29/11/14 Yogyakarta

Left the hotel at 8.00am by bicycle, battled the Yogya traffic for 15 minutes, then turned a corner where we found the traffic was left behind and we were in the quiet streets of a village. First rest stop of the morning we fed some buffalo. Next stop was a Tempe and Tofu home business. We were invited to join into the manufacturing process. I am sad to say 'made with ignorance' doesn't value add to a business. I am impressed with how little processing goes into these products, Tempe is Soya beans soaked, boiled, cleaned, boiled, yeast added and naturally fermented in its packaging. Tofu is soaked, cooked, cleaned, ground with water into a paste, cooked, strained, pressed, cut and soaked. I am a covert.
We arrived back to the bikes just in time for the primary school kids break time, we were swamped with smiling faces, keen to practice English and give high fives. We rode off again with a stop in a rice paddy and a brick makers shed. The girls practiced making bricks, just like making mud pies when they were little, but with more knee complaints it seems. We set off again and the rain started, we rode a little in this but fortunately our next stop was not too way away, we were welcomed with tea at the Batik painting showroom. It is filled with the final product from Indonesia's only Batik art college, university age students. The students are allowed a free hand to produce what they like so we have a great variety, from stained glass to portraits to abstract to Indonesian landscapes. We were given a display of how this ancient craft is manufactured, although the painting form is only 20 years old, it has evolved fast. We bought two pieces, it took a while to decide on the final choices, this gave the rain time to clear up a bit, it was very heavy for about half an hour. We arrived back to the hotel via back streets.
After lunch and a rest period for me and massage for Lynette, we headed into Malioboro Street which is renown for its Batik. I bought a hand made piece then we went to eat. I had Tomato soup, Lynette and I shared Tempe and Cap Cai (stir fry veges). Then coffee banana split for me banana pancake for Lynette.
Tomorrow we head to Seloliman environmental education center, we won't have power, internet or hot water so no blog tomorrow.

28/11/14 Yogyakarta

Started out at 5.00am for Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage site built around 900 AD. Very spectacular to say the least. It is a temple with no rooms, built covering a hill, all the inscriptions are on nine tiers on the outside which are read in a clockwise direction, it tells the story of the life of Buddha. The top has no inscriptions but 72 stupors each containing a Buddha, the central one originally contained a gold Buddha.
Next stop was the Palace. Yogyakarta is one of 5 special Provinces in Indonesia. It is granted this status as it is an special region governed by a Sultan. The palace was interesting, the illustrated family tree has many branches and leaves. The current Sultan has one wife and five daughters, no heir. He could take three more wives but declined to as any sane man knows, one is enough.
We walked back to the region of the hotel for lunch and a quick nap.
At 2.30pm we headed to Prambanan, it is also 9th century and is Hindu. It consist of the three main temples, three auxiliary temples, two flanking temples and 240 family temples. The main temple is dedicated to Shiva the destroyer (of evil) has 4 chambers, with shrines to Durga, Ghanish, Rishi Agastya and the main chamber for Shiva. It was destroyed in a 2006 earthquake and has been rebuilt, only opening again as recently as last month. Once again listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site and rightly so.
It was 6.00pm when we returned so most of us enjoyed a meal and beer at one of the western restaurants 'Easy Goin' but we all had Indonesian dishes, I had the Rendang (spiced and caramelized meat served with fresh veges), Lynette had Gudeg (Jackfruit and coconut milk served with boiled rice. It was delicious.

27/11/14 Pangandaran to Yogyakarta

Had a lazy morning, dining on the oats, honey and cinnamon Lynette had bought with her, if we wanted to, we could have walked back to Che Mama for a big plate of fruit salad for about $2.50. Met in the lobby at 9:15am for the one and a half hour minivan trip to Sidareja train station. We had some rally drivers who got us there with an hour to wait for the 11:15ish train. So off across the road to wander the streets to kill some time. Once on the train I went to sleep, The view was of rice paddies and banana trees before I went to sleep and of rice fields and bananas when I awoke an hour later, I don't think I missed much. We arrived at Yogyakarta Station around 3.30, a short drive later we arrived at the Indah Palace hotel. No activities were planned so Lynette and I went for a long walk, she stopped at the end of it for a foot massage, one hour cost 70,000 Rupiah (around $7.00)  she said it was great - it sent shivers up her spine.

There are a bunch of western style restaurants and coffee houses here, a bit of a change from Nasi Goreng (rice fried) and Ayam (chicken) which I have been enjoying a lot of lately. The coffee is very strong. 

26/11/14 Pangandaran and surrounds

Pangandaran is a small holiday town in the south of Java with an oversized peninsular. Where the hotels are both East and West beaches are easily accessible. Today we started by visiting the local markets, as usual it is the hub of the town, a very busy place. Next stop the prawn cracker factory, which in actuality is the bucket of fish cracker factory. Next was a local villiage where we saw the cutting down of the old coconut trees and making into lumber, the boiling of the coconut palm flower sap to make brown sugar, in this case to sell to the b-b-q sauce factory. A local puppet maker showed us his craft, a very skilled carver, then put on a one man puppet performance for us, a talented man, playing drums and clashing symbols with his feet while speaking in many different  character voices.

Next stop was meant to be a boat ride on the Green Canyon, but it was cancelled as there was too much water flowing and it was now the brown canyon. Next on the agenda was to cross a bamboo bridge, a main throughfare for  bike and human traffic. Then another beach for a very late lunch before a long drive back to Pangandaran.

We rested a little before heading out to a little restaurant called Che Mama for a very nice meal. It was expensive though, just over 10 dollars for two meals and drinks, I shouldn't have had the second drink.