Jogja, cultural heart of Java

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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.

All night puppet shows (until 4 or 5 am!) are held a few times a month which is obviously not a touristy thing or for kids. It's amazing that they still keep these going in the TV age. There is a puppet master who narrates the story and works the puppets which are made of buffalo hide, pierced to allow interesting shadows on the white screen.

We also visited the Sultan's palace. He only has daughters so his son is going to become the next sultan. In 1970 Indonesia passed a law that men could only have one wife and two children to combat over population. But nobody enforces the law or really follows it as far as the two child rule goes. Don't know about the one wife issue though. Seems that one wife is too much for most men anyway.

We met a guy who said he could get us any alcohol we wanted. I asked him if he was Muslim and if he drank. He said, "Yes, it's no problem for Muslims to drink." Then why do they make it so hard for the rest of us?! We couldn't find any store selling wine but you could buy beer at the Circle K.

Next stop, Bali!

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Photos

Kids waving from a becak
Everyone in Jogja rides in these bicycle rickshaws. They are great fun and non-carbon emitting... well as long as the guy on the bike isn't gassy. ;-)

Bird Market
They sell all different kinds and colors of birds including bats, owls, and a little hawk. And there were tiny squirrels, mongoose (or is that mongeese?), snakes, large spotted geckos, monkeys, and the more mundane cats and dogs. I wish I could have bought them all and released them. Some of the birds were crowded in cages and some critters I worried were endangered and would be much better off in the wild where they could breed.

hummingbird
Too sad that this little guy is in a cage.

Most tragic pic ever!
Could you imagine being this bird and just waiting for the snake to get hungry enough to eat you? So horrendous!

I can't stop laughing!
My camera was behaving strangely and I turned to take a pic of Toby to see if it would snap. When I reviewed the pics later we fell off our chairs laughing at this bizarro "I'm so high" shot of Toby. Thought you would get a good laugh too. I still can't look at it without tears coming to my eyes.

Cat poop coffee & clove cig
You have to drink Java when you're in Java. Java refers to arabica coffee but there's this coffee produced here called kopi lewak which is made from beans that have been eaten by a civet and pooped out. It's supposed to be the s@#t, pardon the pun. :-) It was rich and not bitter at all but also nothing spectacular IMHO. Clove cigarettes were also invented here so we had to buy some. When in Rome...

Gamelan at puppet show
The puppeteer tells the story which is interspersed with music from the orchestra and some female singers.

Our room in Jogja
Cool paintings, huh?

Hostel courtyard
I musta been Indonesian in a previous life. Everyone here creates these elaborate pebbled paths.

Vespa collection and art gallery
The artist who does all this work must not be starving. He has this beautiful collection of vintage Vespas all shiny and fully restored.

Pet Lemur
Is this guy the cutest or what?!

Prambanan at night
There's another Hindu/Buddhist temple near Jogja. We just saw it at night... kinda templed out.

Ramayana fire
In one dramatic part of the performance, one of the characters "lights the palace on fire."

Grounds of the Sultan's palace
There's quite a bit of Dutch influence here.

Royal litter
The Sultan's palace had a couple of these on display. Our guide explained that the current sultan has 5 daughters and the oldest one couldn't be carried in this for her wedding because she was too fat and snickered. Kinda sad for her.

Water castle
This is where the past sultans would dally with their 40 wives and concubines. It's good to be da king!

Sauna in water palace
I can't believe that they actually built a sauna. The whole country is like one giant sauna as it is. But they did throw good smelling stuff in there too for a little aromatherapy.

Comments

[Mark Doner]

Don't eat the bats
Those fried bats sure look tasty, though http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v438/n7068/edsumm/e051201-07.html

[Stacey]

Cat poop coffee
What a way to start a morning! Cat poop coffee and a clove - mmmmmmm! Looks like you guys are having a blast and have I told you enough how glad I am you are including all of us?! It's fantastic! I would have never even heard of Jogja if it wasn't for you! Thanks! Oh and even though I am stuck in Woodland Hills, I am so glad I am not that bird on the snake. Ew.