Post #150 20 October 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Surakarta  (better known by its traditional name Solo) and Salatiga.

We stayed in Salatiga for 2 nights, 17 & 18 August 2017.

We hired a car & driver and drove from Jogja to Surakarta (aka Solo), had several hours there, and then drove on to Salatiga.  Two nights in Salatiga, and then on to Semarang, on Java's north coast.  After looking around Semarang for a  couple of days, we drove to Jepara.

Some people contend that Solo is the "real" heart of Javanese culture.  It is certainly much less developed and more grass-roots than Jogja.  We only spent about 3 hours there, so couldn't judge.

One of the main streets in Solo - lined by huge trees.

We visited the Istana Mangkunegara which is reported to be in better condition than the Kraton Surakarta (dates from 1745, but badly damaged by fire in 1985).  The Istana was built in 1757 and is the home of Solo's second family. At the centre of the Istana is the Pendopo (Pavilion), and behind the Pendopo are the Royal Residences, part of which have been converted into a museum.

  We were fortunate to be at the Istana on a Wednesday morning when they have gamelan & dance practice.  Three men were practicing, very skilful (later joined by some women). It was all very casual, with about a dozen tourists sitting on the floor watching the practice.

The gamelan orchestra.

Later these women joined the three men to practice traditional Javanese dances; one of them brought her young daughter along.

Vera with our guide who showed us around the Istana.  She was a student at a Teacher's Training College, knowledgeable with good English.

Central Java is famous for its batik.  These days most batik is machine-made, but the highly-prized (and expensive) cloth is hand-painted. This rack containing different patterns of batik was in the museum of the Istana (all hand-painted of course).

We spent about 3 hours in Solo and then drove on to Salatiga, about 100km north-west of Solo.  We stayed at the nice Grand Wahid Hotel, which had great views of Mount Merbabu (see photo).  There is something very special - almost mystical - about volcanoes.  A string of volcanoes form the spine of Java, stunning.  Salatiga is about 1,000 metres above sea level, so has a very pleasant climate. The Australian Government used to send staff to Salatiga for language training at the Christian University, but in recent years they have gone to Jogja instead.

The Grand Wahid Hotel didn't have a 4th floor - it went straight from 3 to 5 as shown in this elevator.  We assume that the owner of this hotel is a Chinese-Indonesian, as "4" is a bad number in Chinese culture.  We saw this in some other hotels too. Another interesting thing about this hotel was that it only had one non-smoking floor (the vast majority of Indonesian men are heavy smokers).

The nice pool at the Grand Wahid Hotel.  The water was quite cool, as Salatiga has a high elevation.  On this trip we made a point of staying in hotels with pools, and tried to swim every day.  The Grand Wahid Hotel had a recreational club (pool, gym & sauna) which people living in Salatiga could join.

The extensive garden next to the swimming pool had many statues, as well as a large aviary with many birds.

We saw a couple of large (and old) turtles in the garden, which delighted kids.

Vera's friends in Jogja introduced us to a couple in Salatiga, Pak Eddie and his wife. who kindly showed us around. One night they took us to this local restaurant - simple but delicious food. European soccer is popular in Indonesia, and Pak Eddie was a keen supporter of AS Milan.  

Walking around Salatiga we came across a children's parade. 17 August is Indonesia's National Day, there were lots of posters and banners.  We thought there might be a big parade, but we didn't see anything.   At night we saw a gathering of public servants near a government building (speeches, followed by band/dancing) and this small kid's parade.

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Our next stop was Semarang, the capital of Central Java, about 100km due north of Salatiga.  I'll do a separate post on that visit.

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I'm slowly catching up my blog, but it's taking longer than I expected.  I'm trying to finalise our 2016-7 tax returns, which have taken priority this week.

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
Friday, 20 October 2017

Post #149 9 October 2017

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our stay in Yogyakarta (aka Jogja) from 8 - 16 August 2017.

Jogja is regarded as the cultural centre of Java.  Vera went to university in Jogja, and still has some good friends there.  Vera's father grew up in Temanggung, about 100 km north-east of Jogja; he did his medical degree in Surabaya and practised as a doctor in Bali and later in Bandung.

We took the train from Malang to Jogja, a seven hour trip.  Jogja is located near the south coast of the Province of Central Java.





There are two famous ancient monuments near Jogja: the Borobudur Temple (Buddhist) and the Prambanan Complex of Temples (Hindu).

Here are some photos of our stay in Jogja.

The train from Malang to Jogja took 7 hours. Nice relaxed trip.  Views of rice paddies; it was kinda hazy mostof the way, don't know if that was pollution or just the day.

Our carriage had comfortable seats. There was a dining car, but most passengers bought food and drink from the attendants and ate in their seats.

In Jogja we stayed at the Hotel Batik, a series of one-room bungalows.  The hotel was a bit old, but had a terrific central location just behind Malioboro, the main shopping street. Cost was reasonable at $40 per night (including breakfast).

The hotel had a nice swimming pool, which we used every day.

There were large posters and banners in every city to mark the 72nd anniversary of the declaration of Indonesian Independence on 17 August 1945.  The Dutch didn't want to give up their colony, and it took 4 years of fierce fighting before they bowed to internal and international pressure.  This poster featured Sukarno, the leader of the Independence Movement and first President of the Republic of Indonesia.  He was a great orator and motivator. Kerja bersama = work together (for a better future).

