Java is one of the only islands in the huge archipelago that has a public train system. So rather than paying a lot more to take another flight, we decided to utilise the system and save our pennies.
Having bought the cheapest tickets for the nine hour train a couple of days before, we arrived at the station feeling a tad apprehensive. Amelia was envisioning the worst - a long cramped journey in smelly, dirty conditions on bum numbing wooden benches. I was trying to stay positive, hoping our bargain priced tickets would give us more than just wooden benches. Fortunately, I was right to be optimistic and there was a smile of relief on Amelia's face when she saw that the carriage was far from cramped and there were actually cushioned seats! The train was much better than even I'd hoped for, there was a clean toilet and we even had power points!
Even though the journey was long, we appreciated the chance it gave us to admire the amazing scenery we missed at 30,000 feet above. Most of the journey was through the countryside, so therefore full of gloriously green rice paddies and at times quite mountainous landscape. When we weren't passing rice farmers we saw a few poverty stricken villages. Although horrible to see the conditions in which they were living in, it was nice to see the smile on their faces and their waving hands as we passed through.
As we didn't know about the train's dining options, we went on board prepared. Our 'packed lunch' consisted of steamed rice and fried chicken (Asia's version of KFC). It was nice, but a few chips wouldn't of gone a miss!
Other than gazing out the window and admiring the countryside, we spent time being productive and typed up entries for the blog. Sometimes, ironically, being on the move is the only place we actually find time to write our travel blog.
We arrived in smoggy Jakarta as the sun was setting. The place we'd booked for our one and only night in central Jakarta was just over two kilometres away from the station. Although walkable, we decided to catch Jakarta's version of a Tuk Tuk. It's called a Bajaj, it's an ubiquitous mode of transport in the bustling city and I can understand why, as it's a very manoeuvrable little three wheeler! Being crushed into the back of the little tinned vehicle and watching the driver wind his way through the maze of crawling traffic, is an experience I won't forget!
After dropping our bags in the nice clean room, we headed out for a quick bite to eat. The choice for food near our hotel seemed limited, most of the eateries had closed quite early. So our option was nasi campur or... nasi campur.
We took our mixed rice we'd bought from a friendly street vendor back to the seating areas in the hotel's courtyard, before heading to our comfy room for an early night.

Jakarta isn't a place you want to stay for long. In fact most people don't leave the airport or airport hotels, and I don't blame them. However, for us it seemed a shame to miss the most populous city in SEA and capital of Indonesia. Especially as we've seen every other capital city during our trip.
We started our day in the capital eating a big bowl of delicious noodle soup at a nearby street food vendor. Despite the pace of life in the rapidly growing city, a very friendly local couple soon started talking to us. They were keen to get to know us and as were we with them. Not a scenario you'd necessarily find in the capital cities of the western world.
The first of very few tourist spots in Jakarta was not far from where we'd eaten breakfast. Amelia led the way, and was sure not to lose our direction. When we arrived at 'Pasar Bani' (a market) I could sense Amelia's disappointment before I even looked at her glum face. Fortunately, for me, we were too early. Apart from a couple of fruit stalls the street was bare! So on we went to the next destination on our 'hitlist'.
Indonesia is predominantly Islam, but there are six 'official' religions of Indonesia. Including Catholicism. Although there is conflict, Jakarta as a whole seemingly appears very tolerant towards other faiths. And one place in Jakarta that this is quite evident is seen in the centre where there is not only SEA's largest mosque, but just a stone's throw away a large cathedral too! It's not the prettiest mosque, or cathedral for that matter, but it's a sight to behold and appreciate.
As we only had the one night in the city, we strolled back towards the hotel to check out of our room. During our leisurely walk back, a random man latched on to us and again before we knew it we felt like we knew his life story. It transpired that he was on his way to work. Apparently it was en route to our hotel so we let him tag along. It was a mere two hundred metres before we reached a pristine white building which he told us was his place of work - an opera house! It was a very nice building which he was clearly proud of. Him and Amelia posed outside for a couple of shots before we said our goodbyes and wished him a good day. We passed Pasar Bani on our way back, although it was now bustling and full of traders it wasn't as big or exciting as we'd read, so we had a quick browse, bought some mangosteen and salak (an unusual tasting fruit with a peel that looks like snake skin) before heading back to the room to check out.
As we weren't leaving until later that day, the hotel was able to put our luggage in to their storage room for us to collect later. Feeling a little peckish but not wanting to brave the midday heat looking for an eatery, Amelia, surprise surprise, thought it'd be nice to visit the huge mega mall (apparently rated #1 on Tripadvisor) in the centre.
The journey was hot and sweaty in the back of a bajaj, which only have 'a/c alam' - nature's a/c. But we got there, just, after a lot of weaving through traffic and whizzing down one way roads (the wrong way).
The shopping mall was humungous, with plenty of choices for food, but with most of it being out of budget, we ended up stopping by Burger King for some 'much needed' western junk food. It was a nice change, but as always, we felt worse for it afterwards.
After a fruitless shop around, Amelia and I decided to spend our last few hours out of the heat and in an ice cold cinema. Indonesia, like Malaysia, has some of the cheapest cinema tickets in the world, so we decided to take advantage before leaving the country.
Jakarta is one of the only cities in the world to offer a free city sightseeing bus. We decided to take advantage of this system to get back to the hotel, it was a slightly convoluted journey, which was to be expected, but we got to within walking distance of our hotel for free!
Once we'd collected our bags we made our way to the train station to get catch a... bus. Unfortunately there are no trains going to the airport. But a bus leaves from the main station for the airport every hour - method in the madness!

After a night in a nearby airport hotel, we awoke and boarded a flight to our next country and capital city.. Leaving the incredible Indonesia behind was saddening, having spent eight weeks in Indonesia we really felt connected to the country and people. But visa restrictions meant leaving having only scratched the surface of the colossal and amazing archipelago, that is Indonesia.