The first thing we saw in Yogyakarta was a half naked lady, squatting in the middle of a busy bridge, doing a poo into a plastic bag. Things could only get better!

Fortunately, they did. We managed to negotiate the local transport system and get ourselves to Borobudur, a ninth century Buddhist temple. The temple lay forgotten, buried under a layer of ash and jungle for hundreds of years, before being rediscovered by Thomas Stamford Raffles. Now, it has been restored to its former glory. We spent an hour exploring the temple, frequently being stopped by local school children (and a few adults) who wanted to have their photograph taken with random white people. We were bemused but agreed, even helping some girls who were practising how to ask in English.

Borubudur temple

All the tourists had to wear a sarong

The bells had carved Buddahs inside

Interesting instructions

A nice view from the top

Some of the girls who wanted a photo with us

We stopped outside the temple for some lunch. Graham ordered nasi ayam (rice with chicken) and got a bonus chicken foot – yum. Breakfast had been a slightly odd rice and noodle dish, compliments of the hostel, and dinner was some delicious martabak, a sort of delicious stuffed pancake.

A slightly odd breakfast

An even more odd lunch

But a very tasty dinner

After suffering 26 hours of bus journeys on the terrible roads we decided to book a train for the next stage of our journey. This was a more tricky process than in the UK, took over 30 minutes and required details including name, passport number, phone number, hostel name…. Hopefully the transport itself is more efficient!