As I scan the list of places we’re going to visit in the next two months, I find it hard to believe that we’re so close to seeing so much beauty in such a short space of time.
We’re not last-minute travellers, Rachel and I. Years on the road have taught us that we don’t like getting lost, or turning up to a place with no accommodation. We like to know where we’re going, and really make the most of the places we visit. We’re not ones for ticking things off the list just to say we’ve done it. And, jumping from bus to bus randomly is far less romantic than the movies make out.
While there’s a pleasure to be taken from organising a trip, there’s also an element of stress, especially when you’re trying to do it in a second language over a croaky phone connection. It would be easier if we could do it via email, but many of the hotels in certain areas don’t have email addresses.
In fact, Rachel called a hotel in a place called Dieng while I was out yesterday. They didn’t speak English. When I asked Rachel if the hotel was booked she just said ‘I think so’. We’ll find out soon enough I suppose.
Our first stop after Yogya will be Mount Bromo. Most people are there for literally a few hours to catch the sunrise over the mountain before they’re whisked off to the next destination. According to the locals, the national park around Bromo is magnificent and needs far more than a few hours to be appreciated fully.
We’ve planned to stay there for a couple of nights with the possible extension of a third night. Ijen crater and its lake, our destination after that, is a really exciting prospect from a photography point of view.
The whole trip will be a travel photographer’s dream. I’m thrilled to be fortunate enough to experience it.
In total we’ll be on the road, with a brief three night stay in Singapore, for 6 weeks. We may even squeeze in a week of relaxation in Bali before we jet back to the UK in August.
We’re still struggling to find a house sit in France but hopefully something will come up. But before any of that, we’re heading to a mountainous region 5 hours from Yogya called Dieng, for just a night. We hear it’s lovely for brief stays, with beautiful sunrises over the mountains and temples.
I look forward to posting the shots later.
We're a couple who have been on the road for several years, as teachers, travellers and house sitters. Jimmy is a writer, photographer, trainer and language learner. Rachel is a lover of fitness and cooking. Join more than 10,000 others who follow their journey across strange lands. 
