Java, one Island, two worlds

I had the chance to flight to Java twice over the last weeks, once for personal travel, once for business trip, but I definitely feel like I've been traveling to two different countries: the urban sprawl of Jakarta is a the exact opposite of the quiet and gorgeous remote countryside of the rest of Java.

The first time I went there for a one week tour on Central and East Java with Pilou, Marie and a bunch of expat friends. Pilou is a good old school pal of mine. We had plenty of great times few years ago in our campus in Brittany, and we hang out a bit every now and then whenever I crash in Paris for few days. Pilou was kind enough to come visit me all the way to M'sia for a few weeks. It was also the opportunity for me to get to know his lovely special one: Aurelie.



In order to immerse Pilou straight away in a true Asian experience, we left KL almost upon his arrival, after only a very short night. There we go, en route to a one week intense experience in remote Java. On the menu: discovering the legendary Hindu and Buddhist temples of Prambanan and Borobudur ; climbing the grand volcano of Bromo (noticed the new banner on this blog?) ; visiting Surakarta and Jogyakarta ; discovering Madura Island before the Indonesian government succeeds in his attempt to transform this farmer's Island into a place for tourists. Knowing me, needless to mention that we traveled on a budget (local buses, dirty guesthouses, fried rice at the stalls, etc...) That's the only way to get an authentic taste of Java

All along our journey, I was constantly amazed by the kindness and the openness of the Javanese people. Everyone was curious to know where we came from, what we where doing in such places so far from the tourists roads. Everyone was willing to give us directions, and most of the time without ulterior motive. At some point in Surakarta bus station a crowd of Javaneses gathered around us in the blink of an eye, and everyone was shouting to advise us on the best way to reach the next hop. Don't give me wrong, I'm not naive and I know that our wallet was also very attractive, but most of the time I didn't feel that I was pushed to purchase anything. I really believe that people where flattered that we come from so far to visit their villages, and that we were able to speak (a little bit) their language. They wanted us to have the best experience of their country. This simplicity in the human contact is really appreciable. Quite a change for a European! However this is only true for the remote countryside villages. In the tourist spots (the temples for instance), it's a whole different story, and you are not a traveler anymore: you become a prey.

Bottom line: a great experience, a lot of contacts with the Javaneses, UNESCO-like sites (BTW, Prambanan and Borobudur are listed).

Only a week after this trip, I was requested to travel to Jakarta for business. IMHO Jakarta is definitely another world, made of pollution, traffic jam, violence, prostitutes, greediness. The landscape is spoiled and Jakarta is a huge soulless urban sprawl. The taxi is the only was of transportation since it's not possible to walk around.

What a contrast! I'm not Marxist at all but I can't help thinking that human beings are not made to live in big cities and that government should kick everyone back to the countryside...

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