Yogyakarta part one: amazing culture at your finger tips

The train was an 8 hour ride to Yogyakarta, and it was just beautiful; per every daytime train I have taken so far.  I got to see so much of the country side and I enjoyed it immensely.  I had already booked a hostel in a nice part of town and straight off the train I managed to find an o-jek (motorcycle taxi) to take me there for fairly cheap.

 My hostel was great!!! All of the rooms looked onto the patio and courtyard.  This garden was like a jungle, super green.  It had fountains and massive trees, a nice little walking path and just was serene.  That night I did a little more research and found a well known tour center, Via Via, near where I was staying.  The next day I headed out in that direction to check them out.  

  

Via Via had a café/restaurant with western food.  So I plopped down ordered myself a crab burger and looked over the tour options.  

 Being a solo traveler has some down sides.  Unfortunately booking the volcano hikes were much more expensive and just plain hard to do with one person.  So I looked at more of the local type things to do.  I knew I could explore the palaces and markets on my own, but seeing some of the temples with a tour guide would be nice.  I know nothing about the architecture.  So without a guide all I would see was pretty buildings.  I settled on two tours.  One was a cooking class and the other was visiting a few minor temples and then heading over the Prambanan temple complex.  I was excited and it was super cheap!

The rest of day was just walking around and getting my bearings.  While I was walking I booked a bicycle rickshaw for the next day.  A nice guy said he’s take me around for about 5 to 10 dollars.  Where ever I wanted to go. I agreed and gave him a time.  I don’t mind being taken around a little bit.  I know I can go on my own, but renting a guy for a few hours is much better than being individually ripped off by several rickshaws. 

That night I met Claudia.  She was a fellow traveler from the States.  We exchanged stories of our adventures and where we were planning on going next.  It is so nice to meet someone that is as well traveled as you are (especially from the states) and are excited about how you experienced different countries.  Claudia had been traveling for more than a year and had no idea when she would stop.  This is how I feel now that I’ve finally hit New Zealand.  Maybe one day I will stop, but at the moment I have the world at my fingertips.  Why would I ever stop?

I ended up being late to my rickshaw because I decided to skype mom and dad.  Skype dates with the rents is essential and the guy was still there, so no big deal.  I usually like to be on time, but in Indonesia it really doesn’t matter.  In the states he would have been super upset, but Indonesians run on a different time schedule.

 The rickshaw driver took me to the Sultin’s palace.  It  was really nice, not spectacular but nice.  I took my time wandering around.  It is quite a large complex.  As soon as you enter there was traditional music being played.  I guess they change what is happening depending on the day of the week you enter.   The day I went there was music, the next day was a puppet show and the next day was a dance.  I thought this was very convenient, even though it wasn't tourist season they made an effort for there to be cultural experiences available.

After the palace I went to a Puppet making shop run by the kings relatives, so it was exclusive...maybe?  They said it was only open a few times a week and holidays.  The puppets are made of buffalo leather that has been treated and cut.  Buffalo leather makes it more durable and felxable, so if it rolled up to put a away it retains it’s shape (ex. Doesn’t become a scroll) and doesn’t break easily.   Every piece has a story, color signifcants, over 200 characters. I  bought a little one, I just couldn't resist.  To learn more about it, check out this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayang

We also went to a Batik shop.  They were amazing.  I did batik in high school and thought I did quite well, but this was something else all together.  These were literally paitings.  All were straetched on freames, so I felt as if I couldn’t take them with me,  not having a house and limited space in my bags.  I learned later from Claudia, later, that you could get them unframed. If i had known that I would have totally gotten one, but I was also money conscious.  Indonesia was already costing more than I thought, but I was enjoying every minute of it.

 The next stop was the Water palace.  It was so beautiful.  When I first walked in I was non-pulsed.  It didn't look like much and seemed run down.  But everything in Indonesia ages because of the high humidity.  I should have known better.  It took my breath away, it was so beautiful. I spend a good amount of time wandering around and taking pictures.  So i shouldn't have been surprised when I lost my driver.  He was having lunch.  Oh well.  I had a drink and hung out with the other rickshaw drivers, once they realized I did not need transport and would be only taking my driver to my next destination.  They were pretty chill.

The last thing I wanted to do my rickshaw driver wasn't too excited about.  I needed to go to the market to get a new (cheap) pair of sneakers.  I had thrown mine out in Georgia, my last cold weather country.  They were worn out so much I could feel the bottom of my foot through the rubber.  So we went on a mission to get me some shoes.  While we were in the market the rickshaw driver convinced me to meet his mother, who owned a batik shop.  I said I would love to see her, but I couldn't garentee that I would buy anything.  In the end I got new patchwork batik shirt.  By the time I was ready to leave it was raining cats and dogs. So I had a bit of local food before we headed back to hotel. 

 The rest of the day was uneventful.  I wanted to get a manicure while In Yogyajarkarta, but alas all I could find were ones for about $50.  So I just did dinner and applied for my Austrailian visa.  Something I had forgotten compleatly about, until someone on Facebook posted a link.  The link was a visual map that showed you, according to nationality, what paperwork and cost was requited for each country.  It was really cool and when I clicked on Australia I realized I needed to actualy apply for one, verses the usual (in asia) visa on arrival.  http://www.visamapper.com/ Through this lovely website I discovered US citizens are only barred from 2 countries.  I thought it was more.  Anywho, the visa took me 20 minutes to apply for and was $20.  Kick ass Australia!

The last and probably best part of the day was a skype date.  Oh, reliable internet.  I love you.  The next few days are full of adventure, so I'll update you soon.

Bandung: the begining of my Indonesian adventure

around Evey's house

After 30+ hours of transit, we arrived at Evey’s house.  I thought we were going to crash but we were both so tired we had energy.  Subsequently we proceeded to drink the wine we bought at duty free and play cards.  It was a good first night: drunken singing, card playing and casual insults.  The normal girl’s night in for us.

The next day was new years so we lazed around the house for a while then went out to lunch to see what people were doing that night.  We went to Evey’s favorite hang out, The Bamboo Shack.  I got to meet her people, have some good food, beer and play pool.  I could see making this my new home for the month I was going to be staying in Bandung.  After that bit of socializing we headed out to the New Year’s party.  It was at Martin’s house.  He lives up in the mountains in a beautiful home he built and designed himself.  Being an architect from Austria, that wasn’t too hard for him but more than impressive for little ol’ me.  

The party was lovely.  I got to meet more of Evey’s peeps and had some great conversation.  We set off the fireworks around 10 pm.  They were wonderful and the set up was amusing.  Some of the guys had to climb over a tall fence to get into the golf course next door to set them off.  But we had about 15 minutes of fabulousness after that.  I’m glad we didn’t set them off at midnight.  This way at midnight we could watch the fireworks all over the valley go off from Martin’s wrap around porch.  Evey and I ended up leaving the party at around 8am.  Before then I had found an unoccupied bed to crash in and Evey and Martin had found golden retriever puppies in the wee hours of the morning.  

After the party, Evey and I had plans to show me around the city on her bike, and drive it.  Unfortunately I got hit with a stomach bug.  At first I thought it was just drinking too much, but it persisted for 3 days.  Talk about a downer.  I’ve been traveling so much I really can’t blame my body for getting angry with me.  We deducted later that it was probably from the malaria medication.  I had been sick on and off in India and was still getting sick from it.

When I did recover we went out with Evey’s friends: David and Richard.  We had a blast at family Karaoke.  I hadn’t done karaoke in ages and I was not very good.  But regardless of this we all had a good time singing our favorite songs.  I was surprised by how similar in taste the boy’s music was to my own.  I could sing about half the song they picked and knew at least 75%.  I guess growing up in different cultures doesn’t necessarily apply to music.
 

