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Left Pangandaran today to go in an air conditioned people carrier with our own private driver and tour guide. It wasn't cheap but definately worth it after the difficult bus journeys we'd had and the times we'd been ripped off to be looked after by Edwin our personal guide and the driver whose name we couldn't remember but who was so cute (In an old person kind of way!). We felt like celebrities and the way the locals treat you is kind of similar to that. Apparently the car we were in is more expensive to buy than houses in Java which was a bit of a shock. On route to Wonosobo we called at a clay pottery factory and chatted to the workers. They barely earn anything and the work is so skilled. I bought some butterflys which were hand painted and really pretty. We were in bed fairly early as it was a 3am wakeup to go up the hill near Dieng plateau. It was pretty cloudy so the sunrise wasn't amazing but worth doing. The trek up the hill was pretty tough at that time of day! I am so unfit at the mo! After this we went climbing up a volcano and saw some craters. The smell was horrible of sulphur, imagine the worst smell of bad eggs and times it by a hundred!! The smoke just overpowers you, makes you gag!! Glad we weren't hungover! We had a guide 'Ratno' and he was asking if we had any 'full canoes' in England, or at least thats what I heard. I didn't have a clue what he meant but tried to humour him. The girls realised straight away my mistake and were wetting themselves!! Its been a standing joke since but I think you kind of had to be there!!
After some trekking around Dieng Plateau we headed to Borobudur to check out the temples. The largest buddhist temple in Java maybe. Was really interesting and the guide gave us loads of info about it. It's a UNESCO world heritage site and also the most visited temple in Indonesia. We made a wish on the buddah on the top layer as its supposed to be good luck. Saw a few monks and also lots of devout buddhists who walked around the summit 9 times and each level too. Apparently 9 is a special number in buddhism and everything adds up to 9, involves 9 or is 9 i.e. 9 buddahs on each level, 99 steps.
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