Climbing, Riding and Spice Islands

We had a 3:15 am wakeup call this morning and it's 8:47 pm now, so I will make this short. I will have to post the pictures from our Bromo overlook later. We saw the sunrise over the big crater this morning, along with hundreds of others arriving by jeep, horse and on foot. Unlike what we've experienced so far in Java, Bromo is quite cool and it was very cold at the start - at least, until we started climbing the steep trails and 250+ steps to the top. Fortunately there was hot coffee at the top. After our descent, we climbed into the jeep again and started across the crater floor toward the trail leading up to the crater rim. More steep trails and stairs, and very little room at the top to stand or sit, but what a spectacular view. The weather was cool and crystal clear, not a cloud in the sky. There's a Hindu temple on the crater floor that is quite beautiful (photos to follow). After a well-deserved breakfast, we left at 9:30 am for our next destination five hours away, a beautiful east Java resort next to a coffee and spice plantation. We leave tomorrow for the ferry to Bali and the second leg of our first tour. Will sleep well tonight.

Sunset on Mt. Bromo

We are on the top of the world looking over Bromo, a huge volcanic crater on East Java. Sunset brings quite a view! Our hotel is the Lava View Lodge and we've also had quite a nice view from our window. At this elevation it's actually quite cold, a nice change from 85 degree plus weather with high humidity. Tomorrow we leave at 3:30 am for a jeep ride to the Panajakan viewpoint and a climb up Mt. Bromo (256 or so steps). Then we'll walk across the crater. Today we started our journey in Malang by visiting the local markets -- tasted some delicious snake fruit (named for its skin) and saw beautiful flowers, along with many birds, fish and even cats and cat supplies. (Did you know cat litter could be apple scented? I didn't!) On the way up to Bromo, our van had a flat tire but fortunately our intrepid driver Tony was able to change the spare. Then it was up, up, up until we reached the top, past terraced rice fields and beautiful scenery. We're about to leave for dinner at the hotel and an early night to get ready for our 3:30 wakeup call.

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.

Thanksgiving Chicken in Eastern Java

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! The picture here isn't from today's meal, but from a wonderful local place in Solo, a city in Central Java where we had lunch yesterday. No turkey, but chicken for sure, and some of the best vegetarian food I'd had in a long time. To eat, all you have to do is grab a plate and point to what you want. Tempeh was especially yummy. Today we were on the road, visiting more Buddhist temples that were even more spectacular than yesterday's. We spent the night in Solo, a big modern city with a fun night market where -- I kid you not -- Hoyt and I drank cobra blood and actually ate some of the snake, too. Everyone in our group had to give it a try. I will spare you the gory details, but they drain a few drops into a small glass and serve it with wine. Tastes a lot like pomegranate juice. The cobra was deep-fried and had a beefy taste. Not bad, but I don't care to repeat it. I'd rather have turkey...

November 22

On our final full day in Yogya, we took the 1.5 hour trip to Borobudur, site of a Buddhist temple that rivals the Angor Wat for prominence. Covered by volcanic ash in the year 1000, it was rediscovered in the 1800s. During the Japanese occupation in WWII, soldiers dismantled many of the ancient stones which had to be replaced – a painstaking process. We had an excellent local guide, Joon, who shared information on the four quadrants on Yogya as we drove out of town by minibus. We drove past the site of the 2010 volcanic eruption which wiped out an entire village and bridge. It’s now being rebuilt. We learned about the BBC: bananas, bamboo and coconuts which grow everywhere in the area and are on nearly every corner, a mainstay of the people even in urban areas. Traffic is heavy but orderly getting out of town and it’s a beautiful day. Finally we reach the Borobudor complex. The temple isn’t visible yet; as Joon explains, it’s like enlightenment: you don’t see it until you experience it. We did see plenty of touts, however, selling spoons, mini parachutes, noisemakers, purses, T-shirts and the like. Once we made our way past the gauntlet, the temple was visible up ahead. Spectacular! We took several photos along the way and finally made our way up several series of steep stairs. The Buddha images were varied and intricate, along with several parables cast in bas relief. Joon is very knowledgeable about Buddhist philosophy, which co-exists with the Muslim faith in Indonesia and several others. Many of the stones are undergoing renovation. In high season, there are queues waiting to clime the steps but we did not have to wait so long. Was it hot! After we climbed back down, we headed for the indoor archeology museum featuring a huge Buddha head. Next on our list was the Mendut temple with a large sitting Buddha. His legs were not crossed because he was enlightened. And for fun, we took turns swinging on a huge banyon tree on the grounds. After a sip of coconut juice, we headed for lunch at a picturesque traditional restaurant out in the country where I had red snapper sate. Once back at the hotel and surviving Yogya traffic jam, Hoyt and I headed for the hotel pool joined by our tourmates, followed by a Bingtang at the hotel restaurant. We had dinner, nice Indonesian fare at a restaurant down the street followed by the shadow puppet show at the museum. To get there, we hailed a pedicab and had an interesting ride weaving our way through the maze of scooters, other pedicabs, cars and buses on the way to the museum. The performance featured full gamelan orchestra, several singers, and a puppetmaster who told the story using MANY puppets of all shapes and sizes.