 The next day was the weekly pool tournament.  I would like to say I participated in that, but basically I lost in that.  I won a couple of the fake rounds, and then when the tournament really started I lost in the first game.  I think I had a bit too much to drink, it always throws me off.  If I have one or two beers I’m ok but more than that I can’t make a shot for the life of me.  Then again I haven’t played pool seriously in years. *shrugs*

The pool tournament was an opportunity to meet some more of Evey’s friends and socialize.  I feel like I really got to know people well here, talking politics, ESL and just general likes and dislikes.  At the tournament I discovered the HASH group.  Evey had mentioned hiking as something we could do together, and the next day the HASH had a scheduled run.  Evey had to work, but I certainly could go.  So Bob (the owner of Bamboo and a regular member of HASH) arranged transportation for me. 

Going hashing was great; by far one of my best experiences of Indonesia.  We combined outdoor activity with beer, food and socializing.  What’s not to love?  Well I guess if you don’t like exercise, but psht… just show up for the drinking after everyone else has hiked.  The drive up to the club house took about 40 minutes.  This went up into the mountain past the sprawling city to the edge of town.  One of the hashers filled up his car and offered himself as the DD.  You don’t want to be driving the windy mountain roads drunk at night.

 The hike was fairly easy and more than a little diverse.  We started at the club house and walked into the town, taking back streets and alley ways, always angling higher and higher in altitude until we suddenly broke away from the village and hit rice patties.  Indonesia is remarkable this way.  Rice patties and vegetable patches are everywhere.  I’m always in awe by the patties in the middle of the city, and the vegetable patches on the side of a mountain so steep the path has to be angled to walk across the fields.  

When we arrived at rice patty heaven the path got considerably steeper and more slippery.  By this point I noticed that Evey’s shoes, I had barrowed, were about half a size too small.  I also had lost sight of the people in front of me, so I was keeping pace with a few ladies and Handie (the hasher who so nicely offered to drive us).  Eventually the ladies outpaced us and it was just Handie and me.  It was helpful to have someone else along.  I am not well versed in the signage that the hashers use to mark the trail (confetti?), so I would have defiantly been lost in the mountains without a clue of how to communicate with the locals or what direction Bandung was in.   

After rice patties we got into the jungle.  The vegetation was so thick we were constantly moving it out of our faces and brushing it aside with our legs.  At one point we had to go through a bamboo patch.  Because of the rainy season everything was muddy.  I had the unfortunate scare of slipping in the mud (less than a foot away from a ravine) and just getting covered.  This slip didn’t prevent me from stumbling a few more times, but it did make me much more aware of how out in the middle of nowhere we were.  After the jungle bit, we climbed up a bit of rocks next to a stream and found ourselves on top of one of the mountains, surrounded by high grass.  We could see Bandung, the ravine and several other mountains.  It was gorgeous.  The rest of the hike wasn’t as adventurous as tracking through the slippery “jungle,” but I did get to see some beautiful views, a pine forest and more agriculture.  

  Back at the club house we were greeted with a beer, actually as much beer as we wanted.  Some of the ladies were in the kitchen preparing dinner while everyone was gossiping and waiting for the last few hashers to show up.  Before we could eat the hashers had a meeting.  This club is similar to rotary or boy scouts; you have certain traditions and paraphernalia brought out every meeting.  This hash had a few wooden signs that had hundreds of names and dates engraved on them that a few people wore around their necks.  Everyone had gathered in a circle around a table filled with plastic cups of beer.  Now was the meeting had begun, singing ensued (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers) and penalties were given.  I was called up to drink a beer, because I was new.  I also got called up again because I was “wanking” or basically put my hand in my pocket.  It was amusing to see all the different ways people responded to the accusations and the stories/songs people performed.  I liked it very much.  If I was living in Bandung, this group would be at the top of my priorities.

 After the meeting was a adjourned we got to have dinner and entertainment happened.  Karaoke was set up, and because I was new (I think) they said I had to sing a few songs.  It never helps that my name is Miriah and associated with Mariah Carey.  “You must be able to sing right?”  I sang a Blue Moon and Fly Me to the Moon and tried to exit as gracefully as possible.  I do not sing well, and do not enjoy being put on the spot, but karaoke is such a large part of many Asian cultures I feel like it is rude to refuse.  After my escape I found lots of people playing cards.  I love cards, and luckily David had taught me how to play an Indonesian card game the night before.  I didn’t speak any Indonesian, but I could play their card game and the hashers loved it.  I just joined in and whooped quite a few asses.  I was amused and so was everyone else.  

