Mount Bromo: Visiting an Active Volcano in East Java
10 December 2012
Categories : Adventure - Hiking, Trekking, and Eco - Sightseeing - Travelings
Stumbling out of bed, I skipped the shower, brushed my teeth, and stepped outside into the cool darkness. Craning my head toward the night’s sky, I was greeted with a scattering of white stars. It was a good sign. In a trip filled with early mornings, getting up at 3 AM to watch the sunrise over Mount Bromo in East Java was the earliest. We’d been warned to dress warmly, as temperatures can drop close to freezing, but I didn’t even find a hat...
Tag : Mount Bromo
A Behind the Scenes Look at Making Gudeg in Yogyakarta
10 December 2012
Categories : Sightseeing - Cuisine
The heat from the flames was almost unbearable, the lack of air circulation stifling. A surprisingly tall, young, shirtless man in flip-flops entered the room. Male or female, it was hard not to notice his abs, covered in sweat, and seemingly carved from stone. He deposited a shovel full of red-hot coals underneath one of the many large cooking pots, without a word, and left the room again. Walking into the kitchen of Gudeg Yu Djum, a famous restaurant in...
Tag : Yogyakarta
Watching the Sunrise from Borobudur Temple
7 December 2012
Categories : Sightseeing - Travelings - Culture and Heritage
Approaching the stone steps of Borobudur Temple in the pre-dawn hours, the sky slowly began to lighten, revealing a blanket of grey clouds. Getting up at 4 AM was no longer about seeing a multi-colored sky, but experiencing one of Indonesia’s greatest cultural landmarks with as few people as possible. Borobudur Temple is the world’s largest Buddhist monument, its construction dating back to the 8th and 9th centuries (300 years before Cambodia’s...
Tag : Borobudur
Observing Orangutan Behavior at Camp Leakey
7 December 2012
Categories : Travelings - Adventure
Following the epic photo shoot with the delightful Sweet Hope, we devoured a breakfast of toast, fruit, and fried rice aboard the klotoks, and then disembarked. By then, two dozen other tourists had arrived to watch the morning’s orangutan feeding. We walked a few minutes along another raised boardwalk, until we reached the ranger station. Behind one of the buildings, a mother orangutan was hanging from a tree trunk, along with her adorable little baby...
Tag : Camp Leakey: Renowned Orangutan Research and Rehabilition Center
The Beauty of Yogyakarta
5 December 2012
Categories : Travelings - Culture and Heritage - Sightseeing
Yogyakarta is the second most popular destination after Bali in Indonesia. Also known as Jogjakarta, the beautiful city never fails to amaze with its old world charm and natural beauty. Steep in history, Yogya is the centre of Javanese art and culture, the cradle of civilization on Java where a few world heritage sites are located in the city and surroundings. It is the gateway to one of the world wonders – Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple and...
Tag : Yogyakarta
