Road to Melang

Today was big travel day from Solo to Malang, which is a way point to our interim destination in Bromo, home of one of the big volcanoes on Java. It will take all day to get there. We started out with a very full breakfast at our hotel amongst the conventioneers. I especially enjoyed the pancakes with glutinous rice filled, served rolled on a banana leaf. Also excellent porridge in the Indonesian style.
Our tour guide Gede shared information on Indonesian economics and social conditions. We were surprised to learn that the school system is not free, even the elementary school. We saw many school children, all in uniforms of very bright green, turquoise, red and yellow. Many of the girls wore matching head scarves (part of the uniform – even when playing football (soccer). But as Gede explained, we are traveling through primarily urban areas (though they may seem rural to us). In the villages, parents might send their children to elementary school so they can learn basic skills, but not to secondary school due to the cost, about $50 initially and then $5 per month. When the average salary is the equivalent of $250- 500 US, this is a lot of money. And to send your child to secondary school, you might have to move to another area because the school is far away. School is in session six days a week from 7:30 am- 12:30 pm. Health care is not free in Indonesia, and it can cost the equivalent of $15 US to see a doctor just for the office visit. So in rural areas, the medicine man is still prevalent. The infant mortality rate can be very high in the rural areas.

The retirement age is 60, and in the government may be 55. Unless you work for the government, there is no pension or social security.
Yogyakarta is a big university town, and Malang, where we are headed, is known for its Muslim university.

Agriculture is a big way of life here. We passed so many rice fields, some big and some very small. Also corn, sugar cane, rubber and teak trees (owned by the government) and all manner of fruits. Coming into Melang, we saw so many durian fruits hanging. None have made their way to our breakfast table yet.
Last night we ordered (by mistake) an avocado juice drink. We saw alpokat and thought it was apricot. What arrived was a green drink with chocolate syrup! Very delicious and extremely popular here in Indonesia.