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The Dieng plateau
in the highlands of central Java is renowned both for the variety
of its volcanic scenery and as a sacred area housing Java's oldest
Hindu temples, dating back to the 9th century AD. The Dieng volcanic
complex consists of two or more stratovolcanoes and more than 20
small craters and cones of Pleistocene-to-Holocene age over a 6
x 14 km area. Prahu stratovolcano was truncated by a large Pleistocene
caldera, which was subsequently filled by a series of dissected
to youthful cones, lava domes, and craters, many containing lakes.
Lava flows cover much of the plateau, but have not occurred in historical
time, when activity has been restricted to minor phreatic eruptions.
Toxic volcanic gas emission has caused fatalities and is a hazard
at several craters. The abundant thermal features that dot the plateau
and high heat flow make Dieng a major geothermal prospect.
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Still, the journey was worth it. Way up in the mountains, Dieng
certainly gets cold: in winter, it even gets frost at night. This
might be pleasantly refreshing after the lowlands, where lifting
your little toe can bring you out in a sweat, but it does have
one disadvantage: the mandi water is so cold, taking a wash is
almost unbearable. Still, if you don't sweat so much, you don't
need so many showers... right? Well, Tim went for a mandi in Dieng,
and his shrieks as the icy water ran down his neck made the local
mosque's loudspeaker broadcasts look positively pathetic.
The Dieng is an ancient volcanic caldera, one that isn't about
to erupt again, but that still provides some interesting thermal
areas. The volcanic soil is very fertile, and everywhere you look
– on the plains, the hillsides, in the steep valleys –
there are fields, but it's not your usual rice and corn fields:
it's potatoes. Yes, Dieng produces hordes of potatoes, making
the price of French fries in the restaurants pleasantly cheap,
and the local landscape quite fascinating. While turquoise and
green lakes effervesce with sulphurous fumes, pits of boiling
mud bubble and steam vents roar into the clear sky, farmers go
about their daily business, planting and harvesting, digging and
irrigating. It's a strange sight.
And stuck in the middle of the plateau, surrounded by fields,
are yet more Hindu temples, smaller than their Prambanan counterparts,
but in a perfect setting. The Candi Arjuna complex, a collection
of about five semi-ruined temples, stands in the middle of the
plain, and other single temples are dotted around the area. The
three of us spent Tuesday 4th November exploring the Dieng Plateau,
deciding not to bother with the famous sunrise tour – getting
up at 3.30am is always a tricky experience to actually pay for
– and spending the next day making our way back to Yogya,
in preparation for the hop to Bali.
And that's when I found out that my package, for which I had been
patiently waiting over 12 days, wasn't coming. Oh well, I thought,
it's not as if the partying in Yogya was boring...
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