INDONESIA Dennis Craggs June 2026
e ryindecline Central of Java. Hindu It is the kingdoms largest Buddhist in Java temple and the in orld ese and conversion ranks with to Islam. Bagan Worldwide in Myanmar knowledge and Angkor of n xistence Cambodia was as sparked one of theingreat 1814 archaeological by Sir Thomas sites outh-east ord Raffles,Asia. then Borobudur the British ruler remains of Java, popular who was for mage ed of with its location Indonesia by native Buddhists. Indonesians. The temple Borobudur design since Javanese been preserved Buddhist architecture, through several whichrestorations, blends the esian rgest of indigenous which was tradition completed of ancestor in 1983worship followedand by monument's uddhist concept listing of attaining as a UNESCO nirvāṇa. World Heritage
erthere mountains were inthousands the BromoofTengger touristsSemeru on site. National We n quently East Java. rode ponies At 2,329m, and walked it is not to the access highest thepeak crater butrim is unt ost Bromo, active and shown famous. opposite Thetop area left.is We onelater of the visited most a horse tourist rider destinations and watched in aEast bit ofJava. fire eating. The name It’s notable Bromo sn from this the trip,Javanese we rode ponies, pronunciation motor of bikes, Brahma, ferries, the trains, Hindu man creation. powered At the carts mouth and of traditional the crater, boats there asiswell an as idolthe of sha, usualthe aircraft Hindu and god human of wisdom, feet. which is worshipped by ese Hindus. The volcano on the horizon is Mount ru, the highest mountain in Java at 3,676m. This minor xplosion occurs every 20 - 30 minutes. Larger eruptions every few years.
ara lovely eco-tourism name),destinations East Java. This and forest theseishorse famous carts for de wering a ride trembesi through(rain) it…. trees Whenwith theysprawling are not otherwise branches ged ed for in photographers. green moss, creating an enchanting and cal atmosphere that resembles scenes from fantasy s like The Lord of the Rings.
susands harvest of solid yearssulphur startingfrom in the thepalaeolithic crater, making era. Itthe is both f the Ijen a scientific volcanic curiosity complex, and whicha includes site of several human volcanoes ance and labour. and craters, To achieve thethis, most escaping famousvolcanic being t are Ijenchannelled and its acidic through crater a network lake. Over of ceramic time, powerful pipes, ons ng in carved condensation out a large of caldera, molten sulphur. and rainwater, The sulphur, along ondensed is deep red volcanic whensteam, molten, gradually pours slowly filled the from crater. the lcanic of these activity pipescontinued, and pools gases on the like ground, sulphur dioxide turning hydrogen yellow assulphide it cools. bubbled The miners up collect throughthisthe sulphur lake, arry ving itinto on their the water backs and in 50-90Kg creatingloads one from of the themost lake 00m natural to the lakes crater on Earth, rim, anwith ascent a pHofasabout low as 170m 0.2. over
termsside lake of skin to photograph and lung sickness the miners. and Itinjury. was a From bit ofthe a rim, puff for me the sulphur at this is altitude carried making in carts the down ascent tracks uptothe the track base with at camera kit 1,900m. The in miners hand but have wedetermined made it safely thatand theyreturned can make to base, a goodthankful incomefor pulling the carts. tourists on these carts back up the mountain: it takes three men about 90 minutes to The sulphur complete the from 700mhere ascent, is used one for locally the descent, to whitenand sugar, the amongst return tripother is priced things. at about Almost $100. all sulphur used in industrial processes is now produced as a by-product of oil and gas production We left our and hotelit atis 2am likelyforthat thethis 1½ type hour of drive mining to the willbase die out. Ithen and believe we the all miners electedwould to make wishthe it soascent for their bychildren cart in as better order, you incomes understand, cantobe support madethe from localtourism economy. to this We remarkable arrived at the place. rim in time for dawn.
erful opportunity to earn revenue from tourism by rting this playground into performance art by a er of the local children. I congratulate the first graphers to find this. I do hope the kids are suitably nerated too. It’s another great way to support the economy.
s acreating mediuma entered percussive a trance cak-cak to chanting communicate rhythm. with It udes , supported with a dramatic by communal fire dance. chanting. We visited Later, aBalinese cultural tecollaborated to watch thewith ladies Western makingcreatives up and later to shape attended the ormance into a theatrical with some performance good ringside based seats. on the Hindu yana epic and it has evolved into a cultural erpiece performed across Bali.
it meant getting up at 5am to make a sharp sweaty d 30m descent and ascent on rough tracks with ra kit before the tourists arrived. However we ed some especially nice light which for us photo made it all worth while. The locals make more y posing than they do farming, I suspect. Back for fast.
storic wati, times: dedicated stone to bases the goddess of several Sarasvati, of its temples dating mble 1952megalithic and notable stepped for itspyramids, lotus pond; which the Pura date back Ulun stBatur, 2,000one years, of and the most it wasimportant used as atemples Hindu place in Bali of ip acted fromas1284 the maintainer when the of firstharmony Javanese andconquerors stability of dntire in Bali. island, Bydedicated the 15th to c., the Besakih god Vishnu had become and the a temple goddess of Dewi the powerful Danu, relocated Gelgel dynasty. and rebuilt in 1926; he Besakih temple, known as the "Mother Temple of a Pura Hindu temple, the most important, largest, oliest temple of Balinese Hinduism perched 1,000m e side of Mount Agung.
ded n asakertas kite festival minyak.close This to is also our last a cherished hotel. Balinese fatheronding known as activity. layang-layang, Adults replace are traditional that paper kites with crafted silkown hat isby sewn the up Balinese on the people. bambooThey framecome and using in various rope es d of andstring sizes, to often navigate featuring the kite. intricate For thedesigns large kites and are colours. 5m orFlying longerkites in size in Bali (without is anchored the tail!) in a asacred large us of tradition people to arethank necessary Gods and to operate request them. a bountiful The st st fish although shapedit’s kitefair belonging to add to that theitMeranggi does seem family, to altail particularly of 150m length, to teenage weighing boys 80Kg, and and young comes menwith in gspan The colours of 10mcommonly and a length chosen of 15m. are black, white, red ellow, which represent the incarnations of the Hindu s.
dominantly Muslim, Bali has about 4.4 million people s overwhelmingly Balinese Hindu. Daily life here more spiritual, more ceremonial, and more munity-driven revolving around religion, art, family, village life, and those four things influence almost thing. The core belief system is called Tri Hita a, which teaches harmony between humans, the other people, and nature. This idea explains the ngs, the temples, and the strong respect for the onment. A Balinese person’s first responsibility is y to their family temple, their village, and their monies.
is Craggs