Yogyakarta 19.3.10-21.3.10

Nikki

After a couple of confused looks it dawned on me that everyone refers to this place as Yogya (pronounced Jogja). I'd not only been referring to it by the full name but pronouncing it incorrectly as well! Life here is mellow on the surface but frantic underneath; there are apparently very few Western tourists around at the moment so everyone has to battle for their slice of the tourist dollar. You only find this out as you're being pedalled around in a becak (cycle rickshaw) and your wiry driver (still pedalling furiously in the humid heat) starts telling you about an amazing batik exhibition or a silver workshop that you simply must see. You have to work hard to stand your ground and I have invented several friends that I am already late to meet in order to escape. Not that I have escaped them all, as you are equally quickly and subtly befriended on the street or at tourist attractions and it's hard to shake off these seemingly gentle, sweet people without being extremely firm.

I stayed in a lovely, friendly colonial style hotel, The Phoenix. It has an interesting history which has lead to its current name. I visited the Sultan's Palace, dating from 1790 ish expecting beautiful carved teak and Indonesian style roofing….but no…it seemed very modern and was sparsely decorated. There was a shadow puppet play going on which was accompanied by a full gamelan orchestra and wailing singers a la Chinese opera. Next I made a bad choice and spent all of 5 minutes in the famous bird market. They were all alive, at least. After that the becak driver insisted I went to the 'beautiful' water palace. As soon as I arrived I was immediately befriended by a guy I simply could not shake off so he turned into my guide. It was just as well, as to find the palace you had to walk down narrow weaving streets…I'd have never found my way! Once there it soon became apparent that most of the place was in ruins and being renovated having been badly damaged in the 2006 earthquake. There was also an underground mosque to visit and of course, the inevitable batik shops.

You would all have been amused to see me legging it back to the hotel as the black clouds gathered quickly but I was delighted to make it to the door minutes before the first downpour. I'd return to Yogyakarta but perhaps avoid the rainy season next time!