

All the best A, A, J and AJ

XXXX

Goodbye for now! from all of us………

From Flores (we met our German friends again before leaving), we doubled backed on ourselves through Sumbawa and Lombok and returned to Bali - a journey which took us 36 hours non-stop in all. In the absence of an Australian visa for the moment (while Anne has TB which needs to be continually treated - remaining medically unapproved to continue our trip) and all of us seriously out of pocket - we needed to return home.

Following 13.5 months on the road, we’ve had a fantastic year and achieved everything and much more together as a family - an experience which will remain with us and which we will never forget. Our children needing the joys of proper routine, school, friends and family again (us adults needing jobs!), our eldest daughter is also expecting our third grandchild during August of this year. With time and money running out and an all important new addition on the way, we returned home to the UK during mid-May 2011.

Our car has just landed - having followed us from Bali via Surabaya and Singapore to Felixstowe. We plan to sell our vehicle & are now busy settling ourselves into our old lives again.

Landing at Heathrow felt like we’d never been away at all - like we’d just been away for the weekend - had we really just spent 13.5months away from home and driven from the UK to Flores?

With love, best wishes and huge thanks to all who supported us and followed our trip.

Bye for now!

A, A, J and AJ

XXXX

AJ “I think the scenery is ‘breath-taking!’….Not ALL of it but SOME of it!”
(AJ’s newly acquired understanding of the word ‘breath-taking’ featuring in many of his sentences lately)

We continued to be bowled over by Indonesia’s beauty. People continually friendly and the sights ‘breath-taking’ as AJ would say.

We’d spent too long in Indonesia (4 months) but loved every minute (needing 6 months!) and used the last of our non-existent pennies to bomb it across Lombok and Sumbawa to reach the east side of Flores - our promised jumping off point for the children to see Rinca, part of the UNESCO protected Komodo National Park containing endangered Komodo dragons.

The ferry from Bali to Lombok took 4 hours and cost 660,000 Rp (£47) for all four of us including the car. From Lombok to Sumbawa took 8 hours (leaving 8am each morning) and cost 839,000 Rp (£60). Our final leg from Sumbawa to Flores took 1.5 hours and cost 378,000 Rp (£27). We then paid a total of 1m Rp (£70) for the day - a boat, lunch, water and snorkel gear to take us onto Rinca proper for our visit.

Lombok

Leaving Bali, we nearly became un-struck as customs asked to see our IDP (International Driving License). We had one but it had just expired and we worried we’d be refused to board the ferry as a result. Following a bit of shuffling about around at the back of our car (pretending not to understand what the official was asking!), we presented our English driving license instead. Following more shuffling around, we managed to present our IDP in a way that made the customs guy NOT check the date on the front (phew!) - we were on our way.

Docking into Lombok late afternoon, we headed northward, straight for Sengiggi via Mataram along the coast, really because we knew the area was a prime tourist location and we’d get beds, showers and food for the night. From here, we took the northern route, along the coast - again because we knew we could reach base camp this side of the island for climbing Indonesia’s 2nd highest volcano ‘Rinjani’. Rinjani contains a beautiful blue lake and an active baby volcano inside it’s belly. Jessica was mad to climb it but at approx. 1m Rp per person plus a day and night’s climb effort (camping over-night) - affordability was an issue for us and it was raining. Also, being cute about our finances, we couldn’t afford it and decided to give Rinjani a regretful miss - unanimously deciding on Komodo - the last official sight-seeing treat of our trip.

The northern coastline of Lombok was very quiet and un-spoilt - completely free of traffic and full of pretty sand stretches of undisturbed beaches and coves. There were waterfalls too but these attracted entry fees - we decided to push onward onto Sumbawa. We couldn’t believe how untouched it was - Indonesia never failing to surprise us.

Sumbawa

Sumbawa (3 times the size of Lombok) is much rougher and more rugged and difficult than Lombok in terms of it’s landscape and terrain. The northern tip is dominated by Tambora - a massive volcano measuring 38 miles wide in diameter. During 1815, it caused the world’s largest eruption - destroying all flora and fauna in it’s path on the island - from our perspective, the island still hadn’t recovered - maybe it never would? We visited the west side before heading along the northern tip - the west side renowned for the enormous American owned Newmont gold and copper mining plant established during 2000. When we arrived we discovered we had not long missed mining riots which had occurred in the area recently. There has been a lot of disruption between the Indonesian government and the company regarding share apportionment and threats of closure etc. Luckily, all was quiet when we arrived.

The north was rough, difficult and long for the children in terms of drive time but we finally made it across to Flores. On the final ferry across we met some nice people including a lovely lady from Brighton called Lizzie.

Flores

To get to Flores from Sumbawa we passed the most beautiful dream-like scenery of hundreds of islands including the two major islands of Komodo and Rinca - it was like entering through the door of a different world - the serene beauty of the picturesque surroundings and the glorious weather - we could have sailed along forever.

Reaching Flores, we decided to stay out of town by a beach on the coastline with crabs swinging by sideways to greet us each day. From here we visited Rinca as opposed to Komodo as we were more likely to see the famous dragons hanging round by the camp kitchen area there (to visit Komodo would have meant hiking for hours with no guarantee of a sighting).

Rinca

Following a couple of days chill-out on Flores, we visited Rinca together with our new friend Lizzie and were met by our guide who, carried a pitch fork to fight off the dragons should they get a bit unruly. He explained to us that we had to be quiet as though they look still and lazy, they are in fact fast and quick and capable of killing huge buffalo in one single bite. We were able to see 6 to 7 huge beasts by the kitchen camp - all sleeping and docile looking but very scary. With the help of the guide we were able to get quite close for some photos. They reminded us of land based crocodiles/alligators but we didn’t want to hang around too long analyzing them at such close range. We went on a trek through some jungle and saw the nests of the Komodos who dig huge holes to bury their eggs and also baby Komodos who spend the first five years of their life living in trees to survive (adult Komodos are cannibalistic and will kill and eat another mother’s young including the eggs if they manage to find them). An active nest is out of bounds to humans and we saw one or two cordoned off - if a mother Komodo catches sight of someone near her nest - it is a very dangerous time indeed for the intruder. The children learned a lot from the guide and enjoyed their day which was finished off with some snorkeling around the island.

Bye for now!
A, A, J and AJ
XXXX

Jessica “I wish I could re-wind my life and do everything I have done again, like a DVD player! I think I’ve had a wonderful childhood!”
AJ “Mum! When are you going to come and butter my toast!”

(two children with two very different trains of thinking!)

Having landed (with the help of local passers-by - still jump starting us!) to the outskirts of Seminyak, we were sitting there wondering, what to do in terms of getting our car repaired - we couldn’t keep moving like this any longer! (It was getting a bit embarrassing! Plus, we missed an invitation to a traditional Balinese wedding because we couldn’t get the car to start!!!! Aaaargggggh!).

