At speed, now with a schedule to meet with our ship departing Sabah for the Malaysian Peninsula at the end of August, we have an abridged journey through Java.
Making the quick crossing from Gilimanuk to Banyuwangi, we head down south hopefully to check out G Land, the infamous surf break in Eastern Java. Entering the Alas Purwo National Park and stopping in at the Rangers Office we were informed that there is no camping within the National Park. Plan B, we headed to Pantai Pulau Merah, a two hour trip west and had a lovely camp in the parklands behind the beach. Lovely spot and being a week day, quiet with very few tourists.
On the move, we keep heading west, over the beautiful mountains of Semeru, stopping by at the southern section of Bromo and ending up at Lembah Bromo, camping next to a river, a short drive to Malang the next morning. It was so good to be camping again, cooking our own food, back in our familiar bed. Who would have thought that an Alucab RTT would feel like home!
We had a lovely morning in Malang, wandering the city centre, checking out Alun Alun Tugu Malang and the beautiful surrounding colonial buildings, walking the alleyways of Kajoetangan Heritage Village near the city centre, checking out Kampung Warna Warni Jodipan, Arema Blue Village and finishing with the obligatory Bakso Malang meal at Bakso President.
While planning to stay a night in Malang, with a schedule to meet, we made the decision to head to Solo, previously an unthinkable decision, but with toll roads now crisscrossing Java, we made light work of the 320km in the afternoon (this would have previously been a full 12 hour drive!), arriving on dusk.
As always, we try to seek out food that the area is infamous for and for Solo this is Nasi Liwet, a rice based dish, with the rice cooked in coconut milk and chicken broth, served with chicken, tempe, vegetables, sambal and topped with fresh coconut. The following morning, we wandered down to the Kasunanan Palace, Surakarta Hadiningrat, the Solo Sultans Palace and had a great tour of the sight. The sultanate has an interesting history, filled with conflict amongst competing heirs and heavily influenced by the Dutch when Indonesia was under the control of the Dutch East Indies Company. The Dutch exploited the power struggle, gaining access to additional land in return for their support, resulting in much reduced territory and power. In contrast to the Sultan of Yogyakarta, following World War II, the sultans status was reduced to a ceremonial position, outside of government and is now primarily considered a custodian of Central Javanese culture, ceremony, history and cuisine. Interestingly, within the museum were some Koran’s dating back to the 1600’s. These were written in a script similar to that of the Thai / Khmer script (apparently a cousin script adapted to local Javanese language). We did a DNA search for Susi a few years back and it uncovered ancestry linking back to the Khmer region which apparently is the result of migration between the 9th and 15th centuries between the Khmer Empire and also the time when Borobudur and Prambanan were built in Yogyakarta.
Following our visit to the palace, we put in another big day, driving the nearly 500km to Susi’s home town of Garut in West Java. Once again an unthinkable task previously. We spent time at the graves of her parents, smoking the obligatory kretek cigarette with her Dad, caught up with one of Susi’s brothers and a sister, motored down to Bandung and caught up with one another of Susi’s brothers (Eight children – Big Family!) and then finished the day in Jakarta where we would stay with one of Susi’s other sisters and her family for the week.
Our main plan for Jakarta was to get a little bit more work done on Betty and then spend time with family and friends. We will not likely be returning for a few years, so wanted to make the most of our time there. We didn’t get the rattle from the front end sorted in Bali (I thought from the brakes) and there is a legendary mechanic in Jakarta who operates a workshop with no name, only under the name Bapak Bidin (Mr Bidin). The workshop is run by Bidin and his son Fegy and he pretty much only works on Land Rovers, but primarily Defenders. After taking the car for a run together, they started looking for the culprit (or culprits as it turned out). Not sure which one was the rattle, but they found rattling pads, dry CV’s and worn front suspension bushes. In the end they also did a complete service, changing out oils from diffs, transmission and engine. Rattle gone and ready to go! They could not have been more professional and definitely recommended for anyone travelling through Jakarta in their Land Rover.
Under the same roof operates a separate business; Hybrid Corner. Hybrid Corner are all about undertaking serious modifications to Land Rovers. With Land Rover (particularly Defender) parts expensive and hard to come by, they transplant different engines, diffs and gearboxes into Defender, with parts coming from Daihatsu, Jeep, Ford and a plethora of Toyota variants. Examples in his workshop were:
Series Landrover, converted to a Defender and using a Jeep 4.0 Petrol Engine
Land Rover Discovery Chassis having an extended tub FJ40 transplanted on top
Land Rover Forward Control on 37” tyres having a 4.1l Toyota engine from the Mega Cruiser (Japanese Hummer)
Landrover Series III Armour Plated, converted to a Defender and having a 4.1l Toyota Engine from the Mega Cruiser
A Landcruiser chassis and running gear having a complete Defender 110 transplanted on top.
He also manufactured fibreglass replacement panels for Defenders, including doors, roof’s and wings.
His vehicle was an early Defender running a 3.0 Ford Diesel Engine that had been in for 20 years and has toured all over Indonesia
It was like walking through the best museum/toyshop. Might by nightmarish for some, but I thought it fantastic!
After spending a couple of days in Jakarta proper with friends, we then returned to Susi’s sisters place for a last few days together before driving the nearly 800km’s back east to Surabaya where we will ship to Kalimantan from.
Before heading off from Surabaya we spent a lovely day wandering the streets of Kota Tua (Old Town), where Chinatown is located, checking out the temples, old colonial buildings, meeting up with a Willy’s Jeep group, and an evening at the Kya Kya Street markets sampling the Surabaya street food. A lovely way to finish our time in Java.
Arriving at the port at 6.00am, for a 9.00am departure, we loaded at 7.00am and then we were off ….. at 11.30am for the 32 hour ferry trip to Balikpapan (it turned into a 38 hour trip by the time we exited the ferry!).
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