This trip has an undefined time constraint and we’re currently focused on covering the whole of SE Asia, to begin with. We have little over one month planned ahead of us at any one time. In doing so, we can travel slower and spend less. Our budget is around 40 GBP per day for the both of us and has been pretty easy to stay within for now, even with our severe caffeine addiction. We’re into our second month now and we have visited Java from one end to the other, Singapore and we are now in Malaysia. The next places in our sights are Borneo, Brunei and the Philippines.

We actually kicked off our trip in Java. It was supposed to be Bali but, after having four flights cancelled on us, we decided to start in Surabaya.

Surabaya

Surabaya is not a tourist city, however, this made the start of our adventure a bit of an eye-opener into what life in Indonesia is really like. The main sight we enjoyed was oddly a Russian submarine. We used this city primarily as a base to visit Mt. Bromo. A perfect little volcano where you can watch the sunrise and then walk up to the crater. It truly is an active volcano and you can hear it’s roaring core long before you’ve reached the top. Some people opt to go from Probolinggo but we got a great deal, it’s a must do if you’re in the area for sure!

Yogyakarta

The second stop on our trip was a four-hour train journey from Surabaya. Arriving into Yogyakarta instantly felt a world apart from Surabaya, with backpackers aplenty! We had inadvertently booked ourselves into a hotel in ‘Prawirotaman’ a street with great eateries, coffee shops and the best speculoos ice-cream I’ve ever eaten. Yogyakartarta is the base for Borobudur and Prambanan temples, which of course we visited. You should also try to visit the Indonesian Airforce Museum and Balai Yasa, a train graveyard. I’d also recommend doing ‘the tourist thing’ and popping down to Malioboro road to stuff your face with all the hawker food stalls lining the street.

Bandung

The last stop in Indonesia and another train journey away, an eight hour one to be precise. The train into Bandung itself from Yogyakarta has some fabulous scenery, sprawling rice terraces and oddly, a smattering of brightly coloured tombstones along the length of the track at regular intervals. Bandung was my favourite place in Java, with it’s cooler climate being a welcome relief. It has beautiful art deco architecture throughout the city. Even it’s newer buildings have been designed in keeping with the city’s overall look. It’s the place to be for factory outlets, so bargain hunting is a must. It’s also the base for visiting Kawah Putih, a volcano crater lake, of which I 100% recommend. Another lesser known place that you should visit is Pasar Antik Cikapundung, it was like Blade Runner without the neon lights. It was run down with trash, rubble and graffiti everywhere. The treasures that were there though, were second to none. It was hands down the best antique/retro/flea market I’d ever seen. I coveted a brown glass teacup and saucer set, JP was thankful that we only had backpacks so that he didn’t have to see them every morning for the rest of his life.

~ Fran