I travelled in the wet because I saw a ridiculously cheap airfare from Sydney to Surabaya, and only thought about the weather when I arrived there in the middle of a torrential rain storm and my taxi from the airport was stranded for 20 minutes on a flooded highway. I began to have some second thoughts, but we soon got going again, and the longer I stayed in Java the more I discovered the real benefits of travelling at this time of year.

* The hotels are almost empty, giving you choice and bargaining power. At Mt Bromo during the midweek, the hotels and guesthouses are almost all empty. I was not really bargaining when a guesthouse owner cut the price of the room from 200,000 Rupiah (A$20) to 75,000 Rupiah (A$7.50). Conversely in peak season the price rises to 400,000 Rupiah (A$40).

* The storms are spectacular. I never tire of seeing tropical lightning storms, particularly ones in the distance where you cannot hear the thunder but see the clouds light up as if someone was throwing a switch!

* You get to see the main tourist sites like Mt Bromo and Borobadur with far fewer tourists to jostle with.

* It only rains for a short while, thirty minutes to one hour, and then the sun comes out again.

* If you do get caught in a downpour, the rain is warm and not unpleasant, and you soon dry out.

* The weather is cooler. On a hot day, the rain drops the temperature by 3 or 4 degrees celsius.

* The countryside is green and beautiful, as opposed to being yellow and dried out at the height of summer.

* The rain clears the air of dust and pollution letting you take much better photographs.