The island of Java, in Indonesia has been documented to have the most fertile soil in the world. The volcanic soil here grows rice like crazy. Where there’s abundant food people have time to do more than just look for dinner & culture thrives.  

Many Javanese have long been freed up to delve deeply into the arts.  Batik, filigree silver making, ornate wood carving—some of the world’s best of these can be found in Java.  And then, there’s wayang kulit shadow puppet theatre!

The Javanese in Indonesia make the world's most intricate wax-masked batik.  Most batik comes from the Javanese artists around Jogjakarta. Some is still done the traditional way—hand-drawn with wax pens by Javanese women batik artists.