Wednesday 18 December 2013



MT MERAPI and KALIURANG

We also had another journey to undertake and that was to see the other drawcard temple, Prambangan.  It wasn't that far a ride but once we got there and saw the entrance fee, decided against going in and just looked from the fence. 

It looked pretty good but I wasn't going to pay another $30 to see a temple, Borobudur was expensive already by my standards, besides there were many cool temples in the area that were not as big, but free and void of any tourists, bar a couple.  Go and have a look if you don't feel like paying the ridiculous prices at the main temples.

We ended up riding far and wide and the scenery was amazing as usual, plus I just love getting out for a ride in the insanity that is Indo traffic.   We visited Sambasari Temple which was unearthed by a farmer ploughing his paddock one day and hitting the very top of it, the area has now been excavated and is worth a look if you have the time.  


Not spectacular but still pretty good, plus we visited a few other temples and viewpoints in the area, then found ourselves in the middle of nowhere with amazing views from the mountain tops and enjoyed it immensely. 
The next day Yuni and I had a couple more trips to make before we parted ways, she having to go back to her studies and me continuing west through java.  We took the scooter towards Mt Merapi, another volcano with jungle and waterfalls to explore nearby.  

After riding most of the way up the hill, we switched to a jeep for a tour of the volcanic fields, with a view of the mountain peak, but with the clouds regularly rolling in mid morning, we couldn't see the mountain top at all.  The 'lava field' tour was ok, nothing special, a bunch of rocks, black ash and sand and the hot lava they promised us was nothing more than a couople of slightly steaming rocks!  Oh well, we came, we saw, left again!  On to the jungle...

At Kaliurang, the park, jungle trails and waterfall were beautiful, but the fall was dry,  it would no doubt be awesome when flowing though.  So we walked the jungle trail which was great and took us to a peak overlooking the mountains and valley where I was once again an instant celebrity, with everybody wanting photos.  


That was until 3 blonde German girls turned up not long after and the boys went crazy, but were too shy too ask for a picture with them!
 
A couple more side trips on the bike checking out the scenery and a few more local attractions around the town itself saw our time together come to an end, Yuni had to return to her studies and I would continue West to Jakarta.  

It was a sad goodbye as Yuni hopped on the train to head back to Malang, we still keep in touch and I hope to see her again in Indonesia when I can, she is such a nice girl and a really great travel companion. 

Update May 2014, I have just read that I missed seeing Mt Merapi erupt in September and November 2013 by a couple of weeks!


 Temples nearby to Prambangan





   


Unsure the name of this one, but it had great views from the hill



More self-portraits from Yuni, you should see how many there actually are!!



Sambisari Temple





Mt Merapi volcano tour


My awesome 4wd


This is what happens to bikes in volcanoes....   or after Noddy has finished with em'




Kaliurang Park







It's tough being a celebrity!!



Tobacco fields
Apparently this is rabbit, looks suspiciously like cat to me.....


oh well,  he was bloody tasty!