The real Indonesia

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Geo: -7.78, 110.37

Today we flew to Yogyarkata or more simply Jogja. Here we were met by Ria, the RDC Director who lives here and lectures in Coach Education at the local University. He had flown in on an early flight himself. He drove us to our hotel which is very flash and comfortable, Then he took us out to lunch at a place called Parsley. This is a western/Asian bakery/restaurant.I had gnochhi and Fletcher had a pizza.
After lunch, Ria had organised one of his students to be a driver for us. Ferdi collected us from the restaurant and drove us out to Prambanan. This is a temple complex dating from the 10th century. It is a series of Hindu temples dedicated to Siva, Vishnu and Brahma.It was very intact until 2006 when a 5.9 degree earthquake destroyed much of it. There is still an impressive series of temples. It reminded me of Angkor Wat, without the elaborate faces, but it has wonderfully intricate carvings and fabulous gargoyles. We were there as the sun was getting low in the sky and the way the temples were silhouetted against the light was quite spectacular. A fascinating visit.

We drove back to the hotel to change for dinner. This place looks what you would expect of an Asian city. Most buildings are one or two storeys and there are plenty of roadside shops and cafes. At 7 pm we were driven to a fantastic restaurant Gadja Wong for dinner. The translation of the name is Elephant people and there are many statues of them there. There are several sections in this place. We were sitting in a section where a Jazz band was singing great 40s and 50s tunes. Here we had a lovely dinner with Ria, his beautiful wife, and his two daughters Meyat and Nava. I had a seafood bisque and then a Duck Indonesian style. Great food and lovely company with a fabulous atmosphere. A good night out.

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