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Published: November 11th 2016
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After an eight hour ride on the train in second class (which isn't all that much) that cost $IDR170,000 I had arrived in the center of Java in the city of Yogyakarta (the Y's are pronounced like J's). Yogyakarta is billed as the epicenter of Javanese culture and is famed for its artwork and handicrafts - neither of which interested me - and everyone on the street has a brother with a private exhibition special just for you. Even if I was interested in buying art, where would I put the stuff anyways? I had come here for other reasons; to visit Borobudur a massive ancient Buddhist Temple, to visit Prambanan a massive ancient Hindu temple, and to visit The Kraton which is the ornate and decadent palace of the Sultan who rules Yogyakarta. Unfortunately I only made it to one of these sites due to the long bureaucratic process of extending my visa and the fact that I again fell ill.
I showed up into town and had a quick walk around to find a place to stay. I found a decent enough joint for the night at $IDR90,000 and I was quickly sorted. After a bite to eat
and a stroll through the market close by I was off to bed after a long travel day. Up early the next morning I was able to take the local bus to the immigration office with the intent to extend my visa for another 30 days. After being shuffled back and forth to four different immigration officers all asking the same questions and wanting me to make copies of the same documents I was asked to hand over my passport and come back two days later to pay and have the privilege to stay another 30 days in Indonesia. Easy enough but the fact that all of this took about five hours meant that the Kraton was closed for the day so I never got to see the palace of the Sultan.
Early the next day is when it hit me that I was again ill. I unfortunately had eaten or drank something that did not agree with my insides. Knotting pain in my stomach and running to the loo with all of the rest of it was my wake up call. Sweet. Nine months of travel and I have never got a case of food illness yet. I
generally eat or drink anything but I guess I'll have to be more careful in Asia. Anyway I wasn't going to miss going to Borobudur so I hopped onto the local bus, transferred twice and walked the final km to the temple complex. I don't like to do organized tours and much prefer the DIY approach even if it is more difficult. At the end of the day I saved $2. Borobudur is massive. It comprises of six square platforms stacked onto each other with three circular ones up top. All of the walls have detailed panels depicting the story of Prince Siddhartha and the eventual birth of Buddha. Very good work for being made in the 9th century. I spent the day wandering around the temple checking out the surrounding views and just enjoying the day being delighted about traveling in Asia.
After taking the bus 50km back to Yogyakarta I really started to not feel well. At this point I had maybe a piece of fruit in the last 36 hours and no amount of water or Gatorade would keep me hydrated. I just had to ride it out and decided that the Prambanan was not going
to happen for me. I hunkered down in my room with a few litres of Gatorade and water and let nature take its course.
Today still not 100% in the morning I had to be at the immigration office at 8am to get my passport. Once there I had to talk with three different people and pay three different bills before going back upstairs to get my passport. Upstairs the girl told me to come back in four hours and my passport would be ready. Ummm, what were they doing for the past two days? So six hours after I had arrived at immigration I left with my new visa. Success. Total time spent was around 11 hours and $30 out of my wallet all for a rubber stamp. So unnecessary. Two whole days lost to immigration and one full day lost to illness. I'm feeling better now but Yogyakarta was a wash for me. Tonight I hop onto an overnight train to meet a friend of a friend whom I have never met in a city I never planned on going to. Should be fun.
After going through it in my head over and over again I
am convinced my iPod was stolen by airport baggage handlers in either Singapore or Sumatra after I was forced to check my bag. This is why I always carry on my bags anywhere - be it a bus, train or plane. So I bought a 4GB $15USD replacement today straight off the boat from China. Some of the buttons don't work but NOFX and The Avett Brothers come through loud and clear.
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