Yogyakarta

We have not, contrary to popular opinion, died. We've just been parked in one spot for a week. After our volcano adventures, we caught the train from Surabaya to Yogyakarta (or 'Jogja' to the locals), which is where we've been holed up since.

Sidenote: trains in Java are actually very good. It's the only part of Indonesia with a sophisticated train network, which makes sense, because Java is the world's most populous island. For context, this place has the population of Russia in a space the size of Greece 🤯 so it's no wonder the trains are decent. It wouldn't be Indonesia though without a little bit of madness sprinkled in; when we alighted at Jogja, we discovered the train doors don't line up with platform steps. So you just have to go down the train until you find somewhere you can step off, or jump down 4ft to the ground with your luggage in hand.

Jogja is the cultural heart of Indonesia, a special region with its own sultan and government, over 100 universities, a thriving arts and food scene, and many of the country's most important religious sites. It's mostly popular with domestic tourists, not foreigners, which makes it feel like a hidden gem. The national government has plans to make the city more inviting to international tourists though, so if you want to visit we would recommend doing it as soon as possible!

We've been here for six days, so in the interest of keeping this blog entry relatively concise, here is a quick rundown of our activities:

1. Visiting the world's largest Buddhist temple at Borobudur.

2. Taking a night-time food tour with a local guide (maybe our highlight?!) where we were introduced to bakpia, jamu and kopi joss, among other local treats.

3. Being lowered 60m into the abyss of Jomblang Cave by ten men with a rope.

4. River tubing at Goa Pindul (better organised this time than our adventure in Lombok). Dan jumped in from 7m, losing his watch in the process 🙃

5. Exploring the world's 5th largest Hindu temple at Prambanan, in the pouring rain.

6. Watching an Indonesian ballet performance of the Ramayana, including glorious costumes, masks, backflips, archery, and fireworks on stage.

7. A dash around the sultan's water palace, Taman Sari.

8. Shopping and eating on Malioboro and Prawirotaman Streets. Including some fresh, new Batik shirts for Dan.

9. Looking into Jogja's 'Horror museum' (spoiler alert: so bad that it's laughable, and therefore good).

We've also been slowly improving our Indonesian over the last three weeks, so we have a lot of simple phrases locked in now. Banyak Bahasa! Also 'dan' means 'and' in Indonesian, which might explain why so many people struggle to understand Dan's name.

There is a lot more international food and culture in the Jogja restaurants, which has been a welcome break from rice three times a day. At some point, we had to renege on our travel credibility and admit that we really wanted a pizza. The pizza was okay, but Nasi Goring Pesto is not a fusion to be repeated. Jogja is very multi-cultural, so there's a fair bit of western music in the cafes, especially 00s RnB for some reason – we've heard a lot more Akon, Ne-Yo and Bruno Mars than expected.

It has been really refreshing to stay in one place for a few days, after only spending max 3 nights in each location so far. Now we're revitalised and ready for the next hop, which will be our last adventure in Indonesia. Today we cross the equator. Stay tuned!En savoir plus