Michael continues his journey across the largest island of the Indonesian archipelago, from the capital, Jakarta. His seven-hour railway journey takes him through rainforests and paddy fields as he heads to the volcanic heart of Java’s Central Province. He visits Java’s most dangerous volcano, Mount Merapi, and learns how over 300 people were killed when it erupted in 2010. 
In the nearby village of Bendo, Michael tries his hand at the traditional art of noodle-making. This leg of Michael’s journey ends at the country’s greatest ancient monument, the magnificent Borobudur Temple, where he hears that the world’s largest Buddhist shrine lay hidden under volcanic ash for centuries.


Michael Portillo is in south east Asia, armed with his 1913 Bradshaw’s Handbook. It leads him on a spectacular 2,500-mile railway adventure across six countries. Michael explores towering megacities and magnificent mosques, visits jewelled temples and golden Buddhas and rides some of the world’s most exhilarating and notorious railways.