Nasi goreng & satay

With the build over, it was time to explore the Solo, Yogyakarta and the surrounding areas on Java with the team.

[The photo on the left is of a becak. Operated by the guy on a bicycle on the back, I was impressed that it was able to carry two grown males with ease!]

Day in the hills near Solo

On our first R&R day, we headed into the hills near Solo to see two Hindu temples - Candi Sukuh & Candi Cetho. Both were built in the 15th centuries, prior to the introduction of Islam. Spread over various terraces rising up to the misty hillside, it was interesting to look at the stonework and in particular the structures supporting the fertility worship! After lunch we walked up & down some 1,200 stairs to the Grojogan waterfall, which has an impressive 81m fall.

On a side note, there were many people along our travels that were fascinated with 'foreigners'. The happy couple in the centre of the photo on the top right even wanted a photo with us on their wedding day.

In and around Yogyakarta

In addition to the shopping, museums and Kraton, this busy & bustling town is popular for tourists with two main temple complexes - Prambanan and Borobudur.

The Prambanan Temples were built in the 9th century. The original complex of temples (top left) contains 244 temples of which you can see 6 of the main 8 temples. The largest temple is dedicated to Shiva (the supreme god in Buddhism). On the other side of the complex is Candi Sewu (right). This Buddhist temple is surrounded by 240 smaller guard temples.

Borobudur (bottom left) was built over 1200 years ago. Following a decline in Buddhism for Islam, the temple was left abandoned for centuries and was buried under layers of volcanic ash. It was rediscovered in the 1800's and has since been part of various restoration plans. The temple is built from 2 million stone blocks, with 6 square terraces (base of 118m x 118m) leading up the 3 phases of Buddhism: the world of desire, the world of forms and the world of formlessness.

Onwards and eastwards to Bali
Our adventures did not stop in Java. We travelled across to Bali to join the other thousands of foreigners for some rest & relaxation in the Balinese sun. We stayed on the coast in Seminyak, a little further north than the 'typical' Balinese haunt of Kuta. In addition to relaxing in and around in the hotel pool, we had a couple of day trips.

On our first day trip, we hired some scooters an headed into the hills to visit Ubud. We wandered around the Monkey Forest Sanctuary, ate lunch overlooking a rice field and watched flocks of herons in the trees.

On our second day, we rode east to Senur. We relaxed in the warm waters as we attempted to locate some reef life and later let loose on the water on a few jet skis - good fun!

And as with all adventures... my adventure of living out of my square is coming to an end. Indonesia was my last stopover before returning to my homeland on a more permanent basis. The last few years have been a blast, but it's time to look forward to the adventures that lay ahead. To my loyal readers out there, thanks for keeping up with me as I have lived out of my square. This may be my last blog for a little while, so until the next adventure is sorted, take care, keep smiling & don't forget to step out of the comfort zone every once in awhile!

A world where everyone has a safe & decent place to live

One of the basic human needs is the need for shelter. As a stepping stone between the UK and Australia, I had the privilege of joining a team in Indonesia for a week of building with Habitat for Humanity. This organisation provides low cost housing to those in need around the world. [My little plug... if you are interested in joining a team or able to financial support their work, check out their website... http://www.habitat.org.au/.]

[Map courtesy of Google Maps]

Our destination was the small town of Solo, located in the centre of Java. Solo is located a mere 30km from Mount Merapi, a volcano which has been active since October. Tragically the recent eruptions led to the loss of many lives. Fortunately, the area we were working in was out of the 20km exclusion zone. The main disruption for us was the closure of Yogyakarta airport on the day we were due to arrive. While the rest of the team managed to fly directly to Solo, I took a plane to Jakarta and then headed an all day train to Solo. Jakarta is a crazy & busy town. I was gobsmacked when a train zoomed past with people happily perched on the roof!! The photo to the bottom right is of Merapi as we flew out of Yogyakarta at the end of our build.

The build was a relocation project, working with the local government to relocate many houses that are currently staying at Solo River. The houses need to be moved to a new location as the river is subject to flooding each year. The house we were working on was relocated approximately 300 metres away from the river.


To optimise the available resources, the intention is to make the most of every part of the pre-existing house, down to the mortar that lay between the bricks. The team before us demolished the old house and laid down the outline of the new house. We continued the project by moving some of the materials (including tiles, mortar, wood & bamboo) from the old site. At the new site we assisted with building the new walls. This included making the cement (sifting sand & mixing by hand) and the laying of bricks. Here are just a few pics of the labourers at work...

After a long hard week of working in the tropical weather, including soaring temperatures & high humidity, we were all pretty pleased with our efforts. The house was actually starting to look like a house! Overall it was fantastic week. In addition to a little banter and plenty of laughs, working with a great bunch of people made the experience all the more enjoyable. I hope the family will enjoy their new house!