We spend a few days in Jakarta before heading to Jogjakarta and Borobodur.
In our neighbourhood, we visit the wayang kulit (leather puppet) museum.
This interesting device is a coconut-oil lamp for illuminating the screen for the shadow play.
The museum also has 3D puppets.
Jakarta is not a great city to spend time in. We describe it in an email to a friend as ‘kind of Hellish’. We make plans to leave ASAP.
On the way to the train station, we pass this mural. Some images are iconic the world over.
The Beatles and Indonesia have not always seen eye to eye. Thanks to a friend who is a Beatles fan – and who isn’t? – for the link.
We catch a comfortable, executive-class train to Jogjakarta.
First stop after arriving is the Kraton, or Sultan’s Palace. We come across a performance of gamelan music.
Nice pergola.
In another part of the grounds, we come across young men practicing Javanese dance.
We sit for an hour enjoying this.
We visit the Sonobudoyo Museum, a small gem of a museum nearby. At first we think this is an insightful installation on Indonesia, with shadow puppets appearing against an inverted Indonesian flag…
….making some kind of statement. We decide we’re just overthinking it. This museum is in much better shape (less neglected) than the Kraton.
We visit the Beringharjo Market. Lots of batik clothing around, of course.
Piles of material at Batik Keris, a more upscale batik chain.
We take local transport to Borobodur.
I visited here many decades ago. I distinctly remember renting a bicycle. It’s over 40 KMs from Jogjakarta, so I must’ve bussed it to some small town and biked from there.
Borobodur is as impressive as it was 30 years ago.
Sight or Insight of the Day – Jogjakarta and Borobodur
When we leave the Krui Surf Camp, Zane drops us at the bus terminal. We realize that we forgot to pay the remainder of our beer tab (an honours system for grabbing cold ones from the cooler). In an email, we offer to send Zane the cash. He suggests donating it to a mosque instead. We wait until we find a modest mosque that can use the money – not a giant Saudi-backed showpiece.
In Jogjakarta, we come across the tiny Nurul Huda mosque in a narrow alley.
