Temples...

It is hard to imagine a more stereotypical place for me to be writing this blog entry. I am currently sitting poolside at the Yogyakarta Sheraton, watching Ms. Cupcake and S who are sound asleep and L who is reading a book. We ate our lunch on those nifty seats in the pool that are next to the pool bar and are now lounging poolside for the rest of the day until our evening flight to Bali. The hotel was nice enough to let us keep the suite until 7pm, so we have plenty of time to enjoy the amenities all day.

We woke early today to arrive at Borobodur before sunrise. We watched the sun come up over Mt. Merapi, Java’s infamous volcano, from the top of the 1300 year old Buddhist temple. The views were wonderful, despite the cloudy day, and we enjoyed walking around and around the huge and beautiful temple. Our morning continued with tours of the surrounding temples, Prawan and Mundut, and then a journey through all of the nearby villages, where rice paddies and views of Mt. Merapi abound, to the Prambanan Hindu temple sights. Each of the temples was beautiful in its own special way. Borobodur had many tourists (relatively), but the other temples had almost none. They were peaceful and set for the most part in idyllic settings. Mundut had a Buddhist monastery adjoining the temple with the large original Buddha statue that typified the quiet, rural and agricultural life of this corner of Java.

Through the whole day (and for that matter whole night last night), the prayer calls from the Mosques have been sounding. The singing and chanting have certainly added to the mystique of certain sights we’ve visited, though it is incredible that the loudspeakers have been calling with such frequency. At dinner last night, all were sounding at once, to the point that it was almost impossible to hear any individual voice, but really just a muffled cacophony of piety. The day certainly had its irony in that we spent the whole morning in Buddhist and Hindu sights in the world’s most populous Muslim country.

Borobodur was the main reason that we came to Yogyakarata and Java on this particular visit to Indonesia and we are very glad that we did. The temple itself and its beautiful surrounds were the perfect (early) start to what has been a solid day of vacation.

The pool at the Sheraton.

Nothing too exciting is going to happen for the rest of the day, other than perhaps a few more games of “net ball” that S and I have created in the hotel pool, so I think I’ll leave the blog here for the day.

Entries to continue from East Bali…

Partaking in Ramadan (almost)

Neighborhood around the water palace.

In the blazing sun, we followed Supri through the maze. At that point, we did not know his name, but for some reason he seemed quite intent on helping us. As we bobbed and weaved through the narrow alleyways consisting of people’s colorful and beautifully landscaped homes, we were literally melting in the heat. This now residential neighborhood used to be the sultan’s personal water palace about 300 years ago and we longed for a return to that age as we sweat straight through out clothes. It was 96 degrees, about 1:30pm and the sun was beating down. We had almost no idea where we were.

Where the sultan kept his harems.

Tunnel underneath the water palace.

We arrived in Yogyakarta , Indonesia, on the island of Java, a couple of hours before. We checked in to the magnificent Sheraton here that is just out town and then headed in to town to explore. Our first stop was the sultan’s neighborhood, including the Kraton, Water Palace (Taman Sari) and the network of roads in that area. Yogyakarta is known as the culture capital of Java – home of the famous puppet makers,  dancers, batik painters, etc. It is a pretty town, but extremely difficult to navigate. The hotel had given us a map that made the town (and its outskirts) look like a postage stamp – it is not. In fact, town is quite large, and what looked like it was a hop, skip and a jump away, usually ended up about 2 kilometers away under the scorching sun.

Nothing out of the ordinary - just kids playing with fire in the street.

Nonetheless, we braved the elements and with Supri’s gracious assistance (he literally started guiding us on the street and then we could not shake him), we ploughed through the important sights in the town. After exploring the sultan’s area, we made our way up to Marlioboro St., the major thoroughfare, on a horse drawn buggy (yes, that’s right), where we parted ways with Supri for a small tip. We explored some furniture and batik stores and then went over to Kota Gede, the silver-making village, to look for some silver and eat some dinner.

Yogyakarta was full of people – everywhere – who moved seeming unmolested by the rapacious heat. Indonesia’s now skyrocketing middle class was certainly apparent here. Though poverty was visible, most people looked to be going about their business quite comfortably. Prices were cheap, with a 10 mile taxi ride only costing about US$ 3.50, but am sure that it is that low cost of living that is providing these Javanese with an excellent platform to grow their wealth. In speaking with some of the locals, like Supri and some of those at the Sheraton, they take a huge amount of pride in their town and the opportunities that are availed to them here. Indonesia, or, at the least, this part of Java, appears to definitely be on the way up.

The back gardens of the restaurant.

Nonetheless, the day seemed incredibly long. By the time we arrived at Oman Dhumur restaurant for dinner that evening, we thought we’d been gone for about 10 hours. It was only 4:55pm. The heat had been oppressive, we had no maps to guide us, and, most importantly of all, we were lied to over and over again all day. Every shopkeeper said the next shop was closed or that all of Kota Gede (yes, a town!) closed at 4pm due to Ramadan. It was extremely annoying and consequently exhausting. By the time we sat down in the old restored colonial that is the restaurant for dinner, we really needed a break.

Food... finally.

Oman Dhumer, Yogyakarta’s best restaurant, delivered. The setting was beautiful and though we ate dinner alongside about 40 geckos, the food was delicious. The mishap of the fact that both Ms. Cupcake and L were served completely raw chicken was almost fully overlooked since we were so relieved to be in such a nice setting. Moreover, none of us had eaten since an early breakfast. We had meant to get a small snack for lunch, but due to the terrible maps never quite managed to find anywhere. We ate before dawn and didn’t eat dinner till dusk so apart from drinking water, had actually complied with the Ramadan fasting for the day! Fortunately, the local fare for dinner, including delicious lamb and chicken fried rice, satay and red snapper in curry with steamed rice, hit the spot – and all, including several delicious spice infused coll beverages – for about US$ 10 per person!

After our early dinner, we headed back to the sancutuary of our hotel. We have an early morning tomorrow (3am!) to catch sunrise at Borobodur, so we’re off to bed now after a brief and freezing cold dip in the indoor pool and beer at the club lounge.