We had the contact details of the Land Rover dealer in Jakarta (we’d met the owner while he was hunting boar in South Sumatra for the weekend - as you do!). But, worried about expense, we decided to have a quick look on the web. We found the newly formed Land Rover Bali Owners Club on Facebook and decided to drop a line. But nothing - no response - NADA!!!! (naughty, NAUGHTY Land Rover Bali Owners!!!). So, we thought again before approaching a small 4WD workshop not far from where we were staying, specialising in Toyota 4WD jeeps and decided to ask them for H….E……L……P!!!!!!

The people at the 4WD workshop were great (based on Jalan Raya Bukit Belig opposite hotel of the same name). They gave us a small fix for a small fee (and cleaned the car - very shiny and bright - we’d forgotten what ‘clean’ looked like!) but it wasn’t long before our Land Rover was back to it’s stop start habits again. A second visit to the workshop told us it was probably our batteries, or at least one of them that was suspect. Mindful that our Land Rover might need more specialist attention, we suddenly received an email from a local Balinese man called Made - a Land Rover owner living in Bali who had spotted our vehicle whilst driving past us earlier that day. He had taken a photo or our car which, he then sent by email along with a nice message & phone number, requesting to meet us.

We are Family!

We’d called Land Rover Jakarta meantime and they gave us the number of a local dealer who they use in Bali. But, sitting there, wondering if we could afford any shape, size or form of what dealers might likely charge, we hit on the idea to call Made sooner than our planned meeting time the following day. We’d hardly put the phone down when ‘two’ Land Rovers pulled up alongside to the rescue with ‘four’ people inside, including Made, a mechanic called Dodie and two helpers. They looked over the vehicle (deliberating either the alternator or 4WD Workshops previous suspicions), whizzed it off and returned a little while later complete with two brand new batteries. Dodie insisted he didn’t want the labour payment but we decided we ‘must’ pay something (total cost to us incl. labour £130)

While talking and chatting, Made told us he had posted a photo of our vehicle to the Land Rover Indonesia forum and had received lots of responses from all over the place, especially Sumatra and Java where we had been - people telling him they had seen us passing, traveling through or that they had stopped and spoken to us. The Land Rover Owners Medan Club contacted us a while back and they have just published a 3-page article in their magazine about our experiences while in Medan and around (click this feature). Thank you Land Rover Owners Medan! It is in Indonesian but we managed to get the ‘gist’ using Google translate tools - (and we are not sure about the reference re: Malaysia).  But everyone who reads the published article in Indonesia will now see the photo of Jessica wearing a beautiful Sultanate dress!!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!”.

Our new friend Made explained to us that the Land Rover Owners Bali Club had just been formed (a month old) and that a meeting was being planned for the following morning - would we come along? (Wild horses wouldn’t keep us!)

We were at our rendevous (McDonalds) at 10am to meet Andy, a fellow LRO enthusiast. Before Andy turned up we met Richard just passing (originally from UK but living in Bali for 19 years) along with his wife Hatra and their two boys. During our chatting, Richard gave us a shipping contact to try if we needed (people continually so nice and helpful).

Amid our banter, Andy arrived and we found out that he is the BLRO Facebook administrator! We forgave him (eventually!) for not answering our initial enquiry - and had a good laugh about it (only because we wanted to rib and tease him - he is a very busy professional and family man). Like Made and Dodie and everyone we met from the club, Andy was lovely (we honour our promise to sponsor you) and he plied us with Land Rover Owner Bali t-shirts & stickers (Andy also took some sneaky photos before meeting up with the other Bali LROs!!!) and we were off and on our way . We had a great day. The group had just had their first big meeting a few weeks back where about 70 people had turned out in support. For their second meeting - it was us - the English foreigners. We could not have been made more welcome. Lots of happy introductions, chatting and photos ensued. We met a brilliant, interesting, helpful and really friendly bunch of people. Our day finished with a nice meal together and a visit to Dodie’s workshop (many nice customised Harley Davidson bikes!). It was great meeting all the LR members and we will not forget everyone’s kindness.

Made told us that Land Rover Indonesia is having a special meeting July 2012 in Yogjakarta (dreams……………..it would be great if we could be there!!!!…………dreams!)

If you are ever in Medan or Bali - look up Land Rover Owners Indonesia and say hello!!!!

Strong Willing Hearts!

We met Daniel at LRO Bali who owns the only 110 we could see (the rest were largely Series owners). He operates a business called www.theexperiencebali.com offering 4wd’s into the heart of Bali. He told us a very interesting story about his father (Iranian descent) who left Bali when he was just 16 years old with no money and just some eggs to his name. Daniel’s father’s, father had wanted his son to be a seller while the boy had his sights set on attending university. But, before leaving Bali, Daniel’s father had met a German man who said that if he somehow managed to reach his address in Europe, he would sponsor his 1st year of study. Daniel’s father made it to Germany by selling his eggs, buying and selling a bike and a whole host of other clever ideas. To eat on some occassions, he pretended to test fruit at a local market before buying (he didn’t buy and was eventually caught out). Daniel’s father somehow eventually made it to Germany and succeeded (very much by his wits it seems) in finally getting his sponsorship. He settled in Germany, got married and had children before eventually returning home (his own father having sadly had passed away by this time). A fantastic story that Daniel has pieced together himself over the years as his father does not like to talk about it (sorry to Daniel for re-telling this but we had to!). Daniel has only been able to glean snippits now again when his father talks to friends on the rare occassions about these past experiences!.

The other story is of Colin and Chrissy - two current travellers (Colin is wheelchair bound having suffered a bad accident when he was younger). Having met them both for a short period while in Laos, we just happened to take a peek at their blog to see how they were doing (travelling by vehicle from the UK to Australia - and now in Oz). Colin and Chrissy’s story is amazing in how they have had to find solutions to difficulties during their travels through - usually when their car is otherwise indisposed. We read their Bali blog update out loud to Jessica and AJ - a truly inspiring story (see www.drivingchrissyhome.blogspot.com).Grab a cup of tea and read!!!!

Then, there is Norman and Barbara Seddon of www.landrover-nts31.co.uk - we crossed paths with each other while in Sumatra. They are currently traveling from the UK with plans to reach Australia and beyond. Barbara was diagnosed as having Huntingdon’s disease and they are travelling using a Land Rover (we think they are currently knocking around Flores or thereabouts). They’re trip designed to raise money for charitable purposes.

The latter two couples we have mentioned before but we mention again due to our own troubles - depleted finance, due to having had to change, lengthen and divert our plans to travel through Indonesia (instead of onto Australia) direct from Malaysia. This is because of Anne having been diagnosed with TB while in Penang (unfit to fly and Australia is VERY strict - not something we could have ever planned for). Diverting to Indonesia has been a fantastic decision - the best! - and one we would never change on our part (the people, the country and the unique experiences that we might well have missed and never known). But, it has set our original plans to be in Oz right now - out by a long shot. We should also add that our finances were low to zero then - we planned to scrape by (to have been able to do this trip in the first place took huge effort - more the case of “doing what we could to make it happen!”). But, along with a huge degree of planning and will, it remains that we are VERY LUCKY PEOPLE to have ever had the opportunity in the first place! We have alot to be grateful for.  We share this information not because we want pity or are trying to glorify anything - but to share the hearing, reading and knowing about other’s challenges and experiences in this world - ‘where there is a will, there is a way!’ - as they say. Meantime - we’re hanging in! (by a thread currently, but we’re hanging in!).

PS - Funnily, while thousands of miles from home and skint, we are able to deliberate these realities and facts - while lounging by a pool in Bali - what more could you ask for!?

Bye for now!
A, A, J and AJ
XXXX

“Arguments, disagreements, back-chat - all point to the need to do some schoolwork!”  (An insight on how dad blackmails the children)
AJ “Jessica, Ssssh! I know! Let’s be nice to each other all day long and that way we won’t have to do any homework!”
Jessica (whispered tones) “Yes! I think that’s a really good idea!”

Our Friend Maarif

We had to stay put in Bali for a few days due to hospital appointments, fixing our vehicle, having to extend our Indonesia visa and re-organise the desparate state of our finances (we are waiting for TB issue to be finalised - and we are still waiting!). During this time we met several people but wanted to give a special mention to Maarif who we saw daily while going about our business. Every day he greeted us with a smile and himself and Andrew hit it off big-time with plentiful chatter and the sharing of several coffees together (now firm friends!).

Maarif specialises in painting (art) and batik and is off to Ireland shortly to teach students for a short period. We wish him very well and hope he enjoys his time there (we know you will!). A special hello to Maarif’s girlfriend Amelia also who we didn’t get a chance to meet as she is abroad in Ireland currently (Amelia - he never stops talking about you!!!!!). Best of luck to you both, whatever you do in the future!

Meeting Trish and Yan

In between sight-seeing and sorting ourselves out, we were driving down a major road (Jalal Sunset) - poodling about, having decided to take Jessica and AJ to McDonalds (cheap treats!). We suddenly heard the cries of ‘Hey! Where are you from?’ an English lady (originally from Nottingham) called Trish and her son Yan had pulled alongside us in their car.

We replied ‘England!’.

Trish then asked us ‘Where are you going?’ to which we responded ‘McDonalds!’

Trish said ‘You’ve traveled along way to go to McDonalds!’ (Ha! very funny!).

‘Follow me and let’s go and have coffee together!’ Trish said - which we did in the pouring rain.

Following a nice chat together, we discovered Trish has her own business and has lived in Bali for the past 25 years with her son Yan who is 19. They are lovely people. Even when Jessica, AJ and ourselves had successfully driven them crazy with endless talk (well - on Andrew’s part in any case! and children running around like they’d never seen daylight before - freedom from the car!), Trish and Yan ’still’ proceeded to invite us to their house for dinner the following evening.

Trish has a very beautiful house - a villa, complete with very unusual exterior bathroom and swimming pool (all designed and built herself on a rice field she bought some years ago - the stuff that dreams are made of!). The biggest delight for the children were Trish and Yan’s 3 gorgeous dogs who Jessica and AJ couldn’t wait to meet and play with. Play of which consisted of the children stripping down to their underwear (making themselves at home!) and jumping in the swimming pool with the dogs to play catch the ball with them, well into the night!

While us adults did nothing (and the children wrecked the garden making boats out of huge banana leaves!), Trish and Yan went to the trouble of cooking us some lovely traditional Balinese dishes - seaweed with carrot and sesame seed, fish on lemon grass sticks, chilli tomatoes and more yummy delights. A lovely evening (stowing away in one of their bedrooms did cross our minds!). The funniest part was Yan showing us and the children some UTube video clips including one of an Indonesian Police Officer who breaks into Indian song of happiness and action while his fellow police colleague sit’s very studiously and seriously (the normal stance), trying very hard to be professional and ignore the goings-on. The next day, we saw the UTube clip plastered all over the Indonesian TV news - the Policeman now a major celebrity!

Thank you Trish and Yan for a wonderful evening and for providing us a lovely welcome opportunity of meeting you both (if your ever in Bali, beware of Trish who goes round dragging strangers off the street, even while they are still driving!!!!!).

Marrif, Trish & Yan, we hope our paths cross again in the future!

Extending Indonesian Visas

Not knowing anyone on arrival, we managed to get a sponsor direct through the immigration office to help us extend our existing 60-day visas for an additional 30 days. Total cost £130 (£33 each) or 2m rupiah for all of us.

Around and About Seminyak

Since arriving to Seminyak, we visited Tanah Lot (one of the most important temples in Bali for Balinese) and Ulu Watu (an important temple to the spirits of the sea in Bali). At Ulu Watu, we got the pleasure of seeing dad in a skirt (obligatory dress rules while wandering the temple grounds!) and enjoyed walking along the coastal cliff line scenery. We met a family of four Bulgarians on holiday and we gaily reminisced about our time Wwoofing there with Andy and Sheleen (we’d fallen in love with Bulgaria and still think about our time there often). There were plenty of monkeys about, pinching peoples spectacles and running off with them, looking for food and generally rifling around for trinkets and causing trouble - cheeky things! In the evening we got the chance to see some traditional Balinese dancing - the children loved the costumes, the drama of the dance and the traditional ‘Kecak’ chanting of the men - the music used in place of any instruments. At Tanah Lot, we saw the famed temple carved from rock but the children preferred rifling for crabs and getting soaked in the sea. Both visits were very nice as they got us out, walking and free from the hussle and bussle of the cities and towns - always enjoyable!

Bye for now!
A, A, J and AJ
XXXX

Jessica’s first comments on reaching Bali……………..

“I really, really love Bali. Bali is beautiful. I don’t know what it is - maybe it’s just the way the trees hang over the sides of the road - there is just something about the place that I really like. Right now it‘s definitely my number one favourite place!” (We think it was because the drive times were shorter and easier, the route nice, straight, wide, flat and non-potholed. Also, the swimming and snorkelling opportunities plus good western food - i.e. Jessica’s favourite spaghetti bolognese by the bucket load, instead of endless gorengs!).

In the posh areas of Seminyak in Bali

Dad “I saw a woman washing her children in the drains. Just goes to show you there is such a contrast even here, which is right next to the rich hotels and glitzy restaurants in the area.”

AJ “When I get back to the UK, I would like to join the boy scouts. Do mum’s and dad’s have to attend?
Mum “No, usually you’ll go on camping trips and do fun things on your own with friends and the scout master”
AJ “YES!!!!!! (clearly delighted at the possibility of escaping mum & dad‘s clutches at the end of the trip!)

On snorkelling and darting around the Liberty dive wreck at Tumbalen….

Jessica “I feel like I am o’fish’ally a ‘fish!‘……………..get it?”

AJ’s disappointment at having to use an inflatable ring while snorkelling…………..

AJ “I can swim and didn’t want to use the ring or armbands when looking at the shipwreck and all the fish in the sea.” (AJ can swim but not for an hour unaided in deep sea water!).

