Borobudur

By the time we got to Borobudur, we were exhausted. We'd only had a couple of hours sleep and been on the bike for hours. And then we pulled into Elo Progo Art House, a peaceful haven in the middle of nowhere, complete with a family-run warung (where we had the most delicious vegetarian meal cooked by the owner's sister), stone cottages, hammocks, an art gallery and a river. It was absolutely what we needed, somewhere to relax and have an early night before our 3:30 am (eeeek!) wake up call to go Borobudur temple.

Borobudur temple was built in the 9th century and is the world's largest Buddhist temple. We went just before sunrise and there was something really special about walking up in the dark as calls to prayer sung out from the surrounding mosques. Yes, there are lots of tourists around, but the temple is beautiful and the great views of Merapi (Indonesia's most active volcano) and the surrounding countryside meant that we still enjoyed the experience (until we somehow lost each other in the temple for an hour, but let's not get into that...).

Most people just visit the temple and then head off, but there are lots of interesting villages nearby. Our camping trip meant we had less time than planned in Borobudur, but we did manage to take a few detours into the countryside on the way back to Yogyakarta.

We had less than 24 hours in Borobudur, but a couple of days would have been perfect. And if you're going to stay at Elo Progo, then stay as long as you can!