 Bandung Station / Toys for sale |
 Amidst Java’s teeming millions, a comfortable express train is a capsule of calm but is not without hazards of its own…
Settling into our allocated seats as the chimes of the traditional gamelan orchestra and the reedy notes of a solo bamboo flute pour out from the train's public address. As we gather speed out of the city, morning sun throws a rich golden hue across the flooded rice paddies. A parade of stewards begins, bearing pillows, drinks, snacks and menus.
The train winds through the minutely terraced volcanic hillsides of West Java. A patchwork of emerald green is stitched together by clusters of terra-cotta red roofs and tree-clad volcanic ridges. Sometimes a rushing brown river passes underneath, its steep gorge fringed by coconut palms or by a belt of bananas.
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