Following our early morning Ijen Plateau hike, we were knackered. Early afternoon, the heat was unbearable when we reached Ketapang, to catch our Bali ferry (not far from Banyuwangi on the far west-side). We had no energy to get on the boat and instead found ourselves collapsed in the nearest restaurant - ahhhhhh! the respite from the sun, the lovely food and the delicious cold drinks - heaven! (we were even tempted to go and find some beds!).

A couple of hours later, debating our ‘ability to move anywhere ever again’ levels (the sunbeaten 3am early-risen weaklings in every sense!), we eventually managed to pick ourselves up, throw ourselves back in the car and aim for the general direction of the boat.

It cost us £8.67 to get our car and ourselves onto the ferry (a very simple process) for what was only a one-hour sailing moving at snail pace. Our previous 3-4 hour Sumatra to Java journey had been the same but both ferry in all both trips had been very pleasant and relaxed. Jessica and AJ asked if they could speak to the captain and before we knew it, we could feel the boat jerking sharply left and then heard the horn blaring! We realised without a doubt that the children had taken over the wheel of the ship!

With lots of help from the captain and crew, Jessica and AJ guided the ferry from Java to Bali - learning about sea navigation, compass reading and speaking on the two-way radio along the way. They brought the boat into dock (well almost) before the captain took over again. The children had a great time (the best £8.67 we ever spent!).

First Days in Bali

Used to driving long-distances (anything from 6 to 10+ hours) through Sumatra and Java, we over-shot our first stop-point in Bali. We were not used to smaller distances, flat, brilliant roads or the more smaller Indonesian islands - we thought it would take much longer than it actually did. We had to turn around after only a 1 hour drive - we’d missed our mark by about 10 minutes, not realising we’d missed our goal.

Mindful of how expensive and touristed Bali is in the south along with it‘s beautiful boutiques and furniture shops (oh! to have money!), we stayed north along the far west side, not far from where we had landed. We stayed in a nice quiet place called Pemuteran for two days of undisturbed bliss - a peaceful area set around a tranquil bay and where there is a small project of tortoises who are looked after and released into the sea.

Apart from a meander to the beach (black sand) plus a walk to see a local temple which was smothered in naughty monkeys pinching everyone’s food & fruit everywhere (we had to be careful!) , we didn’t go anywhere or do anything (except hang by the pool!). We were still recuperating from our morning Ijen climb.

When we did eventually get going again, our vehicle refused (dead from exhaustion!). A jump start was needed, like heart resuscitation, to get on our way and this was pretty much the form over the following few days (we had to keep jumping out at drivers with jump leads at the ready to ask for help).

World War II Liberty Dive Wreck at Tulamben

From north of the island, we made our way to Tulamben, an area where we could scuba dive and snorkel a 2nd world war sunken war ship. Mindful of money, we chose to hire snorkels for a one hour paddle before moving on again (cheap, cheerful and did the job). This was the 2nd time Jessica and AJ had been snorkelling. Jessica was like a fish, darting this way and that - delighted at the hundreds of gilled species and the shipwreck she could see. She is dying to give scuba diving a go so she can explore more. AJ wasn’t so happy as he isn’t as strong a swimmer - giving him armbands and then an inflatable ring to support him didn’t go down to well as a result (he wanted to be free like his sister) and he was cold (it began raining).

From Tulamben we jump started our way to Candidasa for a two night stay - a nice, quiet area though we’re not sure what it might look like during peak period (we suspect busy!). Here we began the delights of finding plenty of European food again - we were all in our element and filled our bellies!

Current Location

Having driven through Kuta and Legian in the south and seeing the thronging crowds of people everywhere - nightclubs, shops etc. (very busy areas), we are now buried among the quiet ricefields on the edge of Seminyak, sorting our vehicle among other things and plotting our next moves.

Education Update

We experienced a long gap in the children’s educational needs while traveling through Sumatra and Java - a period of almost 2 months. The children saw and learned much about the environment, varying volcanoes, they’re conditions, cause and effect, saw Orangutans in the wild, visited two volcanic lakes and went fishing and snorkelling. What we were not able to do however, was to be able to put pen to paper at any time or provide any basis of study (reading, writing, literacy, science, spelling and maths). This was due to bad roads, long and troublesome driving conditions and never being based in one place for very long. Work the children did manage to do:

AJ - Reading ‘The Enchanted Shoes and Other Stories’ by Enid Blyton - AJ read the whole book on and off while travelling through Sumatra and Java (wherever he could find the opportunity). He completed the remaining stories while in Bali. He enjoyed the book very much and, even re-read a couple of his favourites out loud together with dad. There are 14 stories in this 191 book and we thought he did quite well. Maths - AJ spent some time looking at division.

Jessica - English revision - test on vocabulary - best words to complete a sentence, best phrases to describe a picture, best answers to describe a picture, best answer to fit a situation from a given picture. Test on grammar - best answer to complete the sentence, choosing words that have opposite meanings, choosing answers with correct spellings. Test on punctuation - Choosing sentences with correct punctuation. Text completion - Choosing best answers to fill blanks in a given passage. Reading comprehension - reading a dialogue and answering questions that follow. Information transfer - studying tables of information and then completing tables with missing answers from the information given. Writing a small passage about going on a small outing for the day - why and where you would go. Jessica also spent time writing and answering questions toward her Sibayak volcano climb report.

Both - Reading ‘The Secret Garden’ based on the story by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Every so often, Dad gave daily times table questions to the children while driving in the car.

Other

Despite Bali being a generally expensive destination (for us in any case with dwindled pockets!) - we are managing to get by on 20.00 per night for a nice hotel room (deluxe) with swimming pool, flat screen! TV, huge breakfast. We are having to be careful with food but have found a couple of good, cheap warungs.

It’s raining cat’s and dogs else it’s sweltering hot!

Bye for now!

A, A, J and AJ
XXXX

Jessica “When we visited Ijen Plateau we had to get up at 3am - it nearly stretched the eyeballs out of my sockets!.”
AJ “I didn’t mind it - I was up first and I chatted all the way up during our hike. I met a nice American man called Scott!”

Leisure

‘What is this this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like stars at night.

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time, to stand and stare.’

Jessica copied out the above poem called Leisure by William Henry Davies from an educational book containing a collection of poems, short stories and drama sometime ago. She fell in love with it and felt that it summed up her feelings about our trip at that time. Mum had been carrying it about in her purse for a while (having forgotten about it - the above representing the re-find!).

Since starting our journey, we’ve never really been apart at night - the children sharing tents, beds, sleeping bags, the floor and lodgings with us, wherever we go. Now and again, Jessica is like a baby cow (calf) who follows mum around everywhere (she even moo’s and sings “ding a ling a ling!”). On mum popping outside for a quiet 5 minutes………………

Dad “Jessica, leave mum alone for some peace and quiet”
Jessica “But that’s what children are employed to do - to go and annoy their parents! And, if I don’t go - I’ll lose my job and I can’t have that!”

