Prambanan, Batik, and Pedicab Ride in the Rain!

Time to recount the rest of our time in Jogjakarta - before the details slip away!

Member of the Palace Guard - fierce!

On Friday morning we set off to check out the Kraton - the Sultan's palace. We got there early to avoid crowds - forgetting that it was Good Friday which is actually a public holiday there. There were several school groups there, but it was not a problem - we had a lovely tour guide to show us through the main grounds. (The Kraton is a huge complex, encompassing residential areas as well).

Swanky ceiling!

Palace Gazebo

Hey kids!!!!

Swimming pool!

We then left the palace and wanted to make our way on foot to the Water Castle, the 'pleasure gardens' of Sultans past. However, we had no real sense of where to go and ended up giving in to the vocal pedicab drivers who were anxiously offering rides. Good thing we did - these two guys not only brought us to the Water Castle (we would not have found it on foot - plus it was crazy hot, it would not have been fun!), but then assured us they would wait for us and then take us to our next location. We were a little skeptical about this - not wanting to get roped into more than we bargained for, but it worked out great. We toured the Water Castle, hosted by another tour guide who we didn't exactly ask for, but who was informative nonetheless. Near the end of the tour he took us to a gallery with batiks and shadow puppets for sale and asked us to support the local artists - fair enough, but we were already happy with our previous purchases and so declined. He was very gracious though - if long winded!

Swimming pool monster!

She is applying wax to to the design areas to prevent
those areas from being dyed.

Upon exiting, our dedicated pedicab drivers loaded us up and set off for a museum - which was closed. So they then took us down to the batik district, where we got to take a tour of the entire batik process. Highlight of the day - it was fascinating! I couldn't believe how detailed and painstaking the work was - and how long it must take to complete each piece!

Neat display showing the batik process.

Some batik is done entirely by hand, while other can be done (more quickly) using these stamps to apply the main wax patterns, then going back and adding detail by hand.

These ladies are very talented - and work a LOT!

Just next door was Hanis cafe, where Mom and I enjoyed pizza and Jacob tried a coffee-avocado-milkshake. (Verdict: pretty darn good!). During our leisurely lunch, it began to rain, but our pedicab drivers just pulled out plastic tarps to rainproof the cabs, and continued to wait for us. We asked them to take us to one more destination - our hotel. I don't think any of us realized quite how far away our hotel was - or just how serious this rainstorm was about to become. Thus began our half-hour pedicab ride in the pouring rain! We were cozied up with plastic over the front of the cab to screen the rain, but our poor drivers only had rain jackets for protection as they doggedly pedaled our lunch-stuffed selves uphill. My dad and I, in one cab together, tracked our journey on his phone - and realized just how far  e had left! But what could we do - it seemed like it'd be even worse to ask to get out and take a regular cab, after all their hard work. Plus, they were already soaked and unlikely to get another fare in this weather. So we carried on! It became comical, just how ridiculous this ride was! Finally, after a few wrong turns, we reached our destination - and paid our drivers what we hoped was far more than they expected. Even so, all said and done, I think we paid them each the equivalent of $6 - sounds crazy for the work they put in, but that is how the exchange rate works.

Dad kicking my butt at Cribbage

Romance!

We took it easy in the afternoon, playing cards, reading, napping and enjoying afternoon tea while it continued to rain. We played a game of Heart, which Dad won handily. For dinner, we headed back to the south part of the city to Via Via cafe, highly recommended by Lonely Planet. Well, they may have had a bit of an off night - they were out of wine and several other foods we asked for and then they forgot to place my mom's order! - but the food ended up being good and the live jazz was quite enjoyable.

We got some pretty wicked ice cream sundaes for dessert - Jacob and I split the 'Romance' sundae - ooh la la!












On Saturday, we slept in a bit and then split up to do a little more shopping and sightseeing along Malioboro. While Jacob and I haggled for a cheap watch and some belts, my parents enjoyed the World's Most Expensive Coffee. The Luwak is a type of small jungle cat which eats the ripest coffee berries - and I quote (from the package) - "unable to digest the coffee beans, the Luwak graciously deposits them on the jungle floor where they are eagerly collected by the locals. The stomach acids and enxymatic action involved in this unique fermentation process produces the beans for the world's rarest beverage " Thanks to packets my parents bought for us as well, I can report that it is indeed delicious. You can hardly taste the poo!

Fancy cups!

Dad attempting to convey the deliciousness of the coffee with his eyes - MMMM!

Mom & Dad came across a bridal expo in the mall.

Soo beautiful!

We had a quick lunch at the Superman Cafe (I think we hit at least half of the Lonely Planet restaurants while in Jogja), before meeting the driver we hired (through the hotel) to take us to Prambanan, another huge temple - this time, a Hindu temple.

Prambanan Temple - a bit rainy, but that didn't stop us!

Too cool for school

Umbrella Party!

The temple and its many surrounding smaller temples were damaged by a major earthquake in 2010. The main temple has been deemed 'relatively stable,' but they do require to you to wear hardhats to go in.

Such tourists.

Literally raising the roof!

More amazing architecture.

And lots and lots of rubble from the earthquake.

Modern technology - we found a geocache near the temple!

There are three other smaller temples near Prambanan, including this Buddhist one, which predates the Hindu one. Almost no other tourists wanted to walk this far, meaning we were all by ourselves among the buildings and ruins. It gave the whole place quite a feeling a mystery and history - I loved it!

Buddha in the rubble.

Ancient carvings.

It lends itself to contemplation.

Not sure if I can convey how amazing this place is - can you imagine
ancient people building something like this?!

Magnificent.

We finished off the evening with a delicious dinner at a steakhouse - and they DID have wine! Most excellent.

On Easter morning we were up at 4:30am again, enjoying the hotel's kindly prepared breakfast before taking a cab to the airport and heading back to Singapore. Apart from an unexpected airport 'service fee' (to be paid in Rupiah ONLY - one more stop at an ATM), travel was smooth and mostly spent dozing.

One more short blog on M&D's last few days in Singapore to follow - peace out!
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