Michael Portillo’s 2500-mile railway tour of south east Asia reaches its southern most point in Indonesia. Michael's journey begins on the island of Java at the heart of this archipelago nation, the world’s fourth most populous.

In the heaving megacity of Jakarta, the capital, Michael uncovers Indonesia’s colonial past as part of a Dutch empire and its rich history as a port and centre of the spice trade. He negotiates the city’s infamous traffic, takes a ride on the newly launched MRT metro and dines like a local on Jakarta’s famous street food. On a trip out of the city, Michael finds out how Bogor’s Botanical Gardens, now a centre of research and conservation, were developed by Englishman Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, once governor of Java.

Leaving the capital on a seven-hour railway journey past rainforests and paddy fields, Michael heads to the volcanic heart of Java’s central province. He visits the island’s most dangerous volcano, Mount Merapi, and learns how its deadly eruption in 2010 killed over 300 people. Nearby in the village of Bendo, Michael tries his hand at the art of traditional noodle making. This leg of his journey ends at the country’s greatest ancient wonder and Indonesia’s most visited monument, the Borobudur Temple. Michael marvels at how the world’s largest Buddhist shrine lay hidden for centuries under volcanic ash. Show less