We spent several days in Yogyakarta, "Jogja" for short, which is the cultural heart of Java. We stayed in what must be one of the coolest hostels on the planet. It was created by an artist and everywhere you look you saw beautiful pebble mosaics and paintings. And we had yummy banana pancakes and fresh fruit juice, all inclusive for less than $12 a night for two. Amazing! We went to a Ramayana performance held in front of the Hindu/Buddhist temple of Prambanan. This is a story about women getting kidnapped, aid from monkeys and birds and people who turn themselves into golden reindeer, and great wars. Yeah, they musta been on some hallucinogens when they wrote this stuff. There are elaborate costumes and accompaniment by a gamelan (orchestra) of gongs, xylophones, drums, some stringed instrument.
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