The Wonders of Java - Travel Documentary (Indonesia is not only Bali, Ep. 01)

Welcome to Indonesia, a land of extraordinary diversity where lush, natural wonders, breathtaking landscapes, rich cuisines and vibrant cultures as well as religious traditions, create travel experiences that are second to none in the world. A mix that sounded like the perfect fit for my first long term trip in a part of the world that was completely new to me. After years of limited travel opportunities, I was more than ready

to rediscover the joy of exploration on a ten week lasting trip across the world's largest archipelagic state. While many visitors mainly focus on Bali alone, Indonesia, with its more than 17,000 islands, offers a wealth of incredible destinations, each with its unique charm and attractions. Therefore, my plan was to visit a number of different destinations to showcase the diversity of the country to the best of my ability. I'll

be starting my trip off with the largest island called Java, where I will be exploring the cities of Jakarta and Jogjakarta. So first stop is a local market. We're going to try some snacks to understand the historical and religious background mosque. And over here, the cathedral. Before meeting my friends from Portugal and heading into the nature to see volcanoes, waterfalls and some of the largest jungle temples in the world.

This is just incredible. Next, we'll explore Bali and show you what you can discover beyond the Instagram hotspots. A few steps away from the main road, you have this. Before making our way to the western islands of Flores and Komodo. Here we set sail to swim with manta rays, meet dragons and celebrate legendary boat parties with new friends. Last but not least, I'll be embarking on a solo road trip adventure all around the

island of Lombok with a tiny scooter and the surfboard to show you some more hidden gems. Man, it's so cool proving that there is so much more to this enchanting archipelago. Welcome to Indonesia is not only Bali. After altogether 18 hours of travel. I arrived on the island of Java. Java is famous for its many natural sites, but it is also the most populous island of the country. And with that, the historic and cultural cen

ter of Indonesia. So let's dive in. I didn't know. It's okay. Let's face it, Jakarta is anything but a tourist magnet for the majority of travelers coming to Indonesia. Most skip it right away. But for me, this trip is all about getting to know the many different layers Indonesia has to offer. So here I am on the commuter train into the hustling and bustling downtown area where I'm meeting my local guide, who is taking me st

raight to the major attraction of the city. And we're starting off this Jakarta tour here at the Monas. This is short for the Monument Nasional. Pretty spectacular structure and very popular by Indonesian tourists. Actually, I have not seen many international tourists here. So this is the number one top sight to see here in Jakarta was built in remembrance of the independency in 1975. Besides the viewing platform, the Monas is pa

rticularly interesting for first time visitors to Indonesia because of the National History Museum you can find on its ground floor here. The history of the country is being portrayed with altogether 51 dioramas displaying scenes from the most important events. So let's use the chance and turn back time. It all starts off with prehistoric Indonesia. The construction of Borobudur. The Srivijaya and Majapahit eras followed with events

from the period of the European colonization which lasted from the 16th century well into the 20th century. It also shows the uprising against the Dutch East Indies rule. The dioramas continue with the 20th century showing the Japanese occupation from 1942 until 1945 and the proclamation of Indonesian independence, as well as the struggle for independence of Indonesian revolution and onwards. Two events during the New Order era o

f Suharto's regime not portrayed is the more recent history. In 1998, Suharto resigned after popular protests following the financial crisis and the Reformasi era began leading into a strengthening of democratic processes, including the first direct presidential election in 2004. As you can see, there has been a lot going on in this part of the world. And honestly, I only scratch the surface here, but we will have a closer look

into the history books for each place I'm visiting on this trip. Because after all, this is what makes travel so interesting. You learn with each new destination you explore. Next, we take the elevator and head for the viewing platform. And this made me truly realize the sheer size of the capital of Indonesia, which is home to more than 10 million inhabitants. And with that, not only the largest city of the country, but als

o of Southeast Asia. In fact, the metropolitan area is the second largest urban area in the world, with a population of over 35 million. As the economic center of Indonesia, Jakarta offers employment opportunities and therefore attracts migrants from across the Indonesian archipelago, making it a melting pot of numerous cultures and religions. As you can see, just a stone's throw away of Monas here, the Catholic Jakarta Cathedral

is located right opposite of the largest mosque in Southeast Asia mosque. And over here, the cathedral. And not only that, there is even a tunnel connecting both buildings, which is meant as a signal for tolerance and harmony between religions in the country. So let's talk about religion. Indonesia is officially a presidential republic and unitary state without an established state religion with 86.7% equaling 231 million adherents

