Bali & Java

Two islands joined by a nation, separated by cultures. While Bali is beauty in action, Java is rugged and gritty. While one can spend hours in a spot in Bali, in Java it can get intense.

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_0075_1-Edit-1024x768.jpg" alt="Early morning, a volcano awakens."/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_0122_1-DA-1024x768.jpg" alt="Inside the Ijen volcano. . Things she did to get here-- - Drove all day to get to west Bali - Hopped a ferry with the locals - Saw pirates circling her ferry to assess the guards on board - Took a 3-wheeler that she could barely crawl into with 15 others already in it - Got to her hotel at midnight - Woke up at 3AM to take the "Jurassic Park tour" jeep - Hiked 7 km up a mountainside - Borrowed chemical masks from mining supervisors - Blackmailed her guide to come down into the caldera - Hard hiked 3km with the masks, into the volcano Just to see this sulfuric acid lake next to the still erupting fiery volcano. It was a good day for us."/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_5470-682x1024.jpg" alt="Pura Hulundanu"/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_6136-Edit-1024x682.jpg" alt="A rainy afternoon in Ubud."/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_6360-HDR-Edit-1024x682.jpg" alt="Watching the temple prists start the day at Tanah Lot, Bali."/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_6669-Edit-1024x682.jpg" alt="The volcano man. . @squibble and I met this man at about 7AM . He said he woke up at about 3AM, hiked into the volcano in the dark, loaded his basket with about 90kg (200lb) of sulfur. He then carried it back up the trecherous slope of the volcano, 2km almost straight up and hiked down another 4km to sell the goods for about US $5. The main use of the sulfur is to whiten sugar. . He said, if he is lucky, he'll do this one more time before 2PM because by then, the heat and sulfuric acid fumes in the volcano get unbearable. Did I mention, he was not wearing shoes let alone a respirator? . These miners have no other means to make a living in that remote part of Java. Apparently, lung disease is the leading cause of death among men there; average lifespan - 45yrs. @squibble and I were distributing "glucose buiscuts" (sugar cookies) to these guys as they went about thier work. A poor compensation for helping us whiten our sugar. Don't you think?"/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_6749-Edit-1024x682.jpg" alt="Kawah Ijen volcano in Java"/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_6754-Edit-1024x682.jpg" alt="Looking into the volcano, Kawah Ijen, Indonesia."/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_6776-Pano-Edit-1024x614.jpg" alt=""/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_6854-Edit-1024x682.jpg" alt="Sulfur miner, Kawah Ijen Volcano"/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_7042-Edit-1024x682.jpg" alt="Some moments are lost to the world. . Waterfall, Munduk, Bali"/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_7049-Edit-682x1024.jpg" alt=""/>

<img src="https://www.ajoyprabhu.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/IMG_7177-Edit-1024x682.jpg" alt="Places such as these help find peace during turbulent times. . Pura Ulun Danu, Bali, Indonesea. ."/>