Bromo to Madakaripura Spirits were high after our morning adventure (previous post). We left Lava View Lodge soon after breakfast and got a look at the other side of the mountain village on the drive to Madakaripura. The sun was out now and brought life to the sky and fields. I wished we could have stayed for…
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Adventures on Horse & Sand We had just witnessed a fantastic sunrise at Penanjakan and now it was time to explore Mount Bromo. It was about 6:30 a.m. when my horse-ride started. I would have preferred my feet over a pony (to cover a 3 Km patch), but I was so tired and the sun…
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To Penanjakan 1 (2,700 m) We had to wake up at 2:00 a.m. in the morning to ensure we got a spot at Penanjakan — the popular viewpoint. But we weren’t the only ones. The cottage was buzzing with alarms and hurried footsteps. Eko (our guide) met us at the reception area and looked pretty…
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Early Morning Train Ride Our hotel in Yogyakarta was about 15 minutes away from the railway station. The entrance to the station was buzzing with foreign tourists, their guides, and few locals. There’s a ticket and passport check at the entrance, but surprisingly the security check isn’t very strict. It’s preferable to carry only a…
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Graharu Boutique Hotel Our boutique hotel, in Borobudur, was pretty charming in daylight. It had looked very different on the previous night and the wee hours of the morning — before our sunrise visit to Borobudur Temple. The manager was disappointed that we were rushing to Yogyakarta after spending only a couple hours in the hotel.…
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We woke up at 3:00 a.m. to the sounds of the alarm and crickets. I was tempted to skip sunrise because of the tiring day at Prambanam. But once I was up, I couldn’t contain my excitement and was all set to go. Eko, our guide, was waiting at the lobby of our boutique hotel.…
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We woke up at 4 a.m. to leave Bogor before rush hour. Our taxi picked us at 5 a.m. and we reached Jakarta Airport within an hour. After 4 long days in Indonesia, our trip had finally begun. Given the distances and time constraints, we opted for a private tour (Backyard Travel) of Java —…
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After spending a day in Jakarta, we headed to Bogor for the next leg of our trip. Getting There It takes about an hour to reach Bogor from Jakarta. But, you can add an extra hour and a half when the traffic builds up. We left Jakarta at noon and missed its infamous rush hour…
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The minute we boarded the flight to Jakarta from Hong Kong, I was amazed by the cultural diversity of the people onboard and felt welcome by their smiles. We clubbed our trip with Basil’s conference (in Bogor) and our route would take us through an exploratory journey of Java (from Jakarta to Surabaya via Yogyakarta). …
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