Ijen Plateau

Five amazing things about Ijen Volcano:

1) It’s beauty - Ijen volcano contains a fantastic turquoise blue lake with smoke bellowing out of it’s side - the lake is 2,148m above sea level and the crater it is contained within is huge - it took some effort for us to reach it’s edges.

2) It’s activity - not the volcano even, but the Indonesian sulphur mining workers who hand-pick and collect sulphur very early each morning before the smoke gets bad (and even when it’s bad!).

3) It’s people - the 300+ mining workers efforts - who individually and manually carry sulphur weighing anything from 80 to 100 kg on their backs each day in baskets - selling for no more than approx 4p pence per kilo - each load for their efforts amounting to something like £3.20 to £4.00.

4) It’s hazardous route - to descend and ascend each day at least twice to reach and leave the crater floor and then walk from the long route from there - the mining workers initially carry their loads along a very steep hike uphill - just beggars belief especially when you see how dangerous the conditions are (initially, we had a much longer walk up to the workers start point which the workers themselves must undertake to then bring their load down from the crater mouth area)

5) It’s workers fitness levels - Some are aged 70+ - and they passed us out regularly with their loads while we carried nothing but cameras and water and yet still struggled along the route in either direction (really has to be seen to be believed - we know we would never have lasted 5 minutes let alone a day, trying to do the same!).

Jessica would also like to add that “Most of the workers there were half the size of us (Indonesian people generally quite small and petite). They also happily helped us up and down the volcano, making sure we didn’t fall or have a mishap along the dangerous descent to the crater floor, while still continuing their work.”

Dad’s comment was “They [the miners] made it look like they were carrying polystyrene - they make it look so easy - it just didn’t look real.”

While there, we found out that the BBC did a documentary a couple of months ago - bringing helicopter and setting a dinghy in the lake. It’s worth researching the excellent article published during February 2011 - see BBC website and search using something like ‘Ijen plateau’.

Journey to Ijen

We thought we did well climbing up to see Mount Bromo but the ascent to Ijen Plateau from Wonosboro beat anything we had done recently (at least it was beginning to feel that way). The narrow ascent we expected, rough stretches we expected, but the reality of the pro-longed surprise conditions we had not. We were lulled into our route along an initially flat, smooth surface thinking - “doddle!” - we’d be there in no time at all. Wrong! The road was badly broken and nothing but huge pebble and rock surface most of the way. Any remnants of paved road in parts, were more a hindrance than a help. There was only room for one vehicle on the path which didn’t help us at all (log-loaded lorries coming the other way). Having given our vehicle a pummelling over recent weeks - the brakes worn out, the tyres bald, the window screen smashed and having driven pot-hole after pothole, up, down and around sharp winding mountains and volcanoes - we weren’t looking forward to any further lack of decent roads. To add to this we’ve had a plastic bag covering the hub cap on one of the wheels which is secured by one of Jessica’s hair bands (to stop the oil leaking out since Kazakhstan - which was around June/July last year - despite efforts and improvements to address, such a solution wasn‘t going to last much longer!). We needed smooth, flat, sealed, trouble-free transit but it was not to be. Here we were again - this time driving up to see the Ijen Plateau (a gorgeous vista of green jungle and very beautiful forest scenery and vistas, coffee plantations and a total of three volcanoes around us - Ijen 2,368m, our third volcano we have seen in Indonesia called Merapi 2,800m and Raung at 3,332m).

The road was so bad and our vehicle was definitely very tired from the rollicking we had given it recently - so we were wishing along the way that we hadn’t decided to make the journey at all and that it had been a mistake coming to try - we were worried! Though not particularly steep or sharp, Jessica described it as complicated and scary, AJ thought it was quite fun (like getting the bumps!), mum closed her eyes and experienced plenty of cringe-worthy moments (keeping fingers and toes crossed that the vehicle would make it and not breakdown), while dad worried in 1st gear all the way up about the brake light constantly coming on without reason (this symptom happening for some time now but we’ve been pacifying ourselves that we’ll sort everything out once in Bali). We eventually made it while deciding that maybe this would be our last volcano visit for a while. After having seen the Mount Bromo eruptions (how could that experience be possibly bettered?), we were praying that this visit would be worth the effort - and it most definitely was!

Sunrise Ascent

We were up at 3am and out early to drive the 45 minute path to the Pos Paltuding entrance. Parked up, we all (including AJ for his first ever real hike up to a volcano) began our 3km steep ascent. We couldn’t believe that AJ flew up the hiking trail - no bother at all - we thought he would complain with cries of “I’m tired, When are we going to be there?, How long will it be now?” etc. but there wasn‘t a peep. Instead, we actually had a hard job keeping up with him - he virtually ran the distance up - but he’d also met a nice man called Scott who kept him busy chatting along the way. Jessica, normally the fittest of us all didn’t fare so well - we thought maybe too tired from the early morning rise. Mum didn’t take her meds as a precaution to see if this would stop her getting sick at altitude this time (it worked!). So, apart from Jessica who wasn’t as strong as she normally was about such trips, we still managed and did pretty fine considering the steep hike up and the fact that Jess and AJ are both relatively young children.

Mount Ijen and Mining Activity

All along our route we saw miners with empty baskets walking up - slowly paced but ascending with a breeze. Some were coming down with sulphur already collected. In various areas we could see where miners had left their full or empty baskets to either rest or collect later. Half-way up we saw a small manual weighing station where miners took their loads to weigh - we witnessed weights of 80, 90 and 100 kg straight off - our first real taste of exactly what each miner was actually carrying and undertaking.

Approaching the top of the crater mouth was beautiful - a huge big lake, smoke and the most amazing volcanic landscape - the area massive. Within seconds however, our attention was drawn to the most unrealistic sights - 300+ miners carrying their heavy loads one by one, up a long, deep, steep, pretty deathly looking rock crevices - baskets laden with sulphur - the same of which were also dotted throughout as markers to help them keep to the safest route.

We didn’t think we could climb down to the crater floor (and we didn’t have anything to carry) but two miners grabbed the children’s hands and they were off like whizzes on their route downward, no bother to anyone and seemingly in seconds - we were amazed anyone could keep their balance, let alone anything else. And, they were very quick - us parents dawdling much slower behind them - having heart failure at the same time - worrying that the children, far ahead of us now, might have an awful accident en-route. But no - they didn’t - and they were un-fussed but busily chatting and interested in their surroundings when we reached them. It seemed like they had been down there ages before we hit the crater floor ourselves. Once down AJ told us that the man who took him down made him feel very safe (keeping AJ on the inside while he was on the steep crevice edges). For Jessica it was the opposite (she was on the crater edge while the man holding her hand was on the inside) - she hadn’t felt safe - but she seemed fine and happy complaining about it all.

Once down, we saw the men working - hand-picking with special basic tools (sulphur very hot) and amid the steaming pipes which encourage the sulphur making - we think the pipes either pushes liquid sulphur or the hot water from the lake through to cool the sulphur but with language barriers we weren’t quite sure which. The children busied themselves picking up as much hard sulphur as they could find - all different types including some that looked like melted candle wax. The miners gave them some also including some animal shaped ones they sell to tourists like us to make a few rupiah. To take photos was a little difficult at times - everyone wants baksheesh - but it was only small amounts - equivalent to no more than 10p or a cigarette - not much at all and gladdening to a low earning, hard-working miner.

We couldn’t stay too long as the sulphur and smoke got very bad after a very short time - especially if the wind blew the wrong way - the rule of thumb being that inexperienced tourist people like us had to be up and out of the crater floor before 9.30am. Jessica was already suffering badly - the sulphur and smoke burned her throat and we had trouble getting her up and out. She kept wanting to stop to try to recover and the ascent was steep and tiring. One remedy was to wet a cloth with cold water to help her breath and keep moving but the best remedy of all was to get her out of there as fast as possible, before conditions worsened.

Moving On

Slowly and eventually huffing and puffing our way up and out of the crater, we felt very privileged to have witnessed such an experience. We looked back at the photos we took several times, still in disbelief really about what we had seen going on - one of the toughest jobs we have ever seen anyone perform and still unbelievable to us - like a hidden world and a very humbling experience. Heading back down our route, plenty of heavily laden miners passed us by - almost jogging lightly - we had at least a 2-3km route down and the miners did a good slug of this (more than half) to their final unloading destination. Us weaklings had to sit for a few minutes en-route at one point to catch our breath while the miners continued on and passed us by . Someone told us while we were there that when the BBC had visited, they performed medical checks of the workers and found that they were very fit - their hearts much bigger, stronger and more pronounced than normal people.

Back in our car and heading this time the opposite direction - down the other side of the plateau toward the Bali ferry - we experienced the same hellish bad surfaced road as we came in - neither side better than the other.

Bye for now!
A, A, J and AJ
XXXX

Jessica “I’d love to come back here when I’m older and try to help finish building it. It’s a very interesting place.”

On the children being completely covered in black ash while visiting the current erupting volcano Mount Bromo……

AJ “ I was climbing a tree and a branch full of ash fell on top of my head and went straight into my eyes!“.
Jessica “I’ took photos of the ash at night-time and it looked just like the stars - when I flashed them with the camera, they lit up like stardust!.”

On the ground shaking beneath us and it constantly raining ash on Bromo - our car filthy…….

Dad “Is our vehicle insured?”

Yogjakarta, Central Java

Before leaving Borobudur, we bumped into our German friends who had just arrived to visit themselves. We had a quick catch up and then headed off taking a wrong turn somewhere southwards. We ended up along a coastline bumpy road (we couldn‘t see the sea so weren‘t quite sure). Very much worth the accidental detour as we saw some beautiful sights of lush fields, people working industriously by hand and using bicycles to take their hay away - all very calm and tranquil away from the maddening traffic (the pot-holed road condition however was a no, no so we had to come back out again).

Following a couple of nights stay in historic Yogjakarta (there were several power cuts during our stay), we headed for the largest Hindu temple complex in Java while en-route to the east. While in Yogya (it’s more common name), we visited the Kraton (walled city and palace of the sultans - the area another victim to the 2006 earthquake). Here we learned that chairs were not for sitting but for placing a mirror or cosmetics (people preferring the floor), men wear jewellery on their ears (spock-like), a mark of being ’good listeners’ and giant wooden birdcages were traditionally used for keeping babies/toddlers and their nannies (not birds) - for special royal occasions (interesting ideas!). We rested, walked around the city, saw the famous local spice market, plenty of horses and traps, found a cheap restaurant called 369 (or a name similar), the children bought a piece of handmade batik but we didn’t hang around for long - we stayed two nights but were keen to get out and on our way again.

Prambanan Temple, Central Java

Prambanan was built between the 8th and 10th centuries and was believed to have been reduced to rubble following an earthquake during the 16th century. The children were very interested in the huge lego-like construction of the stones which are especially marked underneath with special clues as to how to put them together (the temples still a work in progress). They couldn’t believe that it took so long to try to sort out and put the heaps back together again (the first small temple attempted to re-assemble took many years to complete as there were no guides or plans available). Jessica and AJ, try as they might to move just one stone, they couldn’t and began to appreciate the realities of the task at hand. Rather than it’s religious meaning, Prambanan was very interesting to the children in terms of how it was re-built and the fact that it presented great climbing fodder! (especially the sacred cow statue inside one of the temples!) Otherwise, it was it’s proximity to Mount Merapi and the damage caused to the largest Shiva temple (47m high) by the 2006 earthquake (we were not allowed inside due to cracks and restoration works) that presented the biggest interests. We felt that the Hindu religion was too complex for the children and us to learn about but we enjoyed the little knowledge we did gain during our visit. Returning to the car park, we saw our German friends again - actually not them but their vehicle parked up next to ours - we left a quick note outlining our onward plans and got on our way.

Fiery Mount Bromo, Eastern Java

The roads still nice and flat through Java (though still busy) and weather very hot, we stayed overnight in Nganjuk - not great accommodation but it did the job, before heading onward again. We found a great place to eat along the way for a late midday breakfast (2 x steak and 2 x spaghetti bolognese meals plus drinks for £5 for all of us - ‘brown skin prices’ a local told us).

The weather continually hot (even flip flops making our feet sweat), on the eastern side of Java, we thought it would be nice to see the lunar landscape surrounding Mount Bromo and climb into it’s crater  - it would be cooler up there (before we found out it was currently erupting!). To counter the heat, we bought the children a tub of ice-cream between them for ‘medicinal’ purposes (AJ’s much ‘needed’ Magnum ice cream nowhere to be found!).

Initially, we approached Bromo (2,392m) from Pasuruan and found ourselves high up in the small village of Tosari. The views along the climb gorgeous and eerie - mist and  clouds making the landscape very surreal. From what we could see through the haze - it was full of huge tall trees, beautiful fauna, deep drops downward, small villages high in the mountains and much tended land. But, due to the cloudy cover, we couldn’t really see a thing so we decided we should head back down and try the other side (Cemoro Lawang from the Probolinggo approach). After 6 hours driving already plus another hour ascending, poor dad had to drive all the way back down the narrow winding mountain road which was about 30km, then drive along to the next city and up again another winding, steep, but this time ash strewn ascent (another 30km). The passage into Cemero Lawang was hazardous - the worst being the black ash everywhere - we thought it might make the car slip off the steep edges - we held our breath and held on most of the way up while looking at a huge plume of grey smoke rising before us.

Bromo has been very active during the past 4 months with plenty of explosions and smoke (it has previously been quiet hence the idea we had of being able to climb into it‘s crater).  As soon as we arrived, it was busy billowing and then suddenly exploded right in front of us. We were at a safe enough distance and had a funny moment with a Dutch man and his girlfriend who had just arrived. He was saying that he had come to see the activity but that nothing was happening - at which point Bromo exploded on cue with red hot fire to the man’s shouts of ‘Oh! My God! ‘Oh! My God!‘‘ which could be heard all over the place (everyone laughing!). But, our windows and doors and the ground shook beneath us and we asked locals if they were not worried about it’s condition (as we were!). They said that they had been concerned a couple of months ago when a very large explosion had occurred but lately, the explosions had subsided and now just made the buildings shake slightly. They explained that in the past month or so it’s been much quieter - (though not to us!) but the locals seemed so calm about it. We were told we could no longer climb Penanjakan as we had planned  (this would be from where we could get the best views on the Cemero Lawang side). Currently the track up is broken and damaged due to Bromo’s activity. Only the Tosari side is accessible (the clouded area from where we had just been - we would have to go back there if we wanted to climb up Penanjakan for any special viewing points). From where we were however, it didn’t matter as when we had been at Tosari earlier, we couldn’t see a thing - such views always unpredictable as weather and visibility dependant. At Cemero we had spectacular views of the volcano right in front of us (a small village overhanging a mountainside looking straight at it - just 3km away) and were more than close enough - more than what we wanted! We were offered horse and motorbike or own car to go down and ride across the ash sand plains to have a closer look (there is a temple right next to the volcano, still standing and undamaged to look at) - we declined the offer.

The door and windows of our room rattled constantly and the restaurant doors blew open from the volcano as the force of the smoke billowed, thundered and exploded at different times during our stay. There were some classic and menacingly worrying moments which made us more than a little nervous (Jessica and AJ slept as far away in the beds as they could get inside our room at night time), there was a TV crew filming nearby and the two evenings we stayed, Bromo exploded several times with small spurts of red hot lava - very difficult to capture on camera though we tried several times (our photos looked either blurred or like badly taken daytime shots - we had to be very patient and then very quick - we ended up still unlucky in our attempts to get anything decent). It felt unreal to be so close but we were soon to discover how dirty everything got including the children. Keeping anything clean was a nightmare - we got filthy just standing outside, falling ash made the children’s eyes sting and we couldn‘t get to sleep from the shaking and noise. The weather was also very cold (Anne caught the flu). Weather-wise we couldn‘t win - either sweat to death in Java proper - or freeze to death on Bromo. Coming away from the mountains, Jessica and AJ had to wear sunglasses - not from the sun but to keep the volcanic ash out of their eyes!

Other

At some point along our journey through Java, Andrew met a man who told him that smoking cigarettes supports the local Indonesian economy - since people started giving up around the world, Indonesia now has a stockpile and many people are out of work.

The wood craftsmanship throughout Sumatra and Java is beautiful. We have seen plenty of people by the roadside with small shops making hand-carved beds, wardrobes, screens and chairs. The pointy-roofed, still used, ‘batek’ houses we saw in north & central Sumatra - all traditionally intricately hand-carved and then painted were stunning. Andrew being a carpenter was in his element admiring it all (there were constant remarks like “Do you know how much a door like that would cost in England!?”).

Bye for now!
A, A, J and AJ
XXXX

Dad “I know we’re on the right road because our one always have the bumps!”

While looking through telescope too see the detail of Gunung Krakatau………

Jessica “I can see a man in his Nike underpants, hanging out his washing.”
(Jessica spying on someone in a Caritan coastal backyard instead of looking out across the sea!)

On looking at the beauty of 7th century Borobudur temple…………

Mum “People of the past have built some amazing things!”

AJ singing in the car….

“What’s new pussycat, whoa, whoa, whoa!” What’s new pussycat……..
(AJ listening to Tom Jones on the Ipod)

Goodbye to our Coconut Voodoo Mascot, Southern Sumatra

Our coconut voodoo mascot which sat above our windscreen - a hand carved weird shaped woman with spectacles carrying a baby, finally died a death on the way to the port in southern Sumatra. People always looked at it weirdly and in one country, customs made us remove it. It finally gave up it’s fight for life and fell off and broke into two along the motorway. Either it had, had enough of the journey else, maybe it was trying to give us a message or a sign? (up until now we had regarded it as our lucky charm).

First Days in Western Java

As soon as we hit the road from our ferry, we landed straight into heaving traffic - the west side of Java very busy (there are 134 million+ people on this island - a huge amount especially compared to the 40 million on the larger island of Sumatra). Rather than head for the giant, grid-locked, dusty capital of Jakarta, we decided to hit the quiet western coastline to spy the infamous (now dormant) Krakatau volcano and it’s emerging (more troublesome) son.

No sooner on our way, we missed our turn and ended up driving 2 hours the long-way round from Cilegon (it should have only been a 30-40 minute trip). Off the beaten track along the route we found (after nearly ending back on a toll road to Jakarta) the roads were bad, it was not well sign-posted and we felt we couldn’t take any more potholes, bumps or pigeon picking our way along, especially following our Sumatran travel experiences of the past few weeks.

Initially, driving through from the port, we were struck by how modern the shops and buildings were - very posh shopping malls and restaurants. In contrast to Sumatra, things were much more built up and busy here. We saw 24-hour medical clinics and visited one to refresh medical supplies and, as per Sumatra, there was a real contrast on the street - the more distinct poorer people mixing happily with the more affluent. Along with the usual throng of mopeds , there were the obligatory goreng and bakso stalls selling cheap staples - Indonesia proving to be continually mixed bag of diversity.

Coast of Carita and Krakatau, Western Java

Krakatau erupted ferociously during 1883 and blew itself apart - the largest bang ever recorded on earth resulting in a 40m high tsunami (ash fell on Singapore 840km away and wave effects were recorded as far as the English Channel). It sits in the sea about 50km along the western coast of Java, part of a small group of islands and Anak Krakatau (Son of Krakatau) has been spluttering away since 1928. When we arrived at the coast of Carita, we found the cost to go out and see Anak by boat very expensive at $200 (Anak is hidden from view by Krakatau from the mainland). But, there wasn’t much going on - all was quiet on the volcanic western front! - but Anak is a temperamental volcano - splurting out glowing rocks or smoke or both now and again (passing tourists and locals visiting it’s caldera have been killed in the past).

On arrival to Carita in the evening, we heard the terrible news about the tsunami in Japan. The children watched the TV news as live coverage showed the carnage (they hadn’t seen any footage of a tsunami before) - they could see first hand what such an experience was really like and could better understand our recent visit to the damaged Aceh coastline. We were dying to watch something in English on TV but nothing was happening so dad took out our DVD player. When he plugged it in - it blew all the hotel’s electricity out - reception, rooms - the lot! So that was the end of that idea! (we feigned ignorance meantime as to why the hotel’s electrical system outed.

