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Published: August 7th 2007
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To finish off Indonesia, we flew to Java for several days touring. After a short ride from the airport, we were settled in an ideal, and fairly cheap guesthouse in the cultural city of Yogyakarta.
On our first full day here, we opted to hit the sights. First, we visited the Royal Palace, which is the home of the Sultan of Yogyakarta. We took a short tour, which came free with admission. The 'fascinating' experience ended with a very dreary performance by the resident Gamelan orchestra (traditional Javanese music).
Next stop was the Water Castle. This was not as fun as it probably sounds (no bouncy slides) but it was very agreeable all the same. We took a brisk stroll around the grounds (where the Sultan once paddled and played with his many wives), courtesy of a friendly and free guide who latched onto us. We then explored the underground mosque, with its intriguing staircase arrangement. We ended the tour with a look around some of the amazing batik shops within the castle walls (and, you guessed it, one of these belonged to our guide). We left the castle and had a short stroll around the Bird Market.
Making Batik
Yogya is famous for it's batik artists. The quality of their designs is incredible Yogya is famous for it's batik artists. The quality of their designs is incredible
with rows and rows of cages containing all manner of squawking specimens. Finally, hot and bothered, we stopped for some lunch. We then did a little shopping before heading back for a swim at our guesthouse (Great reward for all that sightseeing!).
The following day, we decided we should see the famous Buddhist temple at Borobodur, about an hour or two from the city. We worked out we could see the nearby volcano - Gunung Merapi - on the way. This day did not work out as planned. We arrived at the volcano in complete cloud and mist, and could see nothing. On the bus to the volcano, we met an Indonesian man named Iwan, who was to become a good friend. Iwan was in a rock band, and had, by all accounts, been a bit of a wild child in his youth. A devoted Ozzy Osbourne fan, Iwan told us how instead of biting the head of a bat, he likes to eat chicken! Now middle aged, he was a mellow, funny and friendly guy. We warmed to his boyish charms very quickly. So
much so, that plans to see the temple were soon dashed when he invited us to spend the afternoon with him, at his brother’s house.
So, after a brief lunch, we managed to catch the slowest bus we’ve ever been on; about walking pace. The pathetic speed wasn’t even due to traffic, but simply because of a tedious kerb-crawling search for more passengers. We eventually arrived at a rather grand residence. We spent the next few hours singing and playing guitar, and generally having an amusing, and different afternoon. We vowed to see Borobodur the next day. Iwan was to come with us for this. In addition, he had decided to join us on the overnight train journey to Jakarta that same day, where he had invited us to stay in his city home!
Borobodur was really impressive, and we took many a photograph to back up this claim. We had a very funny time, laughing and joking our way through the day. Then, after killing a few hours, we all met back up to take the hellish train journey. The train was not a sleeper, so no flat beds. Worse still, the lights never went off, and
hawkers and buskers trekked up and down the carriages, literally all night long. The worst of these were the young men who sprayed air freshener all down the carriage and then tried to relieve you of your change for the privilege. There was not a hope in hell of getting any sleep. Unless of course you were Indonesian, in which case you can fall asleep in any circumstance or position!
We reached Jakarta at five in the morning and took a taxi to Iwan's impressive dwelling. Shown to our perfect air-conditioned double room, we soon fell asleep. We awoke to a traditional Indonesian breakfast made by Iwan’s servant. We then had to spend an extremely annoying day getting jobs done at the main Jakarta post office. Hours in the mindless Jakarta traffic, and many more wandering around the zany post office (who didn't even have a piece of bubble-wrap, for packing, in the whole complex!) soon had us making a bee-line for Pizza hut (our trusty tourist recharging station).
That evening we had aggreed to accompany Iwan to a religious gathering. Subud is a multi-faith, international organisation where all sorts of people meet to 'get in touch with
God'. As 'beginners', we were each paired up with an English speaker to discuss the faith in detail. While the regulars gathered in the prayer hall to make strange noises, we each challenged our helpers with difficult theological questions until we realised we were the last in the building. This experience had spurred us on to contemplate faith, and we nattered all the way home in the car until we were distracted by late night McDonalds and a sneaky peek at American Idol!
The next day we took Iwan to the Cinema for a treat. Entering the huge, gleaming mall, we were immediately struck again by the rich/poor divide in Asia. The film we had selected, 'Mr Bean's Holiday' was the perfect choice for us, as its easy to understand in any language. David laughed out loud all the way through, but we all admitted at the end that it was actually quite funny.
It was time to say our goodbyes. Goodbye to Iwan - a great friend; Good-bye to Indonesia - a fascinating seven weeks; and goodbye to Asia - we were headed straight back to the comforts of western existence in Australia. Bracing ourselves for a
reverse culture shock, we were off!
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Alex
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Cool! This sounds like one of the best, most soul-enriching entires from the whole of Indonesia (besides that paradisical retreat you found next to the lake where you stayed for a week)... Iwan sounds like a really great guy and I can just imagine you pair of hens during your existential discussion, losing all track of time and space as you throw yourselves headlong into it! I was, however, a little disappointed that you described Mr Bean as (quote) FUNNY (unquote). You've clearly been starved of decent comedy for too long!