Road Trip

Day 293
I didn't get up early, there was no need. I would have preferred to though. At 11 am I was picked up by a mini van. I was there first and picked the seat I wanted. I was a bit miffed that they tried to make me move to the back in the middle so that some late comers could sit next to one another. I told them that I would get motion sick back there. I most likely would have too. As I had slept well the night before I had problems falling asleep and passed the time by listening to my ipod. The whole thing was really boring. Luckily there were stops every 2 or 3 hours to break it up.

By the time we got to the hotel it was almost 10pm. I had booked a standard room with an ensuite bathroom because it is really cold up the mountain where I was. They messed up the reservation and it took some arguing to get to what I had paid for. The driver who should have been helping me was really rude. In the end it all worked out though. After some dinner I fell into bed, sitting all day had been exhausting.

Temples Temples Everywhere

Day 292
When I met up with Jan he informed me that I would be joined by another person and that we would be going by car. I double checked that my price was the same and it was was. When I met up with Juliet a few minutes later I did feel a bit bad that she might have had to pay extra, but I couldn’t worry about that.

Some of the oldest human fossils have been found in the Solo area. Our first stop was the museum about them. Well, it was actually a bunch of replicas, but at least everything was behind glass so that people couldn’t touch it. The whole museum sort of resembled an elementary school project. It wasn’t really as interesting as I thought it would be. Jan did read anything we asked him to though.

Our next stop was up a long and very windy road to the Hindu Cetho Temple. This temple was meant to symbolize men. It was pretty fabulous. Jan was pretty knowledgeable about everything and told us the stories behind the stone carvings. Each entrance way looked like bookends and are set so that you can take an ultra touristy jumping shot. I tried it a few times but we were not able to time it right and I ended up looking liking I was doing some weird type of dance. I posed with some deity or another instead.

By the time we reached our next destination, the Shuh Temple, the fog had descended. It was hard to see more than a couple of feet in front of yourself. It wasn’t long until the rain started though. At first it was just a drizzle but after a few minutes it really began to pour.

This was the female temple. It was rather dirty. There was one part where women were meant to jump over a phallus to prove that they were virgins before getting married. On the surrounding walls there were giants eating humans carved into the walls. There was even one rather dirty headless statue just made for posing behind. Right when Jan was just into a rather long speech it really began to pour. Both Juliet and I were a bit tired and were kinda glad to get out of the explanation.

Before I went back to my hotel I picked up some snacks for my long bus ride the next day. I also managed to find an internet café that promised me speed. Wen I had gotten back and taken a shower I grabbed my things and headed out. I spent several hours uploading and just playing around before I left Around 1:30 I was too tired to go on and left.

It was the Javanese new year and the parade was meant to pass my hotel around 2am. It took me until almost half past to fight my way through the crowds and get back. The parade wasn’t close to passing and I couldn’t wait up any more. In the end I just went to sleep.

The Cottage is Alive and Well

Day 291

I was up before my alarm went off and went to grab my free breakfast. It was a bit odd as it was an omelet with rice inside of it. There was one tour that my hotel offered that I didn't think was over priced, a bike tour of local cottage industries. I wasn't alone for once and was joined by an Austrian couple. I was really worried that I would fall quite a bit behind because of how rarely I go bike riding, but it was the Austrian woman who had the most trouble.

The first place that we stopped at was a leather puppet factory. Apparently master puppeteers will give 8 hour shows solo and never once take a bathroom break. Before we got much further down the road the chain on my bike broke. Luckily we were still in town and it only took about 10 minutes to find someone to fix it before we were on our way again.

After crossing a thin river on a very flimsy looking boat we went to a place that made tofu. Oddly, most of the soy beans are imported from the states. They put the beans in a machine and it liquefies them. The liquid is then poured into molds. When it hardens it is cut and then put into water to stay fresh. No one was wearing masks or anything so it was kinda gross. Next up was the gong maker. This was pretty cool to watch. They would put the gong in the fire and then pull it out for a minute or two and about 3 guys would bang it into shape for about a minute before repeating the process. None of the guys were wearing shoes or even protective glasses. It was really pretty shocking.

Next up was an illegal moonshine place. This rice based liqueur was distilled twice to make it extra potent. I tried a sip but didn't like it at all. The Austrians said that it tasted a bit like schnapps. After photographing more livestock we went to an organic tofu maker. The soy beans were covered in a fungus that looked like spider webs and then wrapped in banana leaves and left to ferment over night. After watching how tofu is made I don't think that I will ever eat it again.

We stopped for a bit at a restaurant to rehydrate and cool off. The rain was coming though so we couldn't stay long. Right before getting back in town we went to a rice chip making place. I have been eating these like crazy but will do so no more. The rice patties have to dry out in the sun and are places on sheets. There were chickens running over them! We used to say in my family that chickens make lousy house pets, I think they just make lousy pets all together!

Our last stop was down some really tight alleys and I managed to ride right into a wall. Sometimes I really think that I should be living in a padded bubble. I was a bit annoyed to see more batik stuff but there was a group of school kids learning how to make it and they were cute, drawing Hello Kitty and other cartoons instead of the typical native patterns. They were all doing a much better job than I could have ever done.

The bike tour had be great and we made it back just as the rain started, what great timing . After eating and cleaning up I worked on the blog for some time. While I was on the way to dinner I ran into my guide for the next day. He asked if I would mind if there was another person in my group and if we went by car instead of motorbike. I said that I didn't mind that as long as the price was the same. He told me that it would be double, I told him I couldn't do that and that I didn't really think it was fair for him to change the contract like that. He didn't press the issue and I was left just a little irritated.

For dinner I had some nasi gudeg, a coconut based dish with jackfruit. It was fabulous. It's so strange, when I was in Singapore I couldn't find anything that I wanted to eat and now I love it all! When I was done dinner I headed back to my hotel and wrote in my journal before calling it a night.

Solo Can You Go?

Day 291
I wanted to mutiny against my alarm clock. Before coming to Indonesia I would go weeks without even looking at it. Now I'm glued to it. I did sleep in later than I intended, but I still made the 10 am train to Solo.

The pedicab drivers tried to overcharge me, but it didn't annoy me. I just pointed out to them that my guidebook listed the correct price and they gave it to me.

LP recommended one place above all the others and I got myself a room there. It was more expensive but offered warmish water and a free breakfast. It really wasn't that much more expensive but it was much nicer.

Solo has it's own sultan and I wanted to go and check out his Kraton. I got pretty lost but was still determined to walk there. Along the way a pedicab driver told me that if I didn't pay him for a ride he wouldn't be eating dinner. I still declined. At one point I walked through a field and took a picture of some goats. The locals were laughing at me and must of thought I was crazy, I just can't get over there being goats in the middle of a bit town. When I got to what I thought was the Kraton it turned out to be a mosque. I didn't go in but I sat in the courtyard and studied my map. A girl sitting nearby named Dewi offered to walk me to the Kraton. We chatted on the way and before parting we exchanged email addresses.

The Kraton was quite interesting, more so than in Yogo. I was put into a group tour and my guide spoke good English. The Solo and Yogo sultans are related way back and a friendly to this day. The structure was built in 1745 in the Dutch style with materials from all over Europe and Java. The current family is in it's thirteenth generation. The previous king had 36 children, the 11th king had 92! They must have been very busy!

The museum had a nice collection but it was not well taken care of. People were also touching all of the objects, even the guide! This included 1300 year old statuary. I wanted to scream at them! Most of the objects were ceremonial and the guide explained these in great detail. While the rest of my group was drinking from the wishing well I went to buy some bottled water. A woman in line in front of me struck up a conversation with me and then insisted on buying my water. I felt bad, but it was only about fifteen cents.

I managed to get a basic understanding of Indonesian history. The Dutch were here at some point and it wasn't until Japan occupied the country during WWII that they were gotten rid of. After WWII Indonesia became its own country.

When I was done with the museum I grabbed some gado-gado from a roadside stand. It was fabulous. While I was wandering back to my hotel I found some guys making flower signs. I have seen these everywhere commemorating every occasion but had not seen them being made. They were very nice and let me take a picture.

Back at my hotel I discovered that I had left my bar of laundry soap in Bukittinggi. This really annoyed me and I spent the walk to the supermarket chastising myself for not being more careful with my things. It was a brand new bar. I did need some other things though so at least I got the erends over with. Back at the hotel I washed my things and myself. For dinner I went to a nearby place and met a guide. There was a day trip that I had wanted to do but felt that it was really overpriced. He gave me a deal on that as well as on a trip to Mount Bromo and then onto Bali. It was a productive dinner.

Back at my hotel I spent a bit of time writing before calling it a night.