. However, Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim majority country. About 10% of Indonesians are Christians, who form the majority in several provinces in eastern Indonesia. Most Hindus are Balinese and most Buddhists are Chinese Indonesians. Historically speaking, Hindu influences reached the archipelago as early as the first century CE While Islam was introduced by Sunni traders as well as Sufi traders from the Indian subcont

inent and southern Arabia as early as the eighth century. Catholicism, on the other hand, was brought by Portuguese traders and missionaries in the 16th century. Speaking of the history, a visit to the old town of Jakarta was next on my tour, and it is essential, as this part of the town is a reminder of old Batavia, the first walled settlement of the Dutch in the Jakarta area. So what did the Dutch do in this part of t

he world? I hear you asking. Well, let me fill you in about this part of the Indonesian history, which isn't the most glamorous speaking from a European standpoint. Batavia was founded in 1619 and has been the capital of the Dutch East Indies, a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Dutch g

overnment in 1800. During the 19th century, the Dutch possessions and hegemony expanded, reaching the greatest territorial extent. In the early 20th century. The Dutch East Indies was one of the most valuable colonies under European rule and contributed to Dutch global prominence in spice and cash crop trade. In the 19th to the early 20th centuries, the colonial social order was based on rigid racial and social structures, with a

Dutch elite living separate from but linked to their native subjects. Japan's World War two occupation dismantled much of the Dutch colonial state and economy following the Japanese surrender on 15th August 1945, Indonesian nationalists declared independence, which they fought to secure during the subsequent Indonesian national revolution. The Netherlands formally recognized Indonesian sovereignty at the 1949 Dutch-indonesian Round Table

conference, with the exception of the Dutch New Guinea, which was ceded to Indonesia only 14 years later. In 1963 under the provisions of the New York agreement. Those were a lot of numbers and facts, so let's jump back into the present. Last stop on this little Jakarta tour is an area called Pek, which actually is an abbreviation for Pantai Pantai Indah Indah Kapuk, which means beautiful Cotton Beach. So it's a newly constr

ucted area with a lot of restaurants right by the water in the north of Jakarta. This honestly has been quite a contrast to what I've seen before with all its modern apartment buildings, restaurants and cafes. Pantai Indah Kapuk is one of the most prestigious residential areas in Jakarta. It is also a showcase for strategic urban planning because what many don't know is that Jakarta is sinking at an alarming rate of 20cm per

year due to excessive groundwater extraction and urbanization. To combat this crisis, the Indonesian Government has initiated the ambitious giant Seawall project while also planning to relocate the capital. And then my short but super educational trip to Jakarta drew to a close. But before heading back to my airport hotel, I couldn't resist trying out a mouthwatering local dish called Rendang from Sumatra. Way too early for me. It

's 530. Flight takes off in like an hour, and then we're in for some temples. Let's go. As I settle into my seat, I can't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation for my next destination. Jogjakarta is located in the central part of the island of Java, just a one hour flight from the capital and is renowned for its rich culture and historical significance. After arrival, I took a 40 minute train ride to get in

to the city center where I started to explore. So first things first. Time to explore the center of Jakarta, which is a special region. So we're going to take a look at the Water Palace and at the sultan's palace. Let's go. Jogjakarta, often referred to as Jogja, is a captivating city that holds a significant place in the country's history and culture. It even served as the Indonesian capital from 1946 to 1948 during the Indo

nesian National Revolution, as the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy. Jogjakarta is regarded as an important centre for classical Javanese fine arts and culture. The first site on my list is, as stated, the Taman Sari Water Castle, which is a former Royal garden of the Sultanate of Jogjakarta, built in the mid-18th century. The Taman sari had multiple functions, such as a resting area, a workshop, a defence

area and the hiding place underground. Tunnels and chambers connect the different sides of the palace complex and were of strategic importance for Indonesian freedom fighters against Dutch colonial rule during the fight for independence. Next, I paid a visit to the so-called Kraton, which is the Royal Palace of Jogjakarta, Steeped in ancient Javanese heritage, Jogjakarta served as the centre of the Mataram Sultanate in the 18th ce

ntury. Today it is the only region in Indonesia still governed by a traditional monarchy, with the sultan residing in this royal palace. The complex is important for Javanese culture and contains a museum displaying royal artifacts. Okay. After seeing all the cultural sites of Jogjakarta, it's now time to feast. And that's why I'm here with Henny. Hey. And she will show me some typical eateries here in the area. So we try the Jav

