In spite of this it was beautiful. I must admit our walks around the golf course were lovely. We were disappointed there was no fitness centre, I guess golfers feel they don't need to be in particularly good shape. The hotel itself was quaint and very tropical. I felt I was in a Bogart movie.
Jogjakarta has a more rural, small town atmosphere.
It is known for it's universities and students from all the Indonesian islands will come here to study. Security was more relaxed and we felt more comfortable to explore the town on our own.
Often meat is sold outside on the sidewalks.
You can always find a stand somewhere selling food and cold drinks.
Shops are often the size of a small garage located in the front of the family home.
It was always humorous to see the English signage.
Jogjakarta is located in the heart of Java. This was a wise choice, because it protects the population against tsunami on one side and from the volcano on the other, giving them time to flee from either disaster. The natives refer to themselves as Javanese. For a while I thought the guide was saying Japanese, and couldn't figure out why!
Our guide took great pleasure in pointing out the world's most active volcano was located on this island! In fact the temple we were going to tour was at one point completely covered by lava. The island is also known for its black lava rock and beautiful statues and carvings.
Our guide took us to a rural family home where we could get a first hand view of the quality of living, meet some people and share tea and sweets with them. They cooked coconut milk until syrupy and poured in into a coconut shell where it hardens into a flat cake. This is served with jasmine tea. You take a bite of the coconut sugar and then sip the tea. It is delicious.
This is the front entrance.
This is their well, thirty feet deep. They are quite ingenious how they provide their comforts of living. The guide proudly referred to it as the Flintstone house.
This is the inside of their home. The kitchen area is to the left.
They use propane, electricity and fire wood. Although it looks primitive, it is actually self sufficient. They will not be affected by power outage, which is more than I can say for most of us!
Here is her wood burning cook stove where she cooked the coconut. Please remember the temperature outside was 34 degrees celcius and one hundred percent humidity!
Here you can see the cakes of coconut sugar.Speaking of food... the food at the hotel was good. Our guide suggested we try the restaurant next door and luckily we took his advice! We were thoughtful enough to take our camera to share our dinner with you.
Very courteous and friendly staff.
For an appetizer Al chose dim sum....delicious
I chose a spicy soup.... excellent.
We became great fans of the local beer called Bintang. There was no desire for wine in this heat!
We both chose lamb and I can't describe how delicious this was!
For dessert Al chose deep fried bananas sprinkled with shredded cheddar cheese. Sounds weird but tasted very good.
I chose creme brulee and mocha iced tea, need I say more? One of the things we miss most living in Korea is good bread, cheese and desserts. We learned that Indonesia was able to provide these royally! Al was especially taken with the desserts. No matter what we tried, and believe me we tried a lot, they were all fabulous. There is much more to show and tell about Jogjakarta. However, I will need to get ready to do some grocery shopping. I will be back shortly.
CHEERS
Yeah!! Now I am really hungry! I can't wait to read and see more of your trip. I must admit, I would not have had the drive to try deep fried bananas with cheese...
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