My wife and I joined a group of 11 friends to backpack from one end of Java to the other. The trip was organized by Phang Fatt Khow of Kedah, and most of the other members are from Kedah too. Over a period of 13 days from 02 till 14 December, 2007, we covered quite a number of places, including Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia with a population of 10 million people. We visited Bogor in West Java, just an hour’s train journey south of Jakarta, mainly for its Botanic Gardens and the nearby highlands. Nestling in a deep bowl 190km southeast of Jakarta and protected by a fortress of sullen volcanoes, Bandung is the capital of West Java. With a population exceeding 2.5 million, it is also the third largest city in Indonesia. We put up 2 nights in Bandung in order to visit the live volcanoes of Gunung Tangkuban Perahu that lies 29 km to the north.

Travelling by train from Bandung to Yogyakarta, we passed between some of most extensive rice fields in Java. With volcanic mountains as backdrop, the rice fields on both sides of the railway line were most picturesque. Yogyakarta, a prosperous city of 500,000 inhabitants in Central Java, stands proudly at the very heart of Javanese culture. Our main reasons for being there were Borobudur and Prambanan, both world heritage sites. 65km northeast of Yogya stands quiet, leafy low-rise Surakarta or Solo as it is more commonly known. We spent a night in Solo before leaving Central Java for Surabaya in East Java.

We also travelled to Surabaya by train. From the railway station we engaged a mini-bus to take us all the way to D.S. Wonokerto, a small village near the gateway to Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park. It was the park that had attracted us to this part of East Java.

From Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park we back-tracked to Malang and spent a night there before finding our way to Ketapang on the eastern end of Java. There we crossed over to Bali Island by ferry and put up 2 nights in Lovina Beach on the northern coast of the island. Our last night was spent in Kuta.

I must admit that it was quite a rush to visit so many places within so short a time. Nevertheless it was an interesting trip and we did have some unforgettable adventures. My wife and I had a good time and we enjoyed the fellowship of our travel-mates: Phang Fatt Khow (leader), Yeoh Guan Huat and wife Teh Cheng Sim, Tan Dek and wife Wan Yoke Lin, Monica Ng Moy Lee, Edmund Chan Kah Wai, Ng Chun Hsiung and wife Theresa Loh Siew Chin, Jenny Yow Ngan Chee and Devatara Munusamy. Thank you, buddies!