Java in all its diversity excites your travel senses. Beautiful landscapes, dramatic volcanoes, magical temples, deserted beaches, the greenest rice paddies and 145 million extreme nice people, making Java a great place to travel.

Our first impression of Java surprised us. We moved from an average of 40 km/h on winding roads surrounded by jungle and rural life in Sumatra to 100 km/h on a straight high way (it even had a guard rail!), surrounded by endless views of green rice fields in Java. It felt familiar. As if we drove on a high way in the Netherlands! A weird sensation. Only the lack of cows revealed we were not home. Or have we just been away from home too long and it was nowhere near the Dutch landscapes? 🤔 Sixteen months already… It feels absolutely unreal.

In no time we arrived in Jakarta. It’s a city to skip or to make the best out of it. In Kota Tua, also known as Old Batavia, you will encounter some charm with its colonial buildings. The Merdeka square impresses, measuring 1 square kilometre and surrounded by imposing buildings, like the Presidential Palace, the National Museum, a Roman Catholic Cathedral and the Istiqlal Mosque, the biggest in Southeast Asia. In the middle stands the National Monument, symbolizing the fight for Indonesian independence. And, last but not least, the National Museum displays a big enough collection for some occupational therapy. So much for our cultural deep dive into Jakarta…

After a couple of weeks surfing in Batu Karas and a visa-run to Singapore we travelled on to Borobudur in Central Java. A monster trip due to a four-hour traffic jam in Jakarta. Travelling by train would have been so much more convenient, however you can’t bring a surfboard. We tried, as Asians often find a way to make things possible. Not this time, the officer apologized a million times, nonetheless it remained a no. Immediately, a solution appeared in the form of a guy offering transport for a good negotiated price. Asia 👍🏻😁

Borobudur is sweet. Peaceful daily life in a rural village. The high light towers above the palm trees: a 9th century Buddhist temple, symbolizing Nirvana. Magical during a sunrise. 😍

In Yogyakarta we wind up in a surprisingly pleasant town. Street art, boutiques, galleries, coffee shops, cosy streets. Never thought a Javanese town could be so liveable. What about smog, traffic jams and crowds?

It’s not the first time the somewhat negative image of Java given to us by other travellers proved to be wrong. Traffic, trash and deforestation, that’s Java they guaranteed. Sure, there are industrialized areas in the North, but Java is huge and it’s really not that difficult to find beautiful nature and escape the crowds.

On the road somewhere in Java

Besides, if you do find yourselves in crowds, you’re likely the tallest plus Javanese are extremely cheerful. We realized this even more when we encountered a grumpy face in Singapore. Completely astonished why a face like that came our way? It was a while ago, we realized. No grumpy people in Java, nor Sumatra!

We escaped the crowds completely in Pacitan. Also described as “a long way from anywhere”. A horse-shoe shaped wild beach, cliffs either side and a village a few kilometres land inward. Except a few locals and a lone surfer during the day, there was no one. Deserted. No connection. No one lived near the beach. All you could find was our accommodation, one shack and the two of us. No other guests.

Truly special, truly beautiful and truly scary if something goes wrong. A place to enjoy for a short while, surf and leave, we decided. No need to tempt fate. Call it stupid or paranoia, but the risk of earthquakes and tsunamis still lurks somewhere in our back mind. And for the good, I guess. That night, Bali felt an earthquake, a few hundred miles away from our wooden hut 50 meter from shore. There is always a risk, and should not get the upper hand, but it doesn’t harm to be conscious about where to sleep.

Hiking volcanoes along the Ring of Fire mystified us the most. Mount Bromo takes your breath away. The smouldering crater of Bromo, flanked by four other volcanoes, stands in a sand sea of ash and volcanic materials. This volcano companionship formed inside a 10 km wide caldera of an ancient volcano. To complete this surreal lunarlike scene, active volcano Semeru (3676 m) oversees the area, just to the South.

The Ijen volcano complex a few hours further differs from Bromo. Also born inside an enormous caldera, the Ijen volcano turned into a one-kilometre-wide-turquoise-coloured crater like. A spectacular beauty and terribly toxic. The lake houses a sulphur mining operation where guys carry sulphur-laden baskets by hand out of the crater and down the mountain for little money. And to think, we skipped the hike down the crater and they do it twice a day.

The idea of another sunrise wake-up at 01:00 (!), hiking down a crater of an active volcano in a stream of tourists in the dark to wander around in toxic gasses didn’t sound quite attractive to us. Not even to see the rare blue fire that occurs when sulphur gas ignites in the night. The scene is fantastic 24/7 in any case. Many other cones are located around the crater ensuring a joyful hike.

>>> Quick Story of our trip to Ijen <<<

Volcanoes are serious fascinating things. It’s a beautiful world.

Thank you green Sumatra and thank you diverse Java. 🙏🏻 Three months Indo flew past. Three months of surfing, travelling and exploring. Simply amazing and it ain’t over yet.

Bali livin’ is our next destination. ✌🏻