anese food. We try some snacks, we try some main dishes and the beverages, which are typical for this region. So I would say, let's go. I'm hungry. Yeah. All right. And to get from place to place, we take, actually a scooter. So Penny is not only my guide, but also my driver. Trying the local cuisine in Jogjakarta is essential as it uniquely represents Java's rich culinary heritage, providing a distinct gastronomic experience unl

ike any other destination on the island. So in Javanese kingdom, we have the palace as the symbol of the power politic and then the market economy and mosque. The grand mosque for the spiritual and then the square. It's the symbol of the community, the social life. So first stop is a local market. We're going to try some snacks, I assume. Some snacks. A lot of snacks. So this is freshly made every day. It belongs to a differe

nt lady. Most of them are housewife who wants to get some extra money for the family. And then they can cook. They they make one of the snacks and then they put it here, ask them to sell it. So it's all like homemade, homemade, traditional traditional snacks. So we start off the lumpia. The lumpia, which is the Indonesian spring roll, which is the star of the show. I'm not doing it. You can actually add your own spice by j

ust biting into this. I'm not doing this. Let's try bamboo shoots and some sprouts. It's like. It's also like a little bit sneaky. I think the next is going to be this. I can see this is probably very sweet. Yeah, it's sweet. I grated coconut. Yeah. Just a little bit crunchy on the. On the outside. Sweet. Coconut flavor, of course, because it is grated coconut. I like it. It's not too sweet, actually. It looks so much more sweet t

han it is, actually. I like that. Yeah, it's pretty good. Yeah. Getting ready. Getting on the bike. Well, next thing we're going to try is low tech. Low tech? Yeah. And what that is, you will see now. When you order here, everything is actually being made on the spot for you. Low-tech is a type of vegetable salad made with a mix of blanched or steamed vegetables, which are typically combined with tofu and tempeh. What sets Low-te

ch apart is its flavorful peanut sauce dressing. The sauce is made from ground peanuts, palm sugar, garlic, chili, tamarind and lime juice, creating a harmonious blend of sweet, savory and tangy flavors. The dressing is then poured over the vegetables and toppings, giving the dish a rich taste. Oh, wow. It's fresher. This is super good. So if you like peanut sauce, this is a dish you will love. All right. I'm not hungry anymore,

but there's still more so. The family restaurant here. This is. Like Javanese central Javanese. Style of noodle. This about Mie Goreng? Good. You can really taste the egg. Yeah, It's like eggy and eggy kind of broth. Very rich in flavors. Not too strong, though. Nice. It is dark outside and we just arrived at the southern square. This is where everything happens at night here in Jogjakarta. Colorful cars are driving around the square.

Street food vendors are out, dates are happening. And we're going to try something very typical from here. A drink. So last stop of this food tour is having a drink because this is the only thing which can still fit into my stomach right now. So let's do it. Yeah, you got the bread. So this is a drink? Yeah. Interesting. So kind of warm now. Already. It's like, kind of warm. It's not really hot. Yeah. Yeah, it's like. It's like

a ginger tea soup. Yeah. Interesting, to say the least. It's a different, different way to. To drink a tea. Super early wake up call today. I left Jogjakarta at three in the morning to come up here to a viewpoint to see the sunrise over the valley and the Borobudur temple, which is somewhere there in the distance. Really, really impressive. All right. And this is Paul. He's my driver slash guide for the day. And we will drive

around the whole area today. We visit some temples. We did the sunrise already, and we're going to do a Jeep tour as well, right? Yeah. And have some lunch. Yeah. After the Jeep tours, we go to get lunch. Okay. Looking forward. Okay, let's go. After seeing it from a distance, it's now time to visit the actual temple of Borobudur. As stated, it is the largest Buddhist temple in the entire world and its history is quite interestin

g. Borobudur is a Mahayana Buddhist temple that was built in the ninth century. Following the 14th century decline of Hindu kingdoms in Java and the Javanese conversion to Islam, the temple was subsequently abandoned and this massive structure was simply forgotten. It was covered by layers of volcanic ash and dense vegetation remaining hidden for centuries. It wasn't until the early 19th century that Borobudur was rediscovered by S

ir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the then British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and Unesco, followed by the Monument's listing as a Unesco World Heritage site. Because of maintenance and reconstruction work. I'm currently not able to go up

on the temple onto the different layers which are higher up. Well, still from down here, it's still pretty impressive. You can see all the Buddha statues like some of them are outside and visible and others higher up. They are in structures called Stupas. They look a little bit like giant bells. What's even more fascinating is that Borobudur is not just a temple. It's a symbolic representation of the Buddhist cosmos. Each level

