
Tag: java

TWO YEARS WORTH OF FLIGHTS…
by joostay
Did you know that if you are using Chrome as your web browser and type “my flights” into Google it will bring up a list of all the flights you have booked via gmail over the past two years? I really didn’t think I had flown as much as I had, and my own list surprised me. When I moved to Tokyo three years ago I still had a bit of an itch to see parts of Asia I’d never seen, but I think I’ve achieved that […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: air travel, asia, bagan, dougal, flights, flying, girls, hardcore, ikimasho, indonesia, japan, japanese, java, mandalay, monks, myanmar, rave, se asia, sumatra, toba, tokyo, train, travel, vibes, video, yangon

IKIMASHO Luxury Stays: Ascott Waterplace, Surabaya, Indonesia.
by joostay
A room with a view… Taking time to unwind after climbing Kawah Ijen volcano.
Categories: Luxury Travel, Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: ascott waterplace, asia, blog, boutique, five star, hotel, indonesia, japan, java, luxury, photography, review, surabaya, tokyo, travel, urban

Homestays. The best way to immerse yourself when travelling.
by joostay
Biking it into the hills and staying with a local family in Cemoro Lawang, Java. Cemoro Lawang is a tiny mountain hamlet in East Java. With a negligible local population it would remain largely unnoticed if it weren’t for its giant neighbour, Mount Bromo, standing watch over the village and attracting visitors from all over the world. Despite Bromo’s fame, the village of Cemoro Lawang has managed to remain a quiet, peaceful place: one where locals go about their daily lives […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: accommodation, backpacking, blog, cemoro lawang, East Java, hindu, homestay, ikimasho, indonesia, japan, java, Mount Bromo, Probolinggo, tokyo, travel, volcano

In Pictures: Mount Bromo region, East Java.
by joostay
You can read about the local family I stayed with in Cemoro Lawang here.
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: backpacking, cemoro lawang, hiking, indonesia, java, Mount Bromo, nature, sunrise, travel, viewpoint, volcanic, volcano, walking

DIY: Travelling from Yogyakarta to Mount Bromo Independently
by joostay
How to get to Mount Bromo from Yogyakarta without joining a tour. Java, Indonesia. In my late teens I toured a lot in a punk band, doing gigs all over Ireland and the UK. It was very much a DIY ethos with Griswold, our drummer, booking any shows he could get his grubby little mits on – no matter how far the distance or how long we’d have to drive to get there. These wretched all-night jaunts soon became known as ‘Hellrides’, with […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: blog, Bromo, cemoro lawang, DIY, ikimasho, indonesia, japan, japanese, java, Mount Bromo, tokyo, train travel in indonesia, travel, yogyakarta, yogyakarta to bromo

Illegal Street Racing & Raving in Surabaya, Indonesia
by joostay
Saturday nights are fun in the port capital of Java I don’t think I’ve ever been stared at as much as when I unwittingly walked into a fenced-off compound on the outskirts of Surabaya, a port city in Eastern Java one Saturday night. Having only just arrived at 9pm – and having to leave again the next morning at 6am – I only had a few hours to meander about and see what Surabaya kids get up to on the […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: asia, backpacking, biking, blog, cliff jumping bali, drum and bass, hip hop, ikimasho, indonesia, japan, java, motorbikes, party, racing, rave, street culture, surabaya, tokyo, travel, travelling, tricks

Global Domination. Sort of.
by joostay
Supper in Tokyo. Breakfast in Kuala Lumpur. Lunch in Jakarta. Dinner in Bali. When I was still a wee lad in short trousers I remember my grandparents telling me that in ‘their day’ a ‘holiday’ meant taking the suicide-inducing local train from Belfast to Bangor for the afternoon. That’s a 30-minute journey. 14 miles. To eat a poke (that’s an ice cream to you and me), dunk their feet in the paddling pool and then go home again. I don’t […]
Categories: Travel: Outside Japan • Tags: bali, bangor, beach, belfast, indonesia, japan, java, kuala lumpur, malaysia, northern ireland, south east asia, sun, tokyo, train, travel