Javanese Shadow Puppet

Our Indonesia office used to be based in the lovely town of Yogyakarta, a short flight from the smelly noisy capital, Jakarta. It's famous for its shadow puppets and puppet theatres. I bought two of these simple wooden ones from a street market, but later our team there sent me a beautiful hand cut leather puppet of Krishna from one of the puppet-makers who makes them for the national puppet theatre - intricate and beautifully painted. I haven't found the right way to photograph that one yet, so this is an interim attempt with the little wooden one.

I also had a dawn visit to the amazing Buddhist temple at Borbodur - the most tranquil place I have ever visited. I was alone up there for a while and even as others arrived and the crowds of schoolchildren started to appear I had a tremendous feeling of calm which lasted for weeks. It's a very special place.

Expect more puppet fun.....