Yours truly with a group of school gilrs on an excursion.  We noticed that almost all girls / women now wear headscarves (hijab).  About 90% of Javanese are Moslem, but the wearing of hijab has certainly become much more common than, say, 20 years ago.  They were delightful kids, very friendly.

We spent some time in the old market, Pasar Beringharjo. Fascinating place, full of small stalls selling all kinds of stuff. 

A view of the inside of Pasar Beringharjo.  Always crowded with shoppers.  Lots of stalls selling batik in this section.

One of the parking lots near Pasar Beringharjo. So many motor bikes everywhere - it is the most convenient way to get around. Wearing helmets is now mandatory.

Lots of 'becaks' (trishaws) still around in Jogja.  Some are motorised now, and we always took those.  They are a cheap mode of transport.  We were told that the basic wage in Jogja is about A$100 per month - very low - hence the inexpensive cost-of-living here.

'Dokars' (horse drawn carriages) are still common in Jogja, same as becaks.  Taxis are inexpensive in Indonesia, but becaks and dokars are even cheaper. Of course they tend to slow traffic down, but that is the trade-off for inexpensive transport.

The Sultan's Palace ("Kraton") is a tourist attraction.  The current Sultan, Hamengkubuwono #10 still resides in part of the Kraton. 

This stone stele was presented to the Sultan in 1953 by the Chinese community.  Vera's uncle, Dr Sim Ki Ai, is among those listed as giving great service to Indonesia (he was Sultan Hamengkubuwono #9's personal physician).

Some retired 'gentry' hang out at the Kraton, sometimes acting as guides for tour groups.

A clock in the Kraton, using Javanese script on the clock-face. Javanese is an ancient sanskrit language still widely spoken in Central and East Java, although few people can read and write it these days. Bahasa Indonesia is the national language and spoken and taught everywhere.

One of the art shops in the Kraton.  Batik painting is popular here,

We had lunch with Rosie Clynes, the daughter of Nanik and Adrian Clynes who we know in Canberra.  Rosie was living in Jogja while studying Indonesian and drama.  She is an aspiring actress.  We met at popular Raminten Restaurant.  For this photo Vera and Rosie stood next to a statue of the owner/founder.  

Like millions of others, Rosie bought a motor scooter to get around Jogja.  We caught the public bus a couple of times, but it is not very convenient - bike much better.  Rosie said that she pays less than A$10 a week for a room in a share-house.

We had dinner at this famous old Chinese restaurant. Delicious food, but later I suffered because they must have used MSG in their cooking.  In Australia MSG is not used these days (even phasing out in China) but still very common in Indonesia.

Dinner with some old friends of Vera's:  Ahon, Bwee, Tjoe (Bwee's younger sister) and her husband Johnny.  Bwee was one of Vera's closest friends when she was at University in Jogja.

We visited some friends of Ahon and Bwee in Kaliurang, a town about 25 km from Jogja, on the slopes of Mount Merapi. Their cottage was about 1,000 m above sea level; on a clear day they said you can see Jogja and all the way to the coast!

Of course we visited the 1,200 year old Borobudur Buddhist Temple.  118 m x 118 m, it is massive; they estimate it is made up of 2 million blocks of stone, and lots of carvings too.  How could they possibly have built this extraordinary structure more than a thousand year ago?  The mind boggles.  Borobudur apparently fairly quickly fell into disuse and was overgrown until Sir Thomas Stanley Raffles "discovered" it in 1815;  the British ruled Java from 1811 - 16, but then handed it back to The Netherlands at the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

Four square levels are topped by three round levels, up to the apex.

Lots of beautiful Buddha statues, many headless - heads stolen by thieves and presumably sold to collectors.

The other big site near Jogja is the Prambanan Hindu Temple Complex, thought to have been built about 50 years after Borobudur (and only about 50 km away).  But unlike Borobudur which is a huge single edifice, Prambanan comprises six large temples and many small temples.

Vera in front of the biggest temple, Candi Shiva, dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.  It is 47 m high, with many intricate carvings.

You can't go to Jogja and not eat at the original Ayam Goreng Suharti restaurant.  This might well be the best fried chicken in the world!!! Delicious.

The menu has a picture of the founder, Mrs Suharti.

Frieda and Vera at the Catholic Sanata Dharma University where they were classmates back in the 1960s.  It was then an IKIP (teacher training college), but now it is a fully fledged university - continues to grow and prosper. Frieda and her husband Johnny came from Magelang to meet us.

We did a trip to Parangtritis, the nearest coastal town to Jogja.  It is geared for weekend hordes from the city.  Apparently now there are nice beach resorts further afield, but we didn't have time to explore them.

At the beach at Parangtritis.

Another photo of the main beach at Parangtritis.  Big surf - few Indonesians are strong swimmers and it would be dangerous. Lots of beach buggies for hire.

Our last night in Jogja we had dinner with Bwee and Ahon, at a ribs restaurant in the new Prawirotaman tourist area.  They have been very good hosts.

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Our 8 night stay in Jogja came to an end.  We met some lovely old friends and had a good time eating and touring.

Next stop Solo, enroute to Salatiga.  That will be the subject of my next post.

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Best wishes, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
Canberra, Australia
Monday, 9 October 2017