of the temple represents a different stage of enlightenment, leading you on a spiritual journey as you ascend towards the top. All right. I'm going to shift gears. I'm going to say bye bye because I have a new driver now because we changed mode of transportation. We go onto these jeeps because we're going to do a little Jeep adventure. As we are in Java, everything here is connected to volcanoes. We have about more than 200

volcanoes just on this island, and now we are in front of Mount Merapi, which is the most active volcano of all here on the island. And the last big eruption was in 2010. And now I'm going to go on a little Jeep tour to learn more about the volcano and the effect it had on this area in 2010. Mount Merapi is located approximately 28km north of Jogjakarta City, with its 2.4 million inhabitants and has erupted regularly s

ince 1548. Thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano, with villages as high as 1700m above sea level. Stop is actually the museum where you can see how the volcanic eruption in 2010 affected this area. So a lot of remains here from the houses. On the afternoon of the 25th of October 2010, Merapi erupted on its southern and southeastern slopes. A total of 353 people were killed. Over the next month, 350,000 inhabit

ants were forced to flee their homes, including my guide, who lived only five kilometres away from the peak of the volcano at that time. Most of the damage was done by pyroclastic flows, while heavy rain on the 4th of November created lahars which caused further damage. We are on the second kilometer from the top now, so eruption 2010. This this river almost almost full. Almost full of lava. Yeah. Up until here. Yeah. As we dr

ove higher up and closer to the volcano, I also had the chance to visit one of the many bunkers which were intended to provide shelter. However, during the eruption, two people, a volcanologist and a local resident, lost their lives in this very bunker due to the extreme heat caused by the mentioned pyroclastic flows, which are a mixture of hot gases, ash and volcanic debris that can reach speeds of hundreds of kilometers

per hour. The eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010 was one of the most powerful in recent history and served as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of volcanic activity in the aftermath. The events of 2010 led to the implementation of improved early warning systems, evacuation planning, community education and enhanced infrastructure and shelter design. It is a signal from the from the top because until now. On the top alre

ady installed that sensor. And the sensor can be monitored with the walkie talkie like this. And if the flood like this, that is normal. But if the like this maybe more activity. So you need to then you need to. After this impactful. But honestly, very insightful experience. I reunited with Paul and we hit the road again. All right. Exploration makes you hungry. Paul and I, you're hungry? So we came to room to eat some bakso, wh

ich. Is basically a meatball soup. So there you go. Okay, let's try it. Is this? This is good. Really, really good. It's a little bit of a sweet taste. But there's a lot of flavors going on. And the last stop on this very eventful day is the second really big temple complex in the area of Jogjakarta. It is the Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple in all of Indonesia and one of the most popular spots to visit in all of the c

ountry. The Temple Compound, another Unesco World Heritage site, is also the second largest Hindu temple in Southeast Asia after Angkor Wat. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture and by the towering 47 meter high central building inside a large complex of individual temples. The construction of Prambanan started as early as 850. So I made my way out of the main complex, which is pretty busy. But when you get

outside, you can actually get a sense of the scale of these shrines, of the huge shrines which are in the center. And these three shrines actually represent the trinity of Hinduism. So God as the creator, the destroyer and the preserver. So you have the first one here, which is the first shrine, which is dedicated to Brahma, the creator. Then in the middle you have the shrine for Shiva, which is the destroyer. It's also the

largest shrine of the three, and Vishnu, which is the preserver. And originally they used to be around 240 temples on this complex, which is pretty, pretty impressive. Before my time in Jogjakarta, with its unique sights and experiences, comes to an end, let me briefly show you where I stayed. As far as accommodation goes, I'm staying in the Ostaig house, which is a proper hostel. Pretty cool. Very nice common areas. I'm having

a private room here with my own bathroom. It was about €50 for three nights, which is a pretty good deal. I even have a little work desk area, a TV, and the location is also very good. It's pretty central. You can basically walk to the main sights of the city. So highly recommended. As the sun rose over Jogjakarta on the next morning, I was in for another long travel day, boarding the three 10th June train at the crack

of dawn. I left behind the bustling city, enjoyed a bunch of Netflix shows, made new friends with locals who were on their way to a similar adventure. And I watched the picturesque landscapes of Java pass by. Then about nine hours later, I arrived in the city of Probolinggo, where I was greeted by my driver, who was about to take me up into the mountains. The winding roads revealed stunning vistas, lush greenery and glimpse

s of local life. Each turn brought me closer to my ultimate destination Comoro Lavang, a tranquil village that serves as the gateway to the breathtaking wonders of Mount Bromo. I have arrived in Cemerlang. This is my little suite here. A private room. Pretty, pretty basic. But it's all I need because I'm not here for staying in a room. I'm here for seeing the volcano. That's the room. That's the bathroom. Here. Yes. Shower as well.

