Monday, 6th October, 2008

We are now back from our trip to Yogyakarta and on our way to Menjangan Island just off the North West Coast of Bali for hopefully some relaxation, swimming and snorkeling for a few days before Mary and Norman leave us on 11th and make their way back to Denpasar.

Mary, Norman, Janine & Garth (Catala) left Lovina Beach by bus at 2.30pm on Tuesday, 30th September for Gilimanuk to catch the ferry across to Java. We had to change buses half an hour from Gilimanuk onto an air conditioned coach but had about an hours wait for it and this bus went on the ferry as well. The stretch of water from Gilimanuk to Ketapang on Java is only 2.5 miles but the ferry ride took an hour as the current is so severe through that narrow strait the ferries have to work the current. We finally rolled off the ferry at 7pm and then the long journey to Yogyakarta. On board our air conditioned coach, all passengers were given a small box with a snack and a drink of water, a pillow and a blanket and the seats were reclining so in all quite luxurious, except for the toilet at the back!! It was a pity the trip was in the dark but other than about an hour of the journey the whole trip was through completely built up areas, interspersed with cropping. At 10pm we stopped at a place where there was a big terminal and a huge eating establishment which we were all given a meal ticket for, had what one would call an Indonesian Smorgasbord. I did sleep in fits and starts, although Dave, I think, virtually didn't sleep at all as he reckoned it was too exciting!!

We had our accommodation booked at the Prambanan Guest House, 190,000 rupiah (NZ30) for bed and breakfast and we arrived there at 6am Bali time but was in fact 5am Java time which of course meant that they did not have rooms ready for us. They gave us tea and coffee and we sat and relaxed and then were able to use their swimming pool which really refreshed us and just after 10am they served us a breakfast which we had to pay for, but very good. Not long before mid day we were able to check into our rooms and then we each hired a becak, and headed off into the centre of the city. The traffic was horrific and all the bicycles, cars, motor bikes and becaks just blend into the system - truly amazing and we all felt quite safe. We headed to the water palace, Taman Sari and had a guided tour through it. This palace was built in 1758 for the then Sultan, and has been partially renovated and is a picturesque folly of pools and arcades, although part of it was demolished in the 2006 earthquake.

We were a bit restricted Wednesday, Thursday and Friday because of the Ramadan holiday and most shops and businesses were closed, including some of the museums. There were a number of street stalls on the main street, Malioboro (named after the Duke of Marlborough) so we wandered among them before heading back to our accommodation and finding a place open to eat. Janine and Garth stayed in the centre of the city and had dinner in the mall (which was open) but the rest of us headed back and we found a nice restaurant down from our guest house where we had a meal. We were pretty tired so Dave and I were in bed before 8pm.

We hired a van and driver for all of Thursday and he picked us up at 5am and we headed out to Borobudur to see this amazing Buddhist temple. It is just hard to describe but once in Sebana Cove, Malaysia (30th Oct) will be able to put some photos up on our Blog. We hired a guide to explain things to us and were so glad we went early as by 10am there were thousands of tourists there and it was very hot. This gigantic temple was started to be built by local people in 800AD and employed local people and was believed to have taken between 50 and 150 years to build. It is a mass of grey andesite stone built around a natural hillock and rises 31m to the Great Stupa at the top. It was badly damaged by an earthquake in the 11th Century and was rediscovered in 1815 and was completely overgrown. The temple remained in a perilous condition until the Indonesian Government and UNESCO, aided by private donations began the 10 year task of renovation which was completed in 1983. It consists of six square bases topped by three circular terraces with a number of miniature stupas in trellised stonework, each containing a seated Buddha. Each terrace represents a stage towards perfection in human life and there are nearly 1500 narrative panels on the lower terraces to illustrate Buddhist teachings and tales. The last, large Stupa at the top symbolizes Nirvana, ultimate release and reality. The stones are not cemented to each other and just placed together with the sum of the small gaps able to provide sufficient total movement to . (hopefully) withstand the strongest earthquake. Its amazing that in the restoration process they have been able to put the right pieces in the right places. Naturally at all these tourist places there are hundreds of stalls and hawkers trying to sell off wares which is a bit of a battle fending them off and they don't take no for an answer - one just has to carry on walking and ignore them.

Also visited an archeological museum and maritime museum there which were most interesting.

From Borobudur we stopped off at the Candi Mendut, a smaller Buddhist temple before heading back to our guest house and then to find some lunch and have a swim, a bit of a rest and then our driver picked us up at 3.45pm to head out to Prambanan, which is a Hindu temple which was completed in 900AD. It was abandoned soon after being built and many of the temples had collapsed by the 19th century and it was not until 1937 that any form of reconstruction was attempted. Restoration is still being done and it consists of several temples. The largest temple, Shiva is 47 metres high and is dedicated to Shiva the destroyer and is carved with sweet faced human and superhuman beings, animals, birds, leaves and fruit and tales from the Ramayana.

We left there just on dark and headed to the place where they do the Ramayana Ballet which is performed at night with the temples in the background - an awesome sight. Had a nice meal at a restaurant there before the performance in a spectacular setting. The ballet was great, although it was the same story we saw in the fire dancing at Ubud but just in a different form. The costumes were fantastic. Finally arrived back at the quest house at 11pm, so in all a very long day.

We hired becaks on Friday for most of the day and were taken to look at the Kraton which is the heart of Yogya and where the Sultan's Palace is but it and the museum were all closed so we headed off to one of the becak driver's family who does batik and were also shown how it was done. We are not that greater fans of batik but can now appreciate the work that goes into it. Also visited a silver place and saw some of the work being done which was interesting. Had lunch in the mall and then Dave and I headed off back to the guest house for a bit of a rest and a swim with the other four following a bit later. Found a nice place for dinner and we had our becak drivers take us to a puppet performance. The same story of Ramayana again, very loud music from an interesting selection of pots and xylophone instruments and after quarter of an hour was totally boring. However we did see how the puppets were made and appreciate the tremendous amount of work that goes into them. They are made from buffalo hide and are not like puppets as we know them - just flat pieces of buffalo hide, punched out with intricate designs and painted.

Saturday morning we had the same becak drivers as the day before and we headed off to see the Sultan's Palace and had a tour guide who we were surprised to hear how vocal he was about the corruption in the Government here. The Palace was very interesting and was built in 1775. From there we visited the Sonobudoyo Museum but Dave had decided he had had enough of museums etc. and we headed back and dismissed our driver and then went for a good walk before meeting the others around 12 noon for lunch. The street we were staying in had numerous restaurants so had a good choice of eating places from Thursday onwards.

We had two taxis pick us up at 1.15pm and take us to the bus station where we boarded our bus for the long journey back. Our tickets said 2pm departure but was in fact 2.45pm before we left. The trip was quite a bit longer back as the traffic was horrendous. As we had a few hours of daylight it was interesting to see the acres and acres of rice and sweet corn plantings. The crops are better cared for than their houses!! We stopped at another similar place for dinner as on the way at 8pm with a similar type of meal. Just out of Gilimanuk our bus was met by our arranged taxi driver in a van to take us back to Lovina Beach where we arrived at about 10am. Came back on board Pied A Mer and had a late breakfast, swim and a relax, although the other three had a sleep but I didn't. Went to the market yesterday afternoon to stock up on fruit and veges. The six of us had dinner ashore at our favourite little restaurant that we had made friends with the owner and it was her, Saraya, who got us our meat. She was sad to say farewell to us. Between Catala and us we had created quite a lot of business for her.

The trip to Java was challenging in many ways but rewarding and unforgettable.