R. Doug Wicker — Author

This series started way back in January with Singapore, and continued into Indonesia with that series beginning on 18 March. Well, the end is in sight. This week I cover our last destination on this trip with a look at Probolinggo, Java. First up on the tour Ursula had planned for us was a very special ride:

I must admit that this was a rather unique experience.

You can certainly tell how much Ursula enjoyed it:

Other things we did shortly after our tour began included visiting a historic Dutch heritage church:

While the outside of this piece of history, constructed in 1826, may not look all that impressive, the interior gives quite a different impression:

Of course, being Indonesia, there are many more mosques than churches. And the Grand Mosque of Probolinggo (Masjid Al Jannah Perum Asabri Kanigaran Probolinggo) shows off an absolutely gorgeous exterior:

Aviation buff that I am, I was surprised to see an aircraft on static display that I could not recognize. I’ve since done some research and discovered this is an Australian-made GAF Nomad:

But now on to some uniquely local flavor. There is on east Java an ethnic group called the Tenggerese people, and they are renowned for their batik cloth. The technique for making batik involves the use of wax to repel repeated dyeing. As each layer of dye is completed, previously deposited wax is removed and new wax applied to repel the next dyeing. Using this method, the Tenggerese create higly intricate patters of amazing depth and color:

Our group was invited to try their hand, and some of us did with varying degrees of failure:

Here’s a closeup view of the wax application:

Ursula even gave it a go:

I won’t show you the end result of our efforts. Instead, I’ll show off what the experts can accomplish:

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