SEA Games

The SEA (Southeast Asian) Games are going on in Indonesia right now. So it's all football, all the time here at the hotel TV. Indonesia beat Vietnam, their big rival, on Saturday. There's another match on as I write this vs. Malaysia. The staff are all gathered round. Now 9:36 pm local time, or shall I say 21:36?

Indonesia just scored! They are ahead 2-1.

Batik, Puppets and Scouts

We left at 8:00 am for our first tour of the batik factory, batik art studio, the Sultan's Palace, puppet studio and water palace. Pedicabs met us at our hotel to pick us up. It's a great way to get around. When it rains, the driver places opaque plastic all around you, so you can't really see the array of vehicles coming your way, except for the headlights of various motor scooters and cars. You are seated in front of the driver!

The batik factory and art studio were interesting. We had an opportunity to try our hand at applying the paraffin oil wax. It looks easy, but it isn't. I purchased a batik head scarf and later on a small painting. Eventually, I'll need to buy a sarong as this will be needed in Bali when visiting the sights there.

There is a long history of Scouting in Indonesia and many of them, both boys and girls, were visiting the Sultan's Palace today. The current Sultan, #10, was a boy scout.

The gamalan orchestra at the Sultan's Palace was a real treat and included a full array of traditional instruments and singers.

Indonesian shadow puppets are made of buffalo hide and we watched them being made. This was especially enjoyable since we have two of them at home and weren't entirely aware of their history. There are several generations of puppet makers in this part of the island.

Our timing vis a vis the rain was pretty good today. It didn't start in earnest until we sat down for lunch. This restaurant was one of many buffet spots in Yogya with a fabulous spread - all kinds of veggie and meat dishes, jackfruit, ginger tea and fresh guava and mango juices. Modern Javanese dancers kept us entertained while we waited for the rain to clear.

Jakarta and flight to Yogya

The hour long flight to Jakarta brought another meal and then we landed at the airport. After a good night’s sleep at a hotel close to the airport, we woke the next day to get ready for our short flight to Yogyakarta, the Javanese cultural center of Indonesia where our tour was to begin. Breakfast was a combination of local Indonesian cuisine and Western fare and it was delicious. Nasi goring (fried rice) is everywhere in Indonesia and this was an excellent rendition with shrimp and chicken. Also very good were vegetarian fried noodles and a selection of fruit on skewers – with chocolate for dipping! No durian fruit in sight. The flight on Garuda Airlines (Indonesia’s national carrier, means “bird”) was short and pleasant. Yogya’s airport is small, with one runway, and the plane had to make a U turn to return to the terminal after landing. Inside, a young woman was demonstrating the batik technique on fabric. Colored wax is applied with a stylus. We’ll get a chance to see more batik on our tour. We took a local bus to a stop within walking distance to our hotel (or so we thought) and ended up taking a taxi the rest of the way, since it was pouring down rain. This is the start of the rainy season in Indonesia. The day started out sunny, but then black clouds formed and it rained steadily from 2 – 7 pm. We learned that most days will be like this, through February. So our activities will take place mostly in the mornings!

SEA Welcome

Our first leg on Singapore Airlines to Hong Kong was 15 hours. That’s long by any stretch of the imagination, but made so much more enjoyable by the service. Even in coach, the seats are a little wider, with individual entertainment and no shortage of food – all good. How do the flight attendants manage to look so beautiful and rested while I look like a wreck? Along with the in-flight entertainment, Hoyt quizzed me on my Hindu gods: we’re studying ahead for Nepal and India. But I was still able to watch a couple of movies, including The Help which has been on my list for awhile.

After we landed in Hong Kong, we waited for our three-hour connecting flight to Singapore for a five-hour layover. The airport is beautiful, a great place to spend a few hours, with comfortable places to sit and classic orchid and fern gardens. Internet access is free, but I couldn’t connect for some reason. We made mental notes on areas of the airport we wanted to visit when we return to Singapore in a couple of weeks.