Yogyakarta, August 27

Borobudur

After a rough night of sleep due to the call to prayer beginning at 4:30am and airplanes sounding like they are going to land on the hostel every hour (after 6 months of traveling with little sleep I'm used to it), I unfortunately woke to a text message from Danny saying that the cockfight had to be postponed because his roosters were not ready to fight that day. Hey, if they don't want to fight you can't force 'em. So instead of going back to sleep, I decided to get up at 8:30 and head out to Borobudur, one of South East Asia's greatest monuments.

Instead of paying the $15 travel agent fee to get a ride out there, I wanted to take the public bus for more of an adventure and to see more of surrounding Yogyakarta. While waiting for the bus, I met a Japanese friend Takehashi, who was doing the same thing. We made our way out to Borubudur, about two hours, to the setting of a stunning temple.

The temple consists of 6 square bases topped by three circular ones and was constructed during the early part of the 9th century AD. It is guarded by the "lion guardians" and has images of Buddha in 4 different positions facing North, East, South and West. Nearly 1500 narrative relief panels illustrate Buddhist teachings and tales, while 432 Buddha images sit in chambers on the terraces. On the upper terraces there are stupas which contain 72 more Buddha images. It's suggested that the name Borobudur in Javanese means temple on a hill (boro = temple, budur = hill).

Takehashi and I spent over three hours walking around the temple, taking in the numerous reliefs and admiring the scenery. The top of the temple is one of the more serene and relaxing places as there is a great view of the valley and is relatively quiet (except for the numerous 'hello miiissteeeeer' from the local kids).

After spending most of the day at Borobudur, we headed back to Yogyakarta on the public bus to relax in the late afternoon. For dinner I made my way through my usual street-cart eatery stops: 1) Jagung Pedas. Fresh grilled corn covered in chili sauce, 2) Sate Ayam. Chicken satay with amazing peanut sacuce, and finally 3) Bakso. Indonesia's version of chicken noodle soup. Following dinner I made my way back to my guesthouse where I was hanging out in the common room and met this girl from San Francisco (the first one in 6 months)! We wound up talking for hours, reminiscing about SF (mostly burritos and Sub Center) and about the people we mutually knew. Talking to her certainly got me excited about returning there in a month!!

Borobudur

Lots of Buddha's and stupas

Grandest stupa in the back. Each smaller one had a statue of Buddha in it

One of many reliefs

Overlooking the valley

Yogyakarta, August 26

Yogyakarta

The bus ride from Pandangaran to Yogyakarta was a long one, almost 8 hours over pot-hole filled roads and winding roads. Once I finally made it to Yogyakarta, I instantly fell in love with the place. Yogya is a cultural and political hotspot full of young artists. Within 20 minutes of putting my stuff down the owner of the hostel told me about this batik art show that was going on at the Batik Art Group shop which had work from artists all over Indonesia and levels varying from student to master. I instantly made my way over there and spent the next two hours looking at their collection of over 800 pieces. Batik literally means to write, dot or point and is traditional to Java, especially Yogyakarta. It's an arduous process, and difficult to explain through words, so click here for an explanation of Batik. Their were a couple pieces that I really liked but I decided to hold off on buying them since this was the first hour I was in Yogyakarta.


From here I walked towards the Sono-Budoyo Museum to try and catch the gamelan performance. It was difficult to find the place so I asked a guy on the street (his name is Danny). Turns out he works at the museum as a Wayang (shadow) puppet artist and would show me the way. He also informed me that because of Ramadan, none of the performances were taking place but he would  show me his work. I wound up hanging out there for over an hour, with him showing me the amazing detail of how the puppets are made out of water buffalo leather, then intricately hand carved using over 20 chizel type tools and finally painted. It was amazing to see these puppets up close and he also explained the story behind each one. While we were sitting around,  one of his friends came and joined us. As if this couldn't get any better, his friend (Bowo) is the disaster management coordinator for Friends of the Earth - Indonesia while simultaneously an environmental film director. He's directed three movies that have been shown to the National Government and film festivals in Indonesia in an attempt to raise environmental awareness. We talked a lot about water and other environmental issues here and although he doesn't have a job for me it was fascinating talking to him. He also offered to take me around Yogyakarta the next day, which I took him up on.

The next morning I got up to meet Bowo at 10:00 and we were off to first check out the Sono-Budoyo Museum, with an assortment of Hindu statues, Balinese carvings, wayang puppets as well as batink. From there  we headed to the Kraton (Indonesian for Palace) which is the current Sultan's home. The palace grounds were pretty amazing and included a golden pavillion (the official reception hall of the sultans) as well as a textile room and small museum. Part of the grounds included the Taman Sari or Water Castle the site of a former royal garden of the Sultan of Yogyakarta. It's a complex of canals, pools and palaces built between 1758 and 1765 by a Portuguese architect. Except for the Taman Sari, it is mostly ruins because of the 2006 earthquake. We also stopped at an underground Mosque built in 1635.

Before heading to Bowo's house we stopped for lunch for some Nasi Brongkos, a traditional Yogyakarta specialty, of dark bean and tofu stew served with meat and rice. It was really really good. From here we went to Bowo's house so I could watch his environmental movies and meet his 1.5 year old son. After hanging out at his house, he took me to a village about 10km outside of Yogya to see Batik being made. It was an amazing scene to see and really made me appreciate the work that goes into making them; as some pieces can take up to 3.5 months to make. After being in the spirit of Batik, I told Bowo how I really liked some of the pieces I saw the other day at the Batik Art Group and he said he'd take me there to buy one of the pieces. He also mentioned that his Dad is friends with Slamet Riyanto (one of the artists whose work I really liked and is the "hot" artist here) and he could take me to his studio to meet him! So we make our way to the Batik Art group shop where I purchase one of the Batik paintings and then to Slamet's studio. It was pretty amazing talking to Slamet and hearing about his artistic influences of natural forces such as moving waves, flowing water, and erupting volcanoes. After a cup of tea with him I make my purchase and exchange email addresses and I was on my way.

Bowo then dropped me off at my hostel for a relaxing night after a long and really hot day. Tomorrow should be exciting too, as Danny plans to take me to his village as he's hoasting a cock fight!!

Wayang Puppet

Up close of Wayang Puppet before it's painted. Someone made this with their hands.

Gamelan Orchestra

Ceiling of Sultan's Palace

Golden Pavillion

Art shot!

Inside the old Mosque

Taman Sari

Batik painting

Wax covering to protect certain parts from coloring. It's later boiled off.

Me, Slamet Riyanto, and the piece I bought from him

Another batik painting I bought

Pangandaran, Indonesia, August 20-25

Pangandaran

On Friday I left the business of Jakarta heading for the beach town of Pandangaran some 7 hours away via bus. I figured this might be my last beach stop for the remaining time I'm here in SE Asia. The bus ride from Jakarta was, not surprising, an adventure. I left Jakarta around 10:00am for a bus headed towards Banjar. Apparently, the direct bus only goes at night (thanks Lonely Planet for that mis-leading info). As the only tourist at the bus terminal, I was harassed by at least 10 people trying to point me in the right direction, but more so trying to get some money from me. After wading through the crowd I got on the bus and was quickly back to sleep. This was my first bus trip in Indonesia and I was quick to learn that there is a smoking section on these buses. Essentially, the last 3 rows of seats are glassed off with it's own door that really didn't prevent the smoke from entering the entire bus at all.

Five hours later, including a 30 minute stop along the side of the road to fix the broken AC, we made it to Banjar were I caught the local bus to Pandangaran. This was a minibus that quickly became jam packed with school kids since it was around 3:00 and classes were just let out. It was only 30km to Pandangaran, but because of the roads took almost 3 hours. Again, I was the only non Indonesian person on the bus so was a site to see. I did spend most of the bus ride talking to a guy who wanted to practice his English which was fun.

