Peter Lawrence, Into the Light (September Theme: Travel)

I'd only been at my hostel for one night when I met a group of Dutch travelers in the central Javanese city of Malang. I'd originally planned to go to Bali with some friends but after a change of plans and 20 hours on multiple overnight coaches and and a few worryingly small boats beat beat down on by the pitch black ocean there I was at the crest of another enormous, disorganized yet breathtaking location with a group of people I'd just met and couldn't imagine doing this trip without. This photo came from a hike to a relatively popular series of waterfalls in the area, however we stumbled upon this cave system taking the long way back from the main attraction. After getting thoroughly soaked pushing through the stream into the darkness of the cavern I knew Java was a destination far beyond my already high expectations. The moment I can, I'll be back.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.