Eat..Pray..Tan...

The past few weeks have been somewhat of a blur of temples, white sand beaches and volcanoes, with barely a day passing without something of breathtaking beauty.

We had a very brief stopover in Jakarta in the midst of Ramadan, which perhaps only added to its chaos. Having the chance to visit Jakarta's famous mosque, which is the 4th largest in the world, during evening prayer, was certainly an amazing experience. Soon we were heading to the 'cultural capital' of Java, Yogakarta.

Using this university town brimming with street food and market stalls as a base, we hopped from Dutch colonial history and the Indonesian campaign for independence to the ancient Hindu temple of Prambanan, where we watched a traditional Indonesian ballet perform the Ramayana in front of the moonlit temples. The real highlight of the area was the famous Buddhist temple, Borobudur. After the first of many pre-dawn starts, we were not disappointed with the view. Surrounded by a patchwork of rice paddies and palm filled jungle, the giant stone structure made of over two million stone blocks, containing over 400 serene images and statues of Buddha, gleams in the morning sunlight with only Gunung Merapi, Indonesia's most active and destructive volcano, overshadowing it on the horizon.
The temples sheer size and intricate beauty are somehow made even more breathtaking with the knowledge that over the last 1200 years it has survived multiple volcanic eruptions, terrorist bombs and the 2006 earthquake, all culminating in a definite feeling of a higher power presence...even as a non-Buddhist.

Next we began what would be a 3 day journey of 9 busses, 1 ferry, 2 pre-dawn volcanic treks and two unforgettable sunrises...on our journey over land through Java to the infamous Bali.

It started well... Having booked on to a tourist bus, we were lead to believe that the days of the 'death bus' were behind us, and yes while the roads and the driving were infinitely better than in Sumatra, we had a new genre of bus...the inferno bus...13 hours with 2 windows, 20 tourists and no AC. As previously, we were distracted from the rising temperature by the stunning scenery as we headed south to the volcanic lunar like region of Bromo. Here three volcanoes have emerged from the landscape, with one still being very active and causing the entire area to be covered in volcanic sand which resulted in a dramatic and stunningly beautiful landscape, and needless to say one amazing sunrise!

After another slightly cooler bus journey and a brief nights sleep, we started at 1am to hike up above the clouds to the crater of Mt Ijen. Our early morning exercise was rewarded with the most star filled night sky I have ever seen, along with multiple shooting stars. Slightly less magical was the increasingly strong smell of sulphur...or rotten eggs! As we descended in the pitch black into the volcanic crater, we were greeted with a suffocating and eye watering sulphur gasses, which once braved, produced the beautiful 'blue lights' or blue burning sulphur gasses.The sulphur rich crater is the daily work place of Ijens DIY miners, who suffer the poisonous fumes daily to collect upto 100kg of bright yellow sulphur, which they they carry back up the crater and all the way down the mountain for the next 6hours...on one shoulder. Our experience was somewhat more enjoyable as after hiking back up the crater, we enjoyed the most spectacular sunrise yet with views from the mountain top down into the beautiful turquoise sulphur lake.

Next stop...Bali! Time to enjoy the world famous beaches and laid back surfer vibes. We started in Central Bali, in the art gallery and cafe filled Ubud. With surrounding temples, an abundance of beautiful green rice paddies, kite filled skies and Hindu offerings and incense on every street corner, Ubud was certainly picturesque, and a perfect place to do little else than relax. Next we headed to Seminyak, a very trendy and bohemian beach front town, that neighbours the rather crazy and Aussie filled Kuta. Seminyak beach did not disappoint, we sipped cocktails while sitting on brightly coloured beanbags, watching surfers at sunset and listening to acoustic guitar music on the beach.
In an attempt not to get sucked into too much of a cliche, after two days we headed of to the neighbouring Gili Islands.

First stop Gilli Meno...with under 200 inhabitants and all motorised transport and dogs being banned... it is home to more cats and horses than people! So naturally I was in love from the moment the boat pulled up on the white sand beach.
We spent the next 5 days swimming in the tropical turtle filled waters, laying on deserted white beaches, eating freshly caught BBQ fish, watching unbelievable sunsets and meeting up with some lovely people that we had met previously in the jungle and on our volcanic treks.... All in all, it really felt like paradise!

Lots of love
Shereene and Ali x x