Jogjakarta

On Saturday 14 May 2010 we took an 8 hour train ride to Yogyakarta for 4 weeks of language training before we start our assignments. Yogyakarta is commonly known as “Jogja” and is almost the total opposite of Jakarta. We are now in our second week in Jogja as I write this.

Top: Fare-evaders sitting on the roof of an electric train speeding past. Bottom: Paddy fields in rural Java

Jogja is a university town with about 6 universities within walking distance from where we are staying. It’s well-known for its arts and music and is particularly famous for batik and for Wayang Kulit(shadow puppetry). It’s also houses the palace (Kraton) of one of Indonesia’s last remaining Sultans and certainly one of the only Sultans to wield any real power as he is also the Governor of the Jogja district. There are in fact two royal families with one Sultan in Jogja and the other (lesser) Sultan in the nearby city of Solo. The federal government ‘s efforts to try and make the post of Governor subject to elections is currently being vehemently opposed by the people of Jogja who are proud of their Sultan and their status as a special district.

Scenes from Jogja including music, dance and wayang kulit at the Kraton

Jogja is probably the most popular tourist destination in Java – especially for local tourists. Two of the reasons for this are Borobudur and Prambanan, ancient Buddhist and Hindu temple ruins which are now listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. These temples predate the arrival of Islam and were really only discovered in the 1800s. Both are not far from Jogja. Local tourists come from all over Java and are usually just as interested in us as they are the sites. When we were at Prambanan and the zoo we were stopped every 10 minutes or so by people wanting their pictures with us. So far we’ve always said yes but it does get annoying. This happened when we were in Vietnam as well. There must be photos of us with random people floating all around Southeast Asia.

Prambanan

We have been entertaining ourselves by sightseeing, working out the public bus system, exploring streets and shopping malls, trying new eateries each day (a meal will set you back about 50 cents to a $1!!) visiting the salon and getting $4 pedicures (Candice only) playing futsal, otherwise known as indoor soccer (Nat only) and watching movies. Oh and we have also been studying Bahasa Indonesia at Wisma Bahasa, a language school. So all in all we are enjoying the city of Jogja – it’s cheap, interesting, has a lively underground music scene, and is easy to get around. Last week we went to see a local reggae band and they were awesome.

Hanging out with the AVI crew at Bintang Cafe for some live reggae

Our visit to the Gembira Loka Zoo was a little eye-opening though. We're not sure if they get the concept of animal preservation as people are queuing up to ride the elephants and the animals are forced to do tricks for the kids. Many of the animals were pacing back and forth in distress in their tiny stinky concrete and metal cages. Others have proper enclosures but which could definitely use some cleaning up as the animals usually have to wade through rubbish that is thrown at them by onlookers. We actually saw people throwing plastic bottles at the orangutans, who of course try to drink the dregs of left-over soft drink inside. There is no shortage of staff but nobody seems to mind that people do this. Having said that, there are some lovely animals there and a comprehensive reptile collection which includes Komodo dragons.

Baby orangutan eating rubbish and hanging on to protruding iron bar from broken fake concrete rock and a Komodo dragon hanging out.

People throwing rubbish at the orang utans who try to eat it

We’ve been placed at a homestay owned by a lovely retired Catholic Javanese couple, Pak Sunarto and Ibu Ning. It’s really just part of their home and they cook us meals every day and worry about us when we come home late. Apart from an American girl who’s only here for a week, we are the only guests here. We eat dinner with them every night and say grace before every meal. Pak Sunarto is very proud of the fact he visited Melbourne 20 years ago and has a large framed photo of himself in front of the Shrine of Remembrance.

Hanging out in Jogja

We can see Mount Merapi from our accommodation. Merapi is a seriously active volcano and there is smoke coming out of it on average 300 days a year. Last year in October it erupted and killed 390 people. However in saying all of this we are planning to climb the volcano tomorrow (Friday) night. Should be a great adventure! There will be more to come on Merapi in the next post.

Mount Merapi's shape can just be seen against the sky