Yogkarta (and Borobudur, Paramban)

Suffice to say I didn't sleep very well on the bus to Yogjakarta. I got there at 9am and found a very nice guest house, and took an AC room for the first time anywhere as they only had those. After a nap I went charged off on foot into the city and found Yogjakarta an actually quite nice city in Indonesia! The people were very friendly, and some of them were not even trying to sell me batik! I visited the palace, which wasn't really up to much, the old Dutch fort, which was somewhat lacking in English translations, and the Water Palace, which was a bit of a difficult to find warren. Like everywhere else I'd been in Indonesia I found it had a very empty and dead feel, with lots of restaurants and guides set up for tourists, but very few actual tourists there.

The next day I took a trip out of Yogjakarta to Borobudur and Paramban temples leaving at 5am (these early rises became a habit in the days ahead). Borobudur was truly spectacular, and finally something worth seeing in Indonesia! It's a huge Buddhist stupa, but what really makes it is the surroundings early in the morning with low-lying mist and views to surrounding green hills and far off volcanic peaks in the background. Here a few tourists appeared, but we were enough of a novelty that locals wanted their pictures taken with us. This was the first time there was a westerner on my bus as there was one Canadian girl (and lots of Japanese). After visiting another small Buddhist temple we went to Paramban, where there are a selection of large Hindu temples. Unfortunately they were damaged in an earthquake a few years ago and it's still not safe to go inside. From the outside they weren't bad, but after seeing similar but better eslewhere on my travels it wasn't too exciting!

Another night in Yogjarkata and the next morning I set off on a three day trip to volcanos in east Java that I'd payed a bit of money for (but not too much!).

Photos:

Water Palace in Yogjakarta.

Borobudur at Sunset.

Borobudur again, volcano in background.

Temple at Paramban.