After leaving Jakarta i searched for somewhere that had a more relaxed feel and with far less traffic. Instead i found Bandung. this was around 3 hrs on a train. I had booked a Eksekutif seat for this short trip. This is the best class on the train network. However this may be far superior to the other options, but it is far from a luxury experience. The windows had cracks, where stones had been thrown. The seats and carriage were dirty, and it smelt of fish for some unknown reason. But to put it into some sort of perspective, this 70 mile trip cost only 75,000 Rp (Around 4GBP), and to think the same length journey from my home town to London by train would cost 38 GBP, and would be lucky to have a seat, would smell just as bad and most of the time would also be just dirty. So there were no complaints from me. After departing Jakarta, i traveled through a small town where i spotted children walking along the tracks, heading for school. I also crossed over a river, where family's were bathing and washing clothes. It also appeared that there were make make shift houses along the river bank, that were constructed of cutoff pieces of wood and bamboo. some just had a tarpaulin thrown over tree branches. For most of the journey i was flanked on either side by paddy fields, where women mostly, but some men and the occasional child were shin or even knee deep in the mud. They were working along the line at some speed, given the fact that their bodies were almost doubled over, and that the temperature must have been in the 90's. Further down the tracks the train started to climb and the temperature dropped. There were volcanoes in the distance. one of which was active, with plumes of smoke rising from the crater. I arrived at Bandung station just after midday. As soon as the train came into the platform area, and before it came to a stop, dozens of men and boys jumped onto the carriage trying to grab bags, and offering to carry them for a small fee. I declined and alighted the train, climbing down the steps and onto the platform. Once here i realized that i had to cross back over the tracks and through another stationed train, just to reach the station entrance. Once through here i was hounded by both taxi and Tuk Tuk drivers, but i knew that the station was not far fromfew accommodation options, so i walked the short distance to a hotel. It was a nice small hotel that had a restaurant that overlooked a pool. I had a double room with bathroom that had hot water, and this cost about 8 GBP. After a small rest and a quick dip in the pool, i walked into the town along the main street called JI Asia Africa. It was clear that as in Jakarta the traffic is a big problem here and that there was also no pavements to walk on. So after a very short time looking and failing to find anything of any interest here, i decided to go back to the station and book a ticket for the next day. It was clear that Bandung was just a small version of Jakarta.

I purchased a ticket for Yogyakarta and left early the next morning. This train ride was much the same as the day previous, with the countryside filled with paddy fields and mountains.

The Journey took around 7Hrs, and i arrived in the city midday. The station was very similar to Bandug, where i had to cross the tracks in front of and through trains to exit. From here i took a short walk to an area called Sosrowijayan. Here is where the majority of the budget accommodation is. It was very busy and most of the hotels were full. After around 45 minuets of walking this area, which consisted of small alleys called gangs, i found a small hotel withonly twenty rooms, one of which was available, at the cost of only 60,000 Rp. This room came with a double bed, bathroom and AC. I walked the town, which was much more easy then the other city's i had been to so far in Java. There was much less traffic, more pavements and it felt on a whole a lot more pleasant.The city is known for the arts and also for batik. Which is a process where wax is applied to material in intricate designs, then the textile is dyed. This is used in clothing, sheets, towels and some of the artwork too. Yogyakata is also known for its leather goods and silverwork. So there is a constant stream of traders begging for you to take a look at their goods, But it is done in a non pushy way.