The next day David had promised to taking me shopping for the dinner party I was hosting on Wednesday.  As a last minute surprise he decided to take me to the floating market as well.  Shopping was like any shopping experience in a foreign language, confusing and dissatisfying.  You can never find everything you need to make a western meal any way.  David had gotten me 6 kilos of pork from the Chinese butcher and now I needed all the odds and ends for the salads.  We got about 2/3 and had to leave the last 1/3 for Evey to pick up in the nicer market.  The shopping center we went to was next to David’s work, so I got to meet his employees and see his shop before we headed off on our floating market adventure.

Before we went to the floating market David said he had to visit his father.  I was thinking “it will be nice to meet his family and see where they live” but David took me to what I thought was a cemetery.  I felt so bad, but in the end it was an outdoor church.  David wanted to stop so he could pray.  It was beautiful.  It was designed so you could walk through the paths and follow Christ on his journey.  Every once in a while there would be a statue depicting a different part of the story.  There was also a wonderful view off the side of the mountain onto the neighboring town and a sanctuary, where I’m assuming they have a service sometimes. 

After this we made it up to the floating market.  It’s every day, but because we went on a Tuesday it wasn’t very busy.  This way there weren’t people hawking me and tons of slow tourists, gawking at everything.  I gawk too, but *mumble mummble* maybe I am not as annoying.  Going to a touristy place is like driving; everyone is either going too fast, too slow or is an idiot.  It’s totally not me.  I’m a rational human being, always.

Anyway, the floating market wasn’t what I thought it was going to be, but it was still splendid.  It was a semi-natural pool, with a covered walkway surrounding the outside.  Moored to the walkways were little boats that had different types of food.  I’m sure there would be more things during the weekend, but right then there was just food and drink.  I was expecting  a market on a river or a canal.  This was set up more for just tourists.  We got a few delicious snacks then took a walk in the nearby park.  It was quite nice.  Near the park we got some tea and then nasi goreng (my favorite Indonesian dish).  Then it was back to Bamboo Shack where I was being picked up because, ya know we had a lot of things for the dinner and only a scooter for transport.  Jaspreet had a car and was more than willing to help Evey and I prepare for the party.  So we picked up all the things, and then picked up more things and transported it to Evey’s house, which you cannot drive up to her doorstep.  You have to walk 15 minutes: around the canals, down a little hill, past the rice patties, past all the little alleyways and finally down one big steep hill.  So three trips later we finished getting everything from the car to the house.  And let the prep begin!!!

The party was the next day and I decided to make South Carolina pulled pork BBQ, with coleslaw, potato salad, broccoli salad and deviled eggs.  Evey made latkes and macaroni salad.  We both spent part of the night and morning prepping.  My job was to make sure all the veggies were cut for her stuff to be tossed together last minute after she got out of work.  It all got done in good time.   

 The one problem we ran into was getting a pot big enough for the 6 kilos of pork I ordered.  Evey’s friend Josh had the perfect pot!  But he was a bit busy, so he almost didn’t get it to me on time.  You know how long it takes to cook pulled pork?  Well somewhere between 5-8 hours.  Luckily it only took 6 hours to get it to the falling apart melt in your mouth consistency I really wanted.  Josh is a seasoned chief, so he knows the stress I was going through thinking of getting this meal ready for twenty people, having them show up and the main course still being hours from being done.

All of the guests showed up to the dinner party late, as to be expected, but it was a hit.  Lots of wine, beer and a native alcohol (arrak).  People loved the food.  Evey and I both wore saris and just in general had a  good time.  The end of the night came around 4 AM and Evey and I were left alone to clean up. 

That night Evey and I decided we needed a break from each other.  We had been traveling together for more than a month.  So it was decided I needed to see the rest of Indonesia.  The next day I spent in bed… Yay hangover!  I also had a change to surf the net looking for train tickets and cool places to go.  I decided on Yogyakarta as a hub and Evey helped me book a train ticket for the next day.  I was off to explore Indonesia, and man I can’t wait to tell you how much I love that country.