Well, what else do you need? 200,000 a night. That's about 12. €13. He. Good morning. It is 4:00. We're outside of our guest house and now we are leaving to the viewpoint at the edge of the caldera to see Mount Bromo and all the other volcanoes during the sunrise. Let's go. Okay. Now we are up on the rim of the crater and now we hike to the viewpoint which is called King Kong Hill. But we found another one which is a litt

le bit away from the main viewpoint because it's probably pretty crowded. Okay, we made it. And I finally united with these guys here. Look at that. Kiko, you know him from many occasions and kehlata hai. I think from now on, we we keep on traveling together for a bit. And what better place to start this than here on the rim of a volcano. Sunrise is happening right now. We made it just in time. We found ourselves a little p

atch a little bit above the clouds. You see down here, there's like, loads of people. We're a little bit higher. We have an unobstructed view, actually. A few trees right here, which looks nice. And the big one, the big guy you see here is Mount Sumeru, which actually had a big eruption just a few days ago. Oh, the sun is out. It's suddenly much warmer. I'm going to get rid of this jacket soon. But as you see, we only see

a sea of clouds. But. Well, that's it. Sometimes that's nature. Come up to this viewpoint, and sometimes you just don't have views. It's still. It's still actually pretty nice because you can still see Mount Sumeru above the clouds. Now we're hoping that the sun is burning those clouds away that we can see actually the little cones which are in they're actually the actual Mount Bromo is not visible right now. You can only see

the smoke, which is coming up from Mount Bromo there. And you see actually look, it's actually erupting. Semeru is erupting right now. See that? So we're going to make the best out of the situation, enjoying the sun, having some cookies, talking live, and then hopefully these clouds clear away. So now we're up here having a little coffee break above the clouds still, and we're the only people around. So what happens here is ev

erybody comes here for sunrise. All these businesses are up. You can rent jackets here. See, it's like actually winter jackets. You can rent all kinds of souvenirs. Coffee, of course. And then, like, after an hour after the sunrise, everybody's just leaving and going for for the for the actual bromo volcano to see that. So everybody's leaving on their tour with the Jeep or even hiking. And then there's nobody up here. I mean, tod

ay it's cloudy here, but even if it's not, it's the same situation. So what I would advise is to stay a little bit longer and just enjoy the scenery. Have one more coffee. And take it all in. It's beautiful. Now we're here. Everybody left to go see Bromo. And the clouds are starting to clear. I hope it's worth it. It's really nice because it's clearing clearing now and we have about two right in front of us. It looks like s

mall from this perspective. So what we have, what we haven't really talked about until now is that we are actually on the rim of the old volcano. So this is the crater rim here. And this all this huge area there, more than 5000 hectares is actually tengger. This is also the name of the National Park, Tengger Bromo Semeru National Park. I think this is the correct name as far as I remember. And inside this big volcano, whic

h is basically not active anymore except for those little cones you see. So you see Mount Batuk, which is dormant. Then you see the actual bromo. A lot of people actually think this is Bromo, but the one which is smoking there, this is Bromo. And then you have two more which are in the back of these two which you see in the front. It's really nice. And right there in the back there should be semeru, but as of now we ca

nnot see it. All right. Remember when we came here in the in the morning, this was all buzzing with people and the shops were all open. Now it is. What is it now? Eight. 8 a.m.. We were here at what was that? Four four, 430. 430. Now it's eight. Everything is shut. Just alone. And we just enjoy this view basically by ourselves. So now onto the next stop. We actually go into the caldera and we take the jeep to go to the actual

Mount Bromo, to the active volcano to see that. Let's go. This is not safe for work, guys. Not safe. Of course, being. In this caldera is actually pretty cool for photos. So just do a little photo shoot right here. Carlotta being the model. Kiko, of course, the photographer. That's some Instagram content right there. Yeah, but next thing we're going to do is we're going to go over there where all these cars are. So we drove a

little bit off the main parking area because all the tours are coming down here. So it's pretty busy. So as you see over there, it's like lots of cars. It's a big parking lot. And then you walk from there over to there's a temple as well. And then behind that, you see the smoke coming up. That is Bromo. This is where we can actually look into the volcano. Let's do it. Okay. We made it actually to Bromo. Bromo is right ther

e. So from here, you see, there's loads of other cars. So right now everybody's here, but most of the people are actually leaving now. But as you can tell, word is out about this place. It's one of the popular most popular tourist attractions of Java. So. Well, that's how it is. And now we're going to hike on the way to Promo Crater. You actually pass by this Hindu temple here, which is kind of unusual for Java. You see Hin

du temples, I mean, apart from what we've seen in Jogjakarta. But here this is a special region as well, because the local people, the tribe that settled here, which also gave name to the national park, is these are called the Tenga, and those are Hindu people. So that's why you can actually see actually you can find Hindu temples here. And especially in this very special spot. Mr. Temple in front of us and actually behind

now in the clouds up there. This is where we were. These are the viewpoints. This is King Kong Hill. Okay. First part is done. Came up there. Now comes the easy part. Best. So in order to go up to the volcano, you can use stairs here. Now. Instead of leaving, we decided to stay one more night in tomorrow lavang because we didn't really get the sunrise we were hoping for. The very next morning we decided to give it another sho

t, hoping for better luck this time. Okay. It's 330. Today. We're going to take the bikes up and hike the rest up to see the sunrise. Okay. I'm actually glad I did it. So that was 50,000 for. For the ride and saved up. Saved us like an hour of of hiking up. So now it's like another maybe 30 minutes, 40 minutes to hike up. And we are ready. We're ready. Let's do it. But it's actually. It's quite warm. Yeah, it is warm. So they

sell you. They sell you these hats everywhere. We brought our own. The jacket. How's it going so far? We're now at the stairs. League cup. And Akiko is watching football on the way. It cannot be that hard. And now the real fun starts. Okay. The trail to King Kong Hill winds through a mix of dusty paths and rocky terrain, offering a challenging, yet invigorating hike as we ascend in the pre-dawn darkness. Anticipation builds. Guided

only by the faint glow of headlamps. As we reach the summit, the world slowly awakens and the first rays of sunlight pierced the horizon. But this time, the scenery is truly different than on the previous morning. All right. 45 minutes later. And I think. What was that, Maybe three kilometers. It's actually not that much from the distance. It's just the elevation you do. We made it to the viewpoint. The man is already filming m

e, filming myself. So cheers to that. And then the sun finally broke through the clouds and the sheer beauty of the national park unfolded before our eyes. This is just incredible. The rolling hills, the mighty Mount Bromo itself and the surrounding volcanoes created a breathtaking panorama. I think it's safe to say that it was absolutely worth the second attempt. Is it from tomorrow? Lavang. Now we have our transport here. Right t

here. And we are heading to Malang. Today, Malang is located on the other side of the mountain. In order to get there, we first had to go back down to Probolinggo before continuing to our destination. Unfortunately, the hotel standards here were a bit different. We arrived in Malang. This is my room. I paid €11 per night. Actually, it doesn't look too bad. Here's the bathroom. So right until you look at the back, here's the bed.

Then you open the bed sheet. Yeah, it's a little bit. Disgusting. All right. Bed sheets are getting changed. So we went around the corner to this super nice restaurant here, Ocean Garden. We're seated here like this. Oh, I think this is avocado juice with chocolate. It's so dense. It tastes like salad. I know. But then it gets the chocolate, and it's actually not bad. Yeah, go for it. Okay. What do we have here? We have nasi goren

g Java style. Is that with fish or with me? It's is just the right studies. Plus movies. Smee. Welcome to Malang. I have a colorful shirt on because this is what you can see here in Malang. Colorful houses. So you have the blue neighborhood here. And on the other side of this bridge here is a super colorful neighborhood. Why? Let me tell you. Jody Pan is a neighborhood in Malang that underwent a community led transformation, whic

h began in 2016 when a group of university students initiated a project called Vana, Vani Kota, which means colorful city. The project aimed to improve the living conditions in the impoverished neighborhood by adding colors to the houses and revitalizing the area. And it worked. The beautiful colors started drawing in new tourist dollars, and the beauty of the colorful houses has inspired many community members to improve the san

itation of the river flowing through the neighborhood. Right next to it is Kampung Biru Arema, a neighborhood which is associated with the local football club. Arema FC. The neighborhood was transformed into a blue themed village as a display of support and pride for the team. Oh, what's this? The other side. So you can see in my lung. Ah, I don't know. But we found. We found a rooftop bar with beers as the view here. That is

