EXPLORING JAVA   by Ines Brode

During our two weeks study break I decided to travel around Java. I started my journey in Jakarta because I thought I definitely have to see the capital of Indonesia and one of the world’s greatest megalopolises. Luckily, two of my friends are studying there and they have a lot of local friends that showed me the best sides of Jakarta. But two days were fully enough and I took the train to Yogyakarta to meet there some other friends from Bali. Yogyakarta is known as the most interesting cultural center of Java. The town is popular for art and culture, as we have seen in visiting the Batik Art School. We found a pretty cozy homestay near the Jl. Marlioboro, which is a great area to stay some days. In the afternoon we took the bus to visit the Prambanan temple, which is the grandest and most evocative Hindu temple complex in Java. Prambanan features some fifty temple sites and it is very impressive to discover all of them. On the second day we decided to make a day trip to the Borobudur monument which is definitely a must see in Java. It is the largest Buddhist monument in a primarily Islamic country and offers a great view with a special atmosphere. The Borobudur temple is one of Asia’s most magnificent temples and built from two million stone blocks. 

 For the third day in Yogyakarta we planned to discover the Gunung Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano. The best way to do so is by doing a Jeep tour. This was a great experience because the way upwards was pretty bumpy, so it was so much fun to go with the Jeep. We spend the afternoon by walking trough Yogyakarta and took the night train to Bandung, which is known as the ‘Paris of Java’. Unfortunately, we got lost a few times until we found some nice streets for shopping. We planned to go on right on the next day to Pangandaran that lies at the south coast of Java. In the afternoon we visited the ‘Taman Nasional Pangandaran’, which is a national park directly at the coast. It is a beautiful untouched forest that is populated by barking deer, hornbills and Javan gibbons, and features spectacular white-sand beaches. The hostel we stayed in offered a tour to ‘Green Canyon’ and ‘Green Valley’ for the next day, so we decided to do that. We started early in the morning and drove with the motorbikes trough the jungle and beautiful traditional villages. 

When we arrived in Green Valley I was totally impressed of the beauty of scenery. We jumped into the clear water and swam all the way down back in the crystal-clear water. It felt like we are in our own personal tropical pool surrounded by a breathtaking forest. After having lunch, we jumped on our scooters to drive to the Green Canyon. With a boat we drove through the jungle and stopped at a big rock. From that point on we swam. The Green Canyon is so impressive and beautiful that I couldn’t really believe what I see. We swam through the canyon, climbed on rocks, discovered cliffs and jumped from rocky overhangs. And the best thing was that we were the only people there, so we really enjoyed being in this beautiful natural wonder. This was really a great experience!