6::On the road: Jakarta to Wonosobo
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Our first stop was the Dieng Plateau to see the remains of the oldest Hindu temples in Java, built between the 8th and 9th centuries A.D.

The plateau is cupped in the collapsed caldera of an ancient volcano, at 6000 feet above sea level. The small temples were mossy gray-black with age. We were the only visitors amid scores of very busy farmers. Steaming lakes and a geothermal station in the background told us the volcano was not extinct.

While Jim studied the temples I was more fascinated by the other monument to human industry: the sculpted farmland, as detailed and graceful as a fine patchwork quilt.

The only beasts of burden were the people, who carried double bushel baskets of potatoes dangling off sticks braced across their shoulders.

The energy level of the farming is very high. Boys spray insecticide. Besides the potatoes, we see fields of wet rice and cabbage.

Traffic on the road consists of trucks and motorcycles. We see no private cars.

Yogyakarta: Despite the fact that our last-minute travel agent put us in a coldly modern international-class hotel, Yogya definitely has more flavor than Jakarta. I think it must be like Jakarta was in the sixties (as described in The Year of Living Dangerously). The traffic still accommodates man-powered becaks (pedicabs).

We set out to find the tourist office but got all disoriented.

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Dieng Plateau. More about the volcanic nature of the region.

Dieng Plateau. Photos.