my lung over there. She is. This is how my lung looks like in day time. We spend our last few hours here having breakfast, find some little breakfast somewhere, and then we head out to the waterfall. Look at Kiko looking at me. After this short urban adventure in Malang, we headed south in order to see more of the incredible nature that Java has to offer. Our next stop is a true hidden gem named Tumpak Siwu at the foot o

f the Semeru volcano. And we have arrived at our accommodation here at the Topock Seibou waterfall, which is actually right next to the entrance of the waterfall. This is my room, private room, two beds, a little desk right here in the water sink, bathroom with the shower. And this all together with breakfast included for 200,000 a night, which is around about €12. Not too bad. Professional. Rainy season in full force. We're abo

ut to leave for the waterfall. Now we are basically in the waterfall. And who is that over there? Is that Kiko? Look at him being all fashionable. Hello, Kiko. After seeing it for the first time in the late afternoon, we decided to go for yet another sunrise mission. And this time we took the drone to see the faults in their full glory. Not only did we enjoy a very unique scenery with the sun rays and the mist hovering aro

und creating rainbows, the nearby Semeru volcano also decided to put on a little show for us once again. Okay. After our little morning adventure, it's time for some breakfast. Oh, yes. Dragon fruit, mango pancakes, porridge, coffee and a banana. Next up, we were in for a real adventure as we were about to hike slash climb downwards. For this, we met up with our guide, Yanto, who is a local farmer turned guide and surely one

of the most wonderful locals we met in this region. I'm just taking it slow as we started our descent. The trail wound through dense tropical foliage, providing glimpses of the magnificent waterfalls along the way. With the help of Yanto, we navigated our way down through sections with slippery rocks, muddy terrain, and even small waterfalls. Whew, That was a lot of fun. And now we're literally around the corner from the waterf

all. Even so, we waded through one. We're now going to see the big waterfall. Let's go. All right, let's do it. Woo hoo! Ready to rock and roll? Okay. We made it. We're down at the Seaview. At the base. Man. Incredible. Another bridge. And then we finally reached the bottom of the fall and could fully appreciate the scale and power of the waterfall, which is surrounded by towering cliffs and lush greenery. There Yanto also told us

what the name Tumpak Siwu means. Tumpak Sabu from the Indonesian language and almost similar with Javanese language. Tumpak. That means terrace or multi or lot of the spring waterfall and then Sabu. That is mean a thousand. So this way to save is so many different spring waterfall up there and in one place in one single semi-circular area. You know what I mean? Okay that is mean. So this way we call Tumpak Sabu waterfall. So ma

ny until 1000 spring waterfall over there. Okay. Thank you. As more and more tourists made their way to the base, we continued downstream, where even more waterfalls and natural pools were waiting for us. It's nice, very nice. Now we had to go at TTC. That is another set of waterfalls just down the river you can see here. Madame. I think we need to cross the river with the rope there to see the whole scale of the waterfalls.

And the adventure was far from over. After crossing the next waterfall, we had to climb through a set of smaller waterfalls and even explored a cave before we made our way out of the valley, where Yanto explained why the locals asked for an entrance fee in order to access these waterfalls. Access to here we don't have access. Very, very hard. Difficult. Sometimes guests come to here falling down and die as well. So this way

we have the community village. We make stairs together. We make like this one together. And also we have a support from the government. So this way, until now, we are very lucky. The access to stairs like this. Very, very good. Yeah. We take the front here. Yeah. 1 or 2. Only one. Okay. Even though we got back to our guest house, our waterfall tour was far from over. Yanto went above and beyond. He called up his friends who came

with their scooters but without additional helmets to pick us up and take us to yet another big waterfall in the area. You can hear it in the back. We are on a mission to find another waterfall. It's called Kovan 30. So we drove a little bit further from where we were before. Now we're hiking through the jungle to a viewpoint to see Kovan 3D flip flop is okay, it's okay, no problem. So we made it. Now we are at the vi

ewpoint of Siobhan. Guilty. We're flying a drone as well. There is the waterfall behind me. Are there? We can see it? Yes. It's pretty big. It's much bigger than the one in Toonbox. We like the main waterfall. Because it's rainy season right now. It's too dangerous to actually go down. So our friend here and his friend, they made a way for us to go down here. We're basically on the cliff to see the waterfall. So this is the snak

