Well, here I am. At the end of this incredible three months trip through Southeast Asia. I still can’t imagine telling people that I’ve been on this trip instead of saying I will be traveling for three months. That’s because it’s been ahead of me for such a long time. I’ve worked so much for it before. Still it feels incredibly good to come home. Sometimes you have to be on the other side of the world to realize how much home means to you.
That being said I want to share a couple of impressions out of this last amazing month in Indonesia. It is such a diverse country. Rich in both nature and culture. I only saw several parts of Java and I went to Bali and the Gili Islands. But there still is so much more to explore. I will be coming back at some point of my life that’s for certain.
Woman clearing a yard in Yogyakarta
Parked rickshaw in the streets of Yogyakarta
Me in the Borobudur temple complex
After Yogyakarta we visited Semarang, the city where my Dutch grandma grew up, where she was captured by the Japanese for three years during World War Two. Everybody wondered why I wanted to visit this non tourist place. When I told them the story of my grandma and that I wanted to see all of this with my own eyes, they understood. It means the world to her that I visited the town where she was born, after she was there in 1992 for the last time and won’t have the chance to ever return.
Toko Oen – the Dutch Restaurant where my grandma got an ice cream on special days.
The Ereveld Kalibanteng, in memories of all those dying during the Japanese occupation. Luckily I can still show my grandma a picture of this and there is no cross for anybody in her family.
Her church where she got baptized and had her first communion.
The travels through Java continued. We had the most awful train ride ever, but it made us more experienced I guess. We arrived in Malang where we found a second Toko Oen. Same as in the other one, time seemed to stand still in this place. The furniture and everything seemed as if the last the century had never passed.
Places to have coffee in Malang.
Colourful village Kampung Visata Jodipan in Malang.
The adventure in super rainy Java continued with the incredible natural spectacle of the Gunung Bromo Vulcano. We drove all the way up in Jeeps. Unfortunately there was no sunrise for us.
Maybe two nights without sleeping because of seeing natural spectacles were a little tough on us, but hey it was worth it and I only had the opportunity to see the blue fire down the Ijen Plateau once I guess. Even though I nearly died because of the sulfide…
After this, we took the ferry over to Bali, the very last station of this journey. I loved it there and I will share my impressions of that island too. Anyways, I am happy to have experienced the real Indonesia, away from big tourist masses. Of course this also came with the rain season, which happened to not be completely over yet. It taught me what it really means to be raining.
XX Sofia
Rincon De sofia 