
The train journey from Malang in east Java, to Yogyakarta in central Java, was just over 7 hours. The Tugu Malang hotel had given us a picnic box, so were all set. Just had to avoid needing the toilet as holes in the bottom of the train floor do not make for a comfortable experience. Lawrence peeked into the next carriage and declared that first class was the only way to travel!
We were very impressed by the railway system. No one could get near the platform without a ticket and when the ticket inspector appeared in the carriage, a guard was stationed at both ends. You can book online and the ticket inspector used his phone to find passengers with digital tickets, but none of this works if you cannot read Bahasa Indonesian. Announcements on the train were made in several languages, so you always knew the name of the next station. And, when we stopped at stations, the station manager and a guard stood to attention to see the train off.




This railway line was being upgraded and I saw several new station buildings going up. And no, these guys in the photo below are not dead, just resting!

For most of the journey, the view was of green fields, farmers at work, and a beautiful countryside. Also a volcano or two. It is these volcanoes which make the land here so productive, but a lot of work is still hard manual labour. The following photos are presented in chronological order from Malang to Yogyakarta.











Here you can see men fishing in their village fish pond. But you might also note the cigarette advertising being used as their sunshade? Cigarette advertising is very conspicuous in Indonesia, with huge billboards in the cities and posters on village shop fronts.

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