e fruit called Salak. It grows here on the trees. Ah, yeah, it's snake fruit. Salak Pondo Salak. And you can eat it. Mm. Sweet. Fruity. He quit. Right lunchtime. I think we deserved it today. Did a lot of hiking. There we go. What a spread, guys. What do we have here? So I have vegetable vegetables of all kinds. Okay, This is like a coconut. I have no. All right. It is go time again. We got our driver getting the logistics ready, a

nd then we're heading off to tango where we take the train to go to Banyuwangi, where we want to go to climb Ijen tomorrow. Let's do this. Thank you very much. Thank you, man, for. Visiting our country. So I hope you come on. Give you a hug. I hope you hug it out. In our country, guys. The drive to Tangguh was a bit challenging because of the recent eruption of the volcano and the fact that our route was going straight th

rough the affected area. Just two weeks before our visit, monsoon rains collapsed. The Semeru's lava dome provoking the evacuation of altogether 2400 residents. After a three hour drive, we finally arrived in Tanga. So now we are here. Tanga City, Tangail City Station. We have a little juice. Now the locals are coming. And where we were about to board the train to continue our journey eastwards. Here we are on. Our way to mount. We

have made it to Banyuwangi Kota station. We arrived in Wangi. We had Java sunrise cafe. Music is playing. Java Sunrise Cafe. This is also the theme for tonight because the night will be very short. We're here having dinner, and then we set out to leave at half past midnight to see another volcano. God, That was a very short night. One hour of sleep. And now we head up to the volcano. Drink to that. The question is. Is it nig

ht or is it morning or is it both? Moss. Ready? Headlamp, ready. Keep it ready. Let's go. And then at 2 a.m., we started to make our way up the slopes of the Eganville Canal. The hike was quite demanding, and the path was illuminated only by our headlamps, creating a very unique atmosphere. But why are we doing all this in the middle of the night? Well, there are two reasons for this. One is, of course, to see the sunrise o

n the crater. The other one is located inside the crater. After a little more than an hour of hiking. We were the first of our group to reach the rim of the crater. That's where we also met. The first sulfur miners who undoubtedly have one of the hardest jobs in the world. The miners carry loads ranging around. 85 or 90kg. Up 300m to the crater rim, with a gradient of 45 to 60 degrees. And then three kilometers down the mo

untain for weighing. Most miners make this journey twice a day. Next, we descended into the crater to get to the source of the mining operation. An active vent at the edge of the crater lake is a source of elemental sulfur here. Escaping volcanic gases are channeled through a network of ceramic pipes, resulting in condensation of molten sulfur. The sulfur, which is deep red in color when molten pours slowly from the ends of t

hese pipes and pools on the ground, turning bright yellow as it cools. The miners break the cooled material into large pieces and carry it away in baskets. A nearby sulfur refinery pays the miners by the weight of the sulfur transported. The typical daily earnings are equivalent to approximately 13 USD. Right next to the mining operation, you can find the main reason for our night adventure the largest blue flame area in the

world, which is only visible at night. The blue fire is ignited sulphuric gas, which emerges from cracks at temperatures up to 600°C. A truly magical sight. Then we hiked back up to the crater rim for sunrise to finally see the volcano in all its glory. All right. It is day time. Walking on the crater rim to see if we can see the sunrise. I think it already happened. But as you can see, we're on the we're on the clouds. He

re's the edge of the crater. Heading to the sun rise point where you can actually see the lake, the crater lake and the whole volcano. But I don't know if you can do that today. I will try. We are Sunrise point without a sunrise. But we have chocolate, right? How was that? At least we have a lot of friends with us. Hey, we're not alone. Set up right here. Doing a bit of a time lapse. We see now the sulphur steaming there

down there. See the steam coming up? It started to clear a little. And then just as the sun peeked through the clouds, the fox started clearing and magic. So that's the entrance gate. We're back down. Pretty tired. We made it. It is now what it is, 7:00. I would say it's time to get some rest. After a short nap, we used the afternoon to wander the streets of Banyuwangi Wangi Central Park. Next to the mosque. Walking down. You. W

hat's that? Banyuwangi. The shopping street of Banyuwangi. After roaming the market, we got to the beach where we could already see our next destination on the horizon, the island of Bali, which we of course, need to see with our own eyes to reaffirm that Indonesia is not only Bali, but this, together with the exploration of Flores and the incredible Komodo Islands, will be the story of the next documentary in this series. So

keep watching by clicking on the highlighted videos right here.