Advertisement
Published: March 30th 2008
Edit Blog Post
Leaving Bali...I decided to take a bus instead of flying to Java because i hadn't seen much of the North West and thought a nice bus journey would allow me to take in some of the views. This was the case to some extent...however the 20 hour bus journey overall was an absolute nightmare...the seats are made for midgets, i was sat right at the front behind the driver who seemed to think the horn was more important than the steering wheel...and at 4am the beeping of a horn every 10 seconds is slightly annoying to say the least! But apparently it’s necessary to warn the vehicle in front (mainly bikes) that a bus is overtaking!
When we got on the boat...it was nice to have a little peace and quiet! I think i was nearly the only non-Indonesian on the boat which was slightly intimidating at times. To earn some money the Indonesian boys will dive from the side of the boat whist people throw in 1000 rupiah notes (about 5p) for them to fight over in the water, which was quite entertaining. After a very tiring bus journey i arrived in Yogyakarta, where i was met with what
would be my transport around...he called himself mad monkey man (who looked suspiciously like Morgan Freeman!) and took me everywhere in a basket attached to the front of his push bike! I initially thought the hotel i was staying in was only about 1km away and this would be no problem for monkey man...however my estimations were a little out, and the journey turned into about 5km! However monkey man was more than up to the job and got me there with ease! The hotel i was staying in could not be described as a hotel; a prison cell would also be an exaggeration! But for 1 pound 50 a night...what could i expect?
Yogyakarta is the academic centre of java and indeed Indonesia...and a culturally rich city. This was soon apparent as i explored the city. The Kraton was a highlight which is the palace of the sultans and is actually a city within the city, in which about 25,000 people live. Whilst in Jogya i also visited Borobudur...which is meant to be one of the best monuments in SE Asia. It was constructed in the 9th century and is a massive Buddhist structure...with panels of rock carved
all around it...very impressive! However i went on a bad day...it was a national holiday and full of school trips which obviously meant i would be spending the next 2 hours posing for photos with the Indonesian kids. After the 600th photo, smiling was becoming somewhat of a chore so i had to start to say no and make my way out of the gates before someone else shouted "hey Mr...Can we have photo with you?" All in all though...it was well worth it and the sight of the Borobudur up close and from afar was amazing. Yogyakarta is still suffering from the 2005 earthquake which devastated almost 1000 houses in a very small area. It was quite upsetting to see, and to see the locals, some of whom where only 4 or 5 standing in the middle of busy roads begging just to get some money so they can eat. There were NGO's out there offering aid...but unfortunately there is just not enough to go around!
I retired for the night absolutely exhausted...having had no sleep the previous night...i was hoping to have a good nights sleep. However...Indonesia is 90% Muslim...which means that at 4:30am every morning they
get up for morning prayers and constant chanting! The speaker for my particular area happened to be about 6 foot away from my window...which wasn’t exactly double glazing! This chanting went on for about 30 minutes...and after a few days I sort of got used to it, although I never managed to sleep through an entire episode!!
I then decided after the last Indonesian bus journey i would fly to Jakarta! I arrived quite late at night and having not booked anywhere to stay was annoyed when the first three places i tried were all fully booked! Jakarta is quite dodgy at night so i quickly got into the nearest hotel...which was a little more expensive than i was used to...but the bit of luxury was definitely a welcome change!
Again...i saw the city attractions, the famous Monas, the old Jakarta and probably the highlight was the harbour. I had a guide who took me all around the harbour and actually got to go onto some of the ships which had just docked, which was very interesting...seeing where all the men sleep and where the cargo is stored. The harbour is very active and is the reason Jakarta
is so much more developed than other Indonesian cities. I then went through the fish markets and old colonial Dutch headquarters. I spoke to lots of the locals in Jakarta...and they all said the same thing, that they wished Indonesia was an old English colony not Dutch, and that, had it been, they could be as developed at Singapore. I don’t think it is as clear cut as this...but they all seemed to sing the same tune.
Overall i have really enjoyed Indonesia, and I would definitely come back to visit again.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.108s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 12; qc: 55; dbt: 0.0532s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb