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Published: April 14th 2008
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We flew to Indonesia with lots of preconceptions of what the country would be like. These were based on government warnings about travel to Indonesia on the FCO website, which had us fearing that all Indonesians would be terrorists intent on kidnapping us or blowing us up, and western media portrayal of what 'muslim countries' are like. It turned out to be completely different to what we expected.
The first suprise on landing was that, far from being a bunch of western-hating extremists, Indonesians are friendly, welcoming people. A guard took us straight past the immigration queue at the aiport and people would smile, shout hello, point us in the right direction and be generally helpful. On the train one lady even brought her children over to say hello and shake our hands.
The second suprise was that, just because this is a Muslim country, it does not mean that women lead miserable, oppressed lives. Yes, some women wear headscarves. They do this through choice rather than enforcement. Clothes in the shops are fashionable and there is much more contact between men and women here than in any of the other countries we have visited. We were taken
Billy Big Balls
Billy had a bit of a fright when he saw my white legs. by suprise to see two teenage girls in headscarves on a dance machine in an arcade. But why should we be suprised? A headscarf and a particular religion do not make them any different to teenage girls around the world. This realisation that countries should be judged on experience, not on FCO websites or newspapers, is something that we will bear in mind when planning future trips.
We had come to Indonesia in the hope of seeing temples and volcanos and it didn't disappoint. The first place we went was Borobudur, a huge, square, multi-tiered Buddhist temple. The lower tiers are covered in carvings while the upper tiers are full of small chedis, each containing a Buddha. It is made all the more magnificent by its setting among rice fields and the jungle covered mountains which overlook it. At the top we were surrounded by a school trip who were practising their english by interviewing tourists. They also wanted us to sign our name at the end and so, at one point, I was in the middle of a crowd of people, feeling like I was signing autographs for them all and getting my photo taken more times than
I can remember. Much of the upper area of the temple was restored after damage in the huge earthquake this area suffered in 2006. The restoration work has been done well though and this temple was unlike others we have seen.
The other big temple in the area is Prambanan, this time a Hindu temple which has also been ravaged by the forces of nature. So much so that it is still unsafe to enter the temples after the 2006 earthquake so we were forced to look at them over a fence. This does keep them clear for photographs but, as we were the only people there, we could have got some good shots anyway. Originally the temple was surrounded by 240 Brahman where the priests lived. These were destroyed in a big earthquake in 1006 (There's a pattern here, haunt the dreams of future generations of your family and tell them not to come to Java in 3006). Shortly after that the area was deserted as it was seen as unlucky and the temples were left to ruin. In time it should be completely restored and we will be able to see how grand it was 1300 years
ago when people worshipped here.
In Yogyakarta itself we paid a visit to the Kraton, the Sultan's palace, where the Sultan still lives today. The palace is in a nice little compound which provides some peace from the city and its over-eager batik sellers. One of the most memorable things here was the family tree of each of the past Sultans. The seventh Sultan had twenty-five wives and eighty-five children, a man who must be admired for his energy and stamina. With only one wife, the current Sultan seems to be missing out on some of the fun.
Close to Yogya is Gunung Merapi, an active volcano and something we really wanted to see. As it is usually covered in cloud by late morning we headed out early to try and see it. As we drove along the road we could see it, a hulk of a mountain with a large crater in the top, smoking in the distance. Once we were closer we walked along a deep ravine at the bottom of the volcano where lava had flowed in 2006 and where volcanic rock, lava and sulphur was strewn on the ground. As we stood there, looking
up at Merapi, we were frozen to the spot as we heard a loud rumbling noise, like thunder but also bubbling. This served as a reminder that the volcano is still very much active and poses a threat to the nearby villages. The ruins of the last eruption can still be seen, although villagers return to farm the fertile slopes. Having now seen everything we wanted to we left Merapi happy, even more so when we came across a group of monkeys on the way home.
And so we left Indonesia content but wishing that we had more time to explore all that it has to offer. From there we headed for Singapore where a mix-up with flight time meant that me and Allee got very stressed and missed the opportunity to use our sign (Wilkinson-Stroyd Party, Singapore STD Clininc). Mam, Dad, Martin and Susan are here now though and we'll try to have plenty of embarrasing pictures of them for the next blog. Until then, we're off to live in the middle of the rainforest for a few days.
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