I finally made it to Pandangaran around 7:00pm and quickly went out for some dinner and a couple drinks at one of two local beach bars. Everynight people gather at the beach for a bon fire and live music. The next morning, after a good sleep I went out to the beach to find it completely empty! After  a few hours at this beach I walked over to the "white sand" beach where I was able to find some more people. I basically spent all day there reading and swimming. Pandangaran is a small town so you see a lot of the same faces each day. At night I met a few of the locals who were really cool and offered to take me to the Green Canyon the next day. I heard a lot about this place so I decided to join them.

The next morning I met up with the people from the night before, got onto the motorbike and hit the road for an hour to Green Canyon. We got to the river and hired a boat to take us up the emerald colored river. I wasn't sure what to find, but the water was an amazing color and the canyon walls (about 100m high) were lined with ferns, palms, waterfalls and other lush greenery. After about 20 minutes upriver the boat stopped and we got out and were handed life jackets. I followed the locals as we swam upriver through the rapids and into a portion of the canyon where the walls almost touched at the top. It was quite a scene!! Something I've never seen before. It felt like I was in a made-up world!!! After some strenuous swimming we got to the mouth of the river where we jumped off some cliffs and into the rapids which we then floated along back to the boat. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring my camera all the way with me since I was swimming. 

After about an hour at the Green Canyon we were back on the motorbikes on our way to Batu Karas for lunch and to hang out at that beach. From there we went across the bamboo bridge and back to Pandangaran.

Pandangaran is known for it's surfing here so I gave it another shot (the last time being in Bali). It's a pretty good spot for beginners although in the afternoon the waves get pretty powerful. I feel like I was in a boxing match, all soar and everything, but it was definitely lots of fun and certainly worth the effort once you get up!

I origianally planned to stay here for two nights, but that quickly turned into five. That summarizes Pandangaran very well. The locals are the friendliest people I've met in the world, instantly making you feel like one of them instead of a tourist. It really was one of those magical places where you felt at home and you never wanted to leave. It's hard to pin-point what makes Pandangaran stand out, but for some reason it does (I guess the people) and will undoubtedly be a place I will never forget. Who knows if they'll ever read this blog, but here's my thanks for a great time and truly memorable experience to Deni, Iwa, Erma and the rest of the locals. I will never forget Pandangaran.

Off to Yogyakarta!

Jakarta, August 13 - August 18

Jakarta

I'm still in Jakarta, a bit longer than I expected, but am still having a good time here. I'm really starting to like Jakarta and have been exploring other parts of the city which has been fun and interesting. On Monday I walked all day with my first stop at the Jakarta flea market. It was quite a place to see with over 100 stalls and people selling EVERYTHING. I could've bought an old scuba diving helmet, like they used in the movie Life Aquatic, or an old telescope or a cannon. Since I have no room in my bag anymore I had to get something miniature, and a telescope wasn't too practical, so I got myself a small engraved knife from Sumatra. With my bargaining skills out in full force I managed to get the price down from $20 to $5. I also wound up speaking to the shop keeper for awhile, who was telling me that because of Ramadhan he's been very lazy and doesn't feel like doing anything.

With Indonesia's 65th Independence Day the next day, the festivities began Monday night (although because of Ramadhan it was much tamer than usual). I had heard talk that there are games going on all around the city.  What games, I didn't know at the time. The area I am staying at closed the street around 9:30 and with that the games began. What began as a games for tourists (i.e. a bunch of locals standing around laughing at and making fun of tourists doing funny things) turned into an eventful night with a great mix of locals and tourists hanging out and partaking in some weird games. The first race was the standard potato sack race, which I came in 4th and won a pen, followed by a 3-person ski walk team relay. That didn't turn out so well but was good fun none-the-less. From here, the games definitely took a turn towards the not so well known and included everything from cracking and eating two eggs as fast as you can to taking 3 small eels out of a bucket and placing them into a water bottle (apparently they are very slippery and many people dropped them and would have to chase them down the street which turned out to be hilarious). Luckily, I wasn't chosen to partake in that event. After a few hours of games and great times with the locals, the night was finished off with fireworks.

On the actual day of Independence, me and a couple people walked to the Independence Monument to see the festival that was going on. Unfortunately, we didn't see the President (SBY) give his speech but we did make it in time for the military bands and marches which was pretty cool to see. Surprisingly, there weren't many other tourists there, if any, so we certainly got some looks. We spent a couple hours here before heading off to a part of town I was yet to explore, Kemang, for some live music.

Flea market with all odds and ends

Welcome Statue

Going back to the 6th bday days

Our Australia, Saudi Arabia, USA team wasn't so good

Winners!!

Egg eating contest

She had trouble getting the eel in the bottle

Independence Day march

Jakarta, Indonesia, August 8-12

Jakarta

With over 9 million people, Jakarta is certainly a change of pace from Borneo. With that being said though the city has a bunch to offer. On Wednesday, my first full day here, I headed to Kota or Old Jakarta Town via local train (whose doors did not close and during rush hour there are so many ppl on the train that some just sit on top of it) for an initial historical view of the city. In the 1500's when the Dutch first arrived here they named this part of town Batavia. Based on a recommendation I first hit the Batavia Cafe for a drink before exploring some of the museums and viewing the Dutch architecture. My first stop was the former town hall and what is now the Jakarta History Museum. The museum wasn't anything spectacular, you could barely read the descriptions cause the lights weren't on, but most notable was the fertility cannon that in the past women who struggled to give birth would sit on and myth had it that they would become fertile. 

From the Old Town I roamed more streets of Jakarta, coming across many friendly locals who were eager to talk and lead me in the right direction (at times they even helped me cross the street as the traffic here is insane so it can take up to ten minutes to get across a 4 lane road). I next came across the oldest church in Jakarta that was built in the 1600's for Portuguese slaves who were freed if they joined the Dutch church. After a full days worth of walking around I took a bus back to the Jaksa area I was staying at. I was certainly happy to have a go at two different modes of local transportation here; both of which were an adventure in itself.At night, Sarah and I went out to the local bar area of town which was a site to see. Because of Ramadan the bars were pretty quiet for a Friday night, except for the countless prostitutes. In an attempt to find a different area to go out, we tried to get a taxi but none would agree on the price we wanted and should pay. Fortunately, a nice local on a motorcycle stopped next to us and said he'd take us for whatever price we'd pay. The bar we were trying to go to was close by but for some reason took 35 minutes to get to. We later found out that he didn't want to drive on main roads because he was worried about the police seeing us. By the time we got to the bar it was closed though.

On Saturday, Sarah left for Bali so I was back on my own. I decided to head to the National Monument, a 422 foot tower located at Merdeka Square (Freedom Square) which was built in 1961 by President Sukarno and represents Indonesia's fight for independence. Apparently the locals joke and call it "Sukarno's last erection." The views from the top were the best in the city and was certainly worth the wait in line to get up there. Following that I headed to the largest mosque in Jakarta as well as the National Church. For dinner I hit the street stalls (so far every night I've had dinner there) for some more chicken satay and nasi or mee goreng, followed by some of the best pineapple ever from the friendly street vendor.

Even with Ramadhan taking place, Jakarta is quite lively. I think the only noticeable difference is that food stalls are not open during the day and that bars are a bit quieter. Jakarta certainly has many friendly people who I've either had random discussions with or jumped on the back of their motorbike for a free ride somewhere. Also, Independence Day approaches on Tuesday which I'm looking forward to. All the streets are now lined with the flag and everything is colored red and white.

Former Town Hall and now Jakarta History Museum

Batavia Cafe

Fertility Canon

Back street of Jakarta

Old Church

Mobile ferris wheel...the man would peddle to make it go round, with loud music  playing

 

Arjuna Statue

Freedom Square

National Monument

View of Jakarta

My foot after a day of walking around Jakarta...pretty dirty.