The island of Java forms part of the Ring of Fire. See the topography and the number of burnt cracks on the map below. Anyone interested to climb, peer into or simply admire a volcano puffing smoke from a distance need not venture too far, thanks to our neighbouring country Indonesia which is littered with volcanoes. August is within the dry season but it's also the Ramadan month. Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world where fasting and praying are religiously followed and practised. This means no lunch in more remote areas and mosques blasting prayers for long hours, day and night. Snacks and earplugs are essentials.

LP claims they have the only complete guide to Indonesia in the market. This statement is true in my country. Shame to say, it was not well written. Directions were unclear and some reviews were overrated. In my opinion, Surabaya (with the exception of the House of Sampoerna) and Malang are not worth visiting so you may want to give them a miss. We managed to get around easily with the limited Malay he speaks (we got blank looks when we asked where's the tandas though lol) and of course with the help of the hearty residents of East Java.