Page:Life in Java Volume 1.djvu/277

Rh a journey for us to perform in one day on horseback, the road he said being so bad and hilly, that every Dutch gentleman who visited the place always made a two days' excursion of it.

A quarter before six next morning, while the village was just waking from its slumbers, our ponies came to the door, and we were soon off at a rapid rate up and down the undulating road past Singoriti. A little farther on we came to a very awkward, steep ascent, on the shoulder, so to speak, of the Banyha mountains. It is at this spot that the carriage road to Ngantang ceases, as it is almost impossible for any horse conveyance to proceed farther, the road in many parts being a mere pathway, and in some places almost entirely covered with pebbles.

When we had ascended about two hundred feet above the level of the, road, we had a very good view of Batoe and the surrounding country. The ride, on the whole, was a delightful one, for the