I did not like the Batik much myself but some of the art work was very good, and often done by some very young locals. After a couple of hours walking through the small streets i watched a live group playing at a bar called Bintang, here i was joined at my table by some local girls who gave me some good information about the city and they also showed me to a couple of other bars in the area, which is a bonus, as for many things tourists are charged more than the locals, but with them in tow, i was charged the local price. The next day i woke early so i could see the two attractions that are the real draw to this town. These are the ancient Buddhistruins of Borobudur and Hindu temple of Prambanan. It took 2Hrs to drive to the Borobudur, and i arrived just in time for sunrise. This was constructed in early part of the 9th century. But with the decline of Buddhism in Indonesia it was abandoned and the completely covered by volcanic ash in 1006, only to be rediscovered in 1814. It has over 500 Buddha images in total, some of which are enclosed in cone like structures where you try to reach in through one of the holes on the side to try and touch the Buddha inside. If this is achieved then you are pure and your wish is supposed to come true, if you fail then you are deemed not pure at the time. I failed, so therefore must be the latter, but that came at no surprise. I spent three hours here walking around the structure and through the parkland that surround it. After herei was taken to another smaller temple just 3 mile away. Then it was on to the second attraction, Prambanan. This is a Hindu Temple which was thought to have been built at the same time as Borobudur. The temple was also set in a nice park area, but unfortunatelywas severely damaged in a large earthquake in 2006, which left much of the temple in utter ruins. This meant that at the time of my visit, there was scaffolding and a lotwas out of bounds to the public. However i could still see that it was at once a very impressive temple. After here i was taken to a silver factory, where they were making jewelery and even furniture. This was a short visit as my budget could not stretch to buying anything. Then it was back to the city and for diner at a small bar down one of the gangs. Later i met back up with the girls from the night previous, and they took me to a local club for the night, introducing me to their friends. The club was on the outskirts of the city and was pretty run down, but good fun.

The next day i left Yogyakarta at 06.00 by a small minibus that is know as a" Bemo." I was heading for Gunung Bromo. The Bemo was full of other tourists all heading for the same attraction, which is one of Java's most famous volcano. This was my first real experience with Indonesian roads and the driving. It was one that i will never forget. The Bemo was cramped, old, and basically a deathtrap. There were no seat belts at all, some of the seats were not even fixed to the rusty floor and the doors would keep opening. But the worst of it was the driving that went with it. I thought that the driving in south America was bad, but that was like a drive with miss daisy compared to this. I could not help but think that the driver was trying to escape someone, i found myself looking behind to see if we were being followed. He was driving at such speed and with what seemed no care for his or our lives. He would over take a vehicle that was already overtaking another. Add this to the fact that we were on a single lane road, and that there were cars coming from the other direction too. His method, and it appeared every other drivers, was to drive straight, only look ahead, press the horn as much as possible, and if someone in the way, it is fine to push them out the way.I felt sorry for the two lads that sat up front with him, as they could do nothing but watch what was happening in front. Whereas i chose to put my head in a book or kept my eyes out the side windows. This white knuckle ride lasted 12hrs, when we stopped at a small town and swapped to another similar Bemo, that took us the rest of the way to a village called Cemoro Lawang. I was dropped at a hotel that was pretty disgusting, but judging by the others around the village was the standard. The time now was 21.30, just enough time to eat dinner then it was to bed, as i was to be woken at 03.30 for the visit to the volcano. The room was tiny, with just a single bed and just enough room to put my backpack, it was also freezing cold and damp. But i got a couple of hours sleep in before my alarm call. It was pitch black outside when i walked out of the hotel and into a 4x4 that was to take me to Penanjakan, which is a mountain that faces Bromo, Tengger crater and Gunnung Semeru. This offers the best vantage point to see the sun rise light up the volcanic landscape. It took an hour to reach the top, by driving up some very steep dirt tracks. But one at the top there was a short walk to the viewing point, past small huts selling tea, coffee and other warming drinks. The view point is only a small clearing at the top of the hill. There must have been almost another 200 cold, tiered but eager people waiting for the sunrise. It came at just after 06.00 and was to the left of Bromo. As the sun climbed the colours changed on the crater, and for the first time i could see the smoke puffing out ofGunnung Semeru, which is the larger of the two. Once daylight had set in, i headed back to the jeep, for a short drive over to the other side of the crater, and to Bromo itself. Driving through the crater was so dusty that the headlights did not have any impact in lighting the way, it was like driving in thick fog. But i got to the bottom of Bromo, which left a 20 minuet hike to the top rim. Once here i could see right inside the volcano mouth that sat about 500m below. After here it was back to the hotel for a breakfast of pancakes, before i had another equally scary Bemotrip down to