These temples are about two and a half hours by road from Yogya.

Approaching Candi Cetho, the road climbs steeply, and twists extraordinarily, opening up fantastic views of the valley beneath. As you get higher you begin to see tea plantations and vertiginously terraced fields of vegetables.

Candi Cetho is a little piece of Bali in Java. When the Majapahit kingdom was overthrown, the Hindus retreated not only to Bali, but also to the uplands. There is still a Hindu village up here, and the temple is regularly used for worship.

The weather was a bit of a pain, and we were regularly in and out of the rain jackets all day. But the gloomy skies made the temple even more picturesque. Dark stone, aligned sets of twin gateposts, little shrines, steep flights of steps, large turtle stones -- very distinctive and beautiful.

Then we walked to Candi Sukuh. The path goes first between the chequered squares of vegetable terraces, and then through the forest. It's cool up here, and tree ferns and other NZ-reminiscent plants grow very happily. Very steep in places -- a good antidote to my current very sedentary lifestyle.

Candi Sukuh looks particularly stunning when the evening sun is low in the sky. There is some very fine carving here, and the site is quiet and atmospheric.

It was a long drive back, through Solo and Klaten, but it was a rewarding day.