Maybe it was Uncle Ted’s endless slideshows. Maybe Grandma’s dusty photo albums. Sometime or another, we’ve all experienced the horror: backed into a corner, forced to grimly smile on as relative “x” gave a free, marathon master class on Floridian flora or Italian architecture.

Because they went there. On vacation. For ten days.

I’ll try not to be that guy although I swear the past few weeks have raised the bar on great, frugal vacationing. Christmas at a Buddhist monolith, New Years on an active volcano, a 24th birthday in Borneo’s Venice—the good times are worth mentioning, but I agree they’re probably best served in small portions just like meals at fancy restaurants.

So here’s the appetizer of the bunch, photo essay part one of four, respectfully abridged, just for you:

The bro flew into Yogyakarta, and for a few days, we limited our adventuring to the region’s nearby temples. Borobudur: nobody knows who built it or why, but the UNESCO site lags behind only Cambodia’s Angkor Wat in terms of Buddhist greatness. At least that’s what Lonely Planet says. But this expert found his second visit to Boro just as hot and crowded as his first. If you want an honest highlight of the day, you’d have to skip forward to trading enlightenment for ice cream afterwards.

Secret #1: The only thing more popular than Borobudur at Borobudur is taking pictures of white people (essay on that in the works).

Prambanan is a complex of Hindu temples a little closer into town that somehow manages to dodge Boros overwhelming traffic. It’s also amazing.

Secret #2: 95% of Indos turn around after snapping peace signs in front of the first temple. Hardier touristas willing to walk half a kilometer farther have several temples all to themselves.

The bro had a great time visiting site. Highlights included…

  1. setting a new village record for mosquito bites;
  2. sparking new appreciations for mangosteen and avocado juice;
  3. visiting students at a mandatory, holiday-interrupting scouting retreat;
  4. eating fried, freshwater eel–we think–for the first time; and
  5. wearing sarungs because we could.

Volcano, canal, and orangutan action will be coming soon. In the meantime, there’s still plenty of PC commentary and photos up at the old site.