An Indonesian Welcome in Yogyakarta

17-August- 2010

Becak? Becak? You need taxi? Where you from? What’s your name? Special deal, sir?

Welcome to Yogyakarta, (pronounced Jogjakarta, Jogja for short), island of Java, Indonesia. Saying Yogyakarta is a lively place would be a broad understatement. The city is teeming with people, and all forms of transportation are omnipresent. Motorbikes (sometimes carrying as many as four people), buses, bicycles, cars, horse-drawn carriages, and becaks (human-pedaled bicycle taxis) flood the streets. When crossing the street, you literally put your life at risk.

Upon arriving in Jogja we quickly realized that people here are a little more pushy than in Malaysia (also an understatement). In contrast to Malaysia, the urgency of the locals to sell you things and provide you with services they are sure you need is, in this somewhat-impoverished country, present and prominent.

Jogja is a festive place and preparations are in place to celebrate Indonesia’s Independence Day, August 17^th. Red and white flags are strung everywhere, stages are set up in central locations, fireworks interrupt the city’s sounds intermittently, and we have already witnessed one parade. Earlier today we watched as marching bands, floats, men on stilts, and a mobile gamelan orchestra paraded down the main drag, Jalan Malioboro (more fireworks just now). Independence Day coincides with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and this definitely adds to the festive atmosphere, especially at sundown. For the entire month Muslims fast (no cigarettes, no food, no drink-not even water) from sun-up to sundown. Horns blare from the loudspeakers of the city’s many mosques and tensions are released as the sun drops below the horizon. Time for the the iftar (the evening meal), the fast is broken at sunset. As we enjoy a large, pre-sunset Bintang beer on a restaurant’s rooftop terrace we stop to ponder how “inappropriate” this is. On that note, we are so happy to bid farewell to Malaysia’s exorbitant alcohol prices.

We spent the day wondering the streets of Yogyakarta and visited the Kraton (Sultan’s Palace- yes, there still is a sultan here), the bird market, the Sultan’s pleasure palace known as the Watercastle or Taman Sari, the district known as Prawirotawan to eat and gawk at antiques, and many, many batik shops (let me mention that as we type what sounds like patriotic music is being blasted from a small square that is tucked inside this alleyway and fireworks are being set off).We enjoyed all of this and especially enjoyed soaking up the local culture, including all the nagging. Because Rachel spent so much time in and out of batik stores (her favorites were the hand painted silks, costing $450), we managed to linger along the main drag for some time and serendipitously stumbled upon the aforementioned parade.

These are our first impressions of Indonesia- the super-diverse nation of 17,000 islands straddling the equator. On that note, we now sit for the first time of the trip in the Southern Hemisphere. This afternoon we head out to explore the Hindu temple of Prambanan and experience the Ramayana Ballet, accompanied by a full gamelan orchestra. After gorging on nature in Borneo, a little culture feels good.

“Batik? Special exhibition, sir. Hello, sir?”