Quote: (07-14-2013 11:47 AM)DirectDanger Wrote:
Prosal earlier mentioned taking a train which I never did but sounds interesting. Here is a cool video I found of a train journey in Java.
Trains in Java are rather slow (about 60 km/hour), but super comfortable, at least for the first and executive classes. The Argo Gede from JKT to Bandung (three hours) is great, and the scenery breathtaking. Same for the Bandung-Yogja, and for the Yogja-Surabaya for that matter. The one (Argo Angrek) that goes from Surabaya to JKT by the faster north route (Semarang) is very comfortable also.
The trains doing less travelled routes are admittedly more rustic and slower, but the beauty of Java countryside makes the journeys literally unforgettable. I made Malang-Jember-Malang and Malang-Solo on secondary lines, the scenery was absolutely beautiful.
Java is a highly populated island (some 140 millions - yeah, that makes a lot of girls), but rather tiny. The train journey from Surabaya to Yogja takes about five hours, and then it's just seven more hours from Yogja to JKT.
Train is a great way to travel around Java.
The Argo Gede: