ASIA Liana: 1/20 Yogyakarta, Pronounced! (Java/Indonesia)

Clement and I trained it to Yogyakarta for a rough 8 hours and arrived around 1am. Java trains mostly offer 3 classes:

1. Executive Class (captain seats with AC)
2. Business Class (bench seats with fan)
3. Economy Class (bench seats and/or platform w/o fan)

We splurged on Executive Class and had a very pleasant journey...

For 20,000 RPH ($2 US) total, we crammed ourselves into an OJEK (motorcycle taxi) and headed for our hostel.

View from my room in EDU Hostel (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). I stayed in a 6-bed female dorm room for 70,000 RPH ($7) per night

Pool-side breakfast on the rooftop included...

360 degree views of Yogya..

Wonder what this flower says

They know Jack

Locals here are very friendly and love the (white) foreigners. But it is very easy to get scammed here. Some locals will act like your new best friend, telling you any lie to lure you into a Batik (traditional Javanese cloth) gallery to sell massively overpriced (though beautiful) artwork.

Eiffel Towers everywhere for Clement

Batik Gallery

Creating beautiful artwork. This is a very intricate, manual and seemingly-tedious process. Wax-resistant dye is used to color the cloth. Wax is then applied to each previous color/design before a new color/design is applied. On cotton, the wax is boiled away, but on silk, one must use a liquid thinner to remove the wax. The result is a beautiful Batik that usually depicts an Indonesian conception of the universe.

Art / recycled products :)

Yogyakarta Auto Shop ;)

Goodness gracious, great balls of noodles!

Popo on moto

Demonstration of how to wear a Sarung. Sarungs are required in most temples.

Jalan Maliboro - a local market/shopping street in Yogya

Where your cassette tape probably ended up...

Spice Boy

Cinnamon sticks

Buying a Caping (popular amongst farmers in Indonesia) for my future farm

The bird and wildlife market is alive and well in Indonesia

No thank you! We will "Jalan Jalan" (walk)...

Garcon!

Mie Goreng (fried noodles)

Down time! VERY important when traveling, exploring, and just living...

Local fair near Kraton Yogyakarta (Sultan's Palace)

Reverse Ice-Sculpting!

Kraton Yogyakarta (closed when I tried to visit)

Kiddies dancing at the fair!!

What a doll...

Feet cleaning via fishies!!

Play now, pray later

Dragonfruit stand

With love for all living things...

Spot the singing critter...

Need to learn to leave room for dessert -_-

Night swim?

Sun shower minus the sun

Coupla trouble-makers :)

Today, we rented motorbikes for 30,000 RPH ($3) per person for 24 hours :)

Feed for cows

Hmm... which way?

At the base of Gunung Merapi ("Fire Mountain") - an ACTIVE volcano that has been erupting regularly since 1548!! Last eruption was October 2010.

"Roughing" it

Locals loving tourists loving the volcano

En vogue

Fun for the whole family :)

4WD, dirt bikes... and a Mercedes!

Remains of a cow after the last eruption

The homeowner (left)

Coming to say helloooooo

hellooooo

Path of the lava

Memorial to those who perished in the last eruption

The victims were buried together on the same day.

Volcanic rock still steaming after 2 years...

We continue to move forward even though we may not always see or feel it...

Young coconut

Welcome to Borobudor, a Mahayana Buddhist Temple from the 9th century (under reign of the Sailendra Dynasty). Borodudor has been preserved through many restorations, and is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction. Visitors are required to wear Sarungs (free to loan). Admission was a whopping 195,000 RPH ($19.50) for foreigners. [Wikipedia]

Everytime I turn around I see something like this. Clement is a celebrity everywhere in Java.

Someone in this picture loves someone else in this pictur

Hint: It ain't me ;)

Ouch...

Selamat Datang (Welcome to) Candi Prambanan, a Hindu temple also from the 9th-10th century. This temple is dedicated to Trimurti: God as Creator, Preserver and Destroyer. The Prambanan is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. [Wik ipedia]

Clement helping a local student improve her English skills :) As travel buddies, Clement is helping me improve/awaken my French speaking skills and I am helping him with his English! And we are both picking up some Indonesian....