Day 18: Hey, Mister!

Day 18

Today I'm in: Yogyakarta, Indonesia

I wasn't sorry to see the smog-shrouded sprawl of Jakarta receding behind me today as I flew to Yogyakarta, a city of about a million people that forms the cultural heartland of central Java.  Once we were clear of Jakarta, the air cleared, revealing plenty of mountains, green rice paddies, small villages and twisting rivers.  By the time we started our descent into Yogyakarta (pronounced Joeg-ja-karta and called "Jogja" by locals) we were flying in clear blue skies with only a few scatted clouds - probably the most beautiful day I've had on the trip so far. 

Jogja sits on the central Javanese plain, in the shadow of Gunung Merapi, one of the island's most active volcanoes.  I can see Merapi from my hotel balcony (it's on the left, a bit hard to make out), which regularly spews out ash and sometimes even lava.  It's not erupting right now, however, and I hope it stays that way for another day.  Jogja was hit by a pretty severe earthquake back in 2006, although I didn't see any permanent damage while walking around today. 

The most popular method of getting around Jogja - for both tourists and locals alike - seems to be the becak, or pedicab.  There seems to be a glut of becak on the streets - everywhere I went today, becak drivers were calling out to me.  "Hey, Mister!  Where you go? Where you come from?" was the refrain every time I rounded a corner.  Despite walking several miles around Jogja today, I never took any of the becak drivers up on their offers - maybe tomorrow.  I did see becaks transporting some non-human items, like a refrigerator, a cage full of pigeons, a pallet of what appeared to be lettuce, and a table (pictured.) 

In addition to being called "Mister" everywhere I went, I was also stopped by three different groups of schoolchildren, who asked if they could interview me.  From what I could tell, they get extra credit in school if they practice their English with someone and provide proof for their teachers.  So three different times today, I was videotaped (using camera phones) while middle-school students asked me what foods I've eaten in Indonesia, how I would end Jakarta traffic (answer: nuclear weapons), and what souvenirs I might want to buy in the markets.  Their English was pretty good, especially considering I didn't even start learning a foreign language until I was their age. 

Jogja was a relief after Jakarta - it's still complete madness on the streets, but the skies were blue and the city is laid out on human scale.  Jalan Malioboro, the main shopping street, was bustling with people but still managed to feel like the main street of a smaller town rather than a huge city.  Before it was moved to Jakarta, this was Indonesia's provisional capital for a short while after independence in the late 1940s, but Jogja saves its hatred for the nearby city of Surakarta (also called Solo) which was the seat of a competing sultanate for several centuries during Java's dynastic period.  Today the compete for tourists, who come to visit the kraton (the sultan's palace, where descendants of the royal family still live, and which was unfortunately closed today) and the nearby Buddhist temples of Borobodur, where I'm headed tomorrow. 

I was able to visit the Taman Sari, or water palace, which was built by the sultan in the 1500s with help from a Portuguese architect.  This was the Javanese equivalent of Rome's baths, but reserved for the royal family. It's degenerated quite a bit since that time, but they are slowly restoring the complex and it does have a whiff of former grandeur about it. 

Like most cities I've visited on this trip, Jogja gets even better at night.  After dinner, I returned to Jalan Malioboro, which was even busier than before and crowded with musicians, dancers, jugglers, touts, becak drivers and even more motorbikes than before.   

As I mentioned, tomorrow morning I'm off to Borobodur, about an hour's drive away, where I'll be visiting the 12th-century Buddhist temple complex.  It's supposed to rival Angkor in Cambodia and Bagan in Myanmar, so I'm looking forward to it.  After that I'll have a few more hours in Jogja before catching my evening flight to Bali.  As expected, Indonesia has redeemed itself - I just had a bad introduction.