Before I report back on what turned out to be one of my favourite places on my travels (and another place I would happily live for awhile), something should be said of my chaotic journey to the relaxed and peaceful town of Ubud. After being squeezed into a minibus for a seven hour journey from Mount Bromo to the ferry port of Java from where I am due to take the ferry over to Bali and then another minibus three hours or so to Denpasar, I am told that in fact th...

After having finally found a company to go to Mount Bromo with and onto Denpasar, I got picked up in a car rather than a bus. I should've expected this as it had been such a struggle to get a tour booked considering the minimum passenger number was two, but needless to say I was somewhat disheartened when the next stop picked up an older Spanish couple and no one else. My experience of Indonesia so far has been entirely devoid of meeting other backpackers. To a...

Yogyakarta is a quiet town of culture. A great deal of my time there was spent trying to book onto a tour to Mount Bromo and onto Denpasar in Bali - unbelievably difficult as a solo traveller. Apparently no one else in town wanted to do the same. I also spent a great deal of time in an amazing bar/cafe, where I sampled Balinese cuisine for the first time which was absolutely delicious and made me keen to get to Bali itself. To my delight and my bank account's c...

I've been day dreaming about going to Indonesia for years. I'm not really sure why - maybe it's because it's so diverse and not as well travelled as my other destinations. It always feels a bit odd when you're finally on your way somewhere you've been particularly excited about. You tend to feel almost proud that you had the drive to come away at all. Who cares if I'm going to be a bit behind on the career ladder? I'm bout to spend two months in INDONESIA, home...

My return to Kuala Lumpur was made far more fun by the companionship of Christian, who after the nightmare speed boat journey kindly lent me some money when we discovered we were both getting the same bus back to KL and my card wouldn't let me withdraw any money. This journey to KL was somewhat smoother than the first one from Thailand; though the driver wouldn't win any awards, it beat a thirty hour journey any day. A note on the previous journey - the boat from...