Jessica was disappointed not to be able to see Krakatau close-up in the flesh - she had been looking forward to it. But all was not lost as she had her telescope and throughout the day dependant on the time and the weather, we got a birds-eye views of Krakatau from where we stayed. Jessica and AJ met a new Indonesian friend - a young girl called Marry who’s uncle introduced them to the world of small surf breaks using beginners boards - there were lots of young people practising on the surf. We stayed in cheap digs but found a hotel with swimming pool (we used for a small fee) while touring about in the car - a perfect location as it overlooked the ocean waves with Krakatau in the background - almost like one of those brochures where the pool looks romantically like it is part of the sea - this one just happening to have historic Krakatau looming in the background.

Bogor and the Puncak Pass, Western Java

After a couple of nights relaxing in and around Carita, we headed for Bogor - taking the potholed, bumpy route back out again. The infrastructure soon improved after a fashion (for a while we had been worried) but being Saturday, it took us 5 hours to cover 100 miles due to the sheer volume of traffic (Saturday‘s always bad days to move about). Compared to Sumatra, we could see the roads were so much flatter and more sophisticated in Java - just the traffic and the millions of mopeds a nightmare.

Bogor was packed to the gills on arrival (people from Jakarta out for the weekend in force). We saw our first Indonesian punks which made a funny contrast to the more reserved Muslim style dress scenes we‘d become used to. The Puncak Pass was a steep ascent, passing through beautiful scenery including tea and strawberry plantations (when we could see through the traffic, road-side stalls and hotels lining the route). It was pouring with rain so we dived into what looked like a very expensive hotel - and, it was expensive except that the standard rooms were very reasonable and the grounds were gorgeous. We had a very comfortable stay for the night for about £20 incl. swimming pool and breakfast etc. for us all (note to selves - we must check out a few more hotels like this to see if we get lucky again - they are nice treats!).

At some point during our onward journey, we were able to jump onto the toll road - a brilliant move as it allowed us to bypass the heaving traffic around the city of Bandung. So far, we were finding the Java landscape very pretty but couldn’t appreciate it in the same way we had Sumatra because it was so much more built up and busy. The landscape in Java is much more cultivated, tended to and it is gorgeous - just not as wild and visible as Sumatra in our view (we were also missing our daily “hello misters!”)

AJ had been longing for a Magnum ice cream for months and we finally found one in an Indomaret (always advertised there but not many of them have when you actually go inside one of these stores to look) - he was in heaven! Although not restricted to Java but common to SE Asia as a whole (even in Russia), it constantly amazed us how one group of roadside stalls always tended to sell the same thing as the next - if it’s bananas - then all the stalls have nothing but bananas. If it’s coconuts - then all the stalls have nothing but coconuts - then it’s all eels, fruit, or dried snacks and so on. The children got hungry along the way and we found a street peddler selling hot, freshly cooked corn on the cob and got a bag of 5 for 70p - a happy time was spent munching away in the car.

A Prayer in Stone at Borobudur, Central Java

Early evening, arriving at Borobudur, Jessica set up her telescope to look at the craters on the moon and showed AJ who’s comment was “awesome!”. Jessica tried to show a local Indonesian man the close up views but he kept accidentally moving the telescope out of view each time he tried to look. Finally, just as Jessica was about to pack away, the man had one last look and his comment was “wow!”. Jessica said to the man “Imagine if there was a man up there looking down at us!” to which the man replied “Oh! No!” and “Wow!” again.

The Buddhist monument Borobudur is the single most visited site in the whole of Indonesia. No other monument accomplishes what Borobudur does, especially in sheer scale on which stone panels have been carved to tell stories illustrating five Buddhist scriptures. The scriptures themselves took many years to unravel and some panels still pose a mystery today (due to much later Buddhist religious understanding gained only from more recent translation of ancient and often secretly hidden scriptures discovered over the years).

Borobudur (750-850 AD) is a melee of Buddha statues, stupas and beautifully ornate carved stone panels all piled on top of each other in an almost wedding cake-shape design. It was rediscovered by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (British Governor of Java), in 1814 after having being lost to the world. The site was rubble when Raffles found it and took 200 men 6 weeks to cut and burn vegetation around it and to remove the ash cloaking the stones. The last reliefs were uncovered accidentally only in the 1870s. Following Raffles initial find, for many years more, Borobudur was left neglected. In 1844 a tea house was built on top of the ruins and in 1896 the King of Siam removed 8 cartloads of treasures, some now housed in the National Museum of Bangkok. Over the years, stupas were smashed and looted and the structure began to collapse (the monument was built without mortar between the bricks). Internal unrest, World War II and lack of funding all contributed further to it’s sad demise before finally rising from the ashes with the help of UNESCO.

The Kedu Plain surrounding the Borobudur monument is often called the ‘Garden of Java‘. Bordered almost on all sides by rugged mountain ranges, it is surrounded by two twin pairs of conical volcanoes including the active Gunung Merapi at 2,911 (the others dormant) - Sumbing (3,371m), Sindoro (3,135m) and Merabu (3,142m).

The entry to Borobudur was quite expensive at $15 per person and half this for the children (about £30 in total for all of us). However, being mum’s birthday, if we stayed at an expensive hotel on the grounds of Borobudur itself for £47 per night, we could all enter the site, free of charge, as many times as we liked throughout the day, see a courtesy video and have a good western breakfast included in the cost (for 4 of us) plus a bath! We checked other local hotel costs (averaged £25 for very basic accommodation) and opted for the expensive one on the grounds with an unusual ornamental fruit Maga tree (called the Manohara Hotel). We discovered there is another hotel - suites with own pools plus tennis courts and spa - David Beckham once stayed there. Set a mere 4km away on a hillside, the cost was in the region of $2,600 per night - phew! - to have money!

Visiting Borobudur was lovely - a very interesting site. Of all the Buddhist monuments we have seen on our travels, none matched the learning power about the religion as much as this one. Many groups of students surrounded the children and wanted photos - everyone very friendly. Jessica was armed with her telescope to inspect Merapi volcano at closer quarters. The views from Borobudur across the landscape and time spent in the gardens of the hotel were as nice as visiting the monument itself - whoever was responsible for planning and building Borobudur chose a very nice location!

Gunung Merapi, Central Java

The Merapi volcano causes many problems in the area - still continuing to keep the Borobudur monument covered in ash due to it‘s activity - there are several regular cleaning operations throughout the year. There was an earthquake during 2006, killing many in it’s path but Borobudur was miraculously undamaged, though nearby Prambanan didn‘t escape so well (see next blog update). A few days later, travelling from Borobudur to our next destination at Prambanan, we saw huge volcanic boulders thrown from Merapi by the roadside - unbelievable that they could reach so far.

Things we never knew before reaching Java

- Indonesia plan to build a bridge between Sumatra and Java - due for completion during the next 10 years - (Andrews says “tsunami ridden, with Krakatau and situated right in the middle of the ring of fire - sounds safe!”)

- How small Geckos are, versus, the loud, noisy racket they make

- How close Australia’s Christmas Island is to Java

- How badly AJ needed a haircut (mum finally attacked it with a blunt nail scissors!)

Bye for now!
A, A, J and AJ
XXXX