Saturday in Yogyakarta

According to the tour package we purchased, this was our busy day. Borobudur, bird market, Sultan's palace, silver market, puppet show. Alas, it was not to be.

We started our morning eating a 6 AM breakfast at the hotel. By 6:45 we were on our way to Borobudur. The drive took nearly an hour. Our guide provided background on the city, the government, and the geography. We did our best to stay awake. The drive presented several photo opportunities - a water buffalo plowing a field (with farmer in tow), steam coming from the active volcano that towers over the landscape, beautiful rice plantations. Of course, I didn't take any pictures.

We arrived at Borobudur shortly before 8 AM. The national park and world heritage site requires we use their guides, so our guide handed us over to a park guide and we were off. Well, almost off. It was time for my son's feeding. Instead of climbing the temple in the early morning, before the crowds and the heat, we finally got started around 9:15. By then, crowds of school children had arrived. Apparently, their teachers had instructed them to practice their English by bothering interviewing tourists.  They seemed to prefer my father-in-law over any of the rest of us.  They kept stopping him to interview him, take pictures with him, ask him how well they spoke English.

In the middle of the night, we noticed our daughter had a fever.  We woke her and gave her some medicine, and that brought it down.  We gave her medicine again in the morning - the last we had with us - when it had returned, and it went down again.  When we were finally ready to climb the steps - the one hundred or so steps - to the top of the temple, her fever was back and she was lethargic.  The sun was hot.  She was hot.  Everyone but her was sweating, so we knew her fever was back.  Climbing the stairs of Borobudur is strenuous. 

Carrying a three-year-old child as you climb the steps is even more difficult.  Doing it while you are also carrying a baby in a sling is next to impossible.  Good thing my wife has been working out!

Kidding.  I carried our daughter, my wife carried our son.  Half way up, we stopped so my wife, daughter and son could sit in the shade and my father-in-law and I completed the climb and the tour.  This time I took great pictures.

Legend has it that inside one of the bells atop the temple is a lucky Buddha.  If you make a wish and reach your arm through the hole and touch his middle finger, your wish will come true.  If you touch his foot, you will have bad luck.  Most people's arms are not long enough to reach the fingers.  My simian arms (that reach my knees when I'm standing upright) were long enough to reach the middle finger.  I'll let you know if my wish comes true.

My daughter was still burning up - and still not sweating - so I called my admin and asked her to find out if there was a doctor in the city I could take her to.  Our medical service advised us to take her to the Jogja International Hospital.  We went to the emergency room and, just like in the US, 30 minutes later we saw a doctor.  They said she had a fever and head cold symptoms.  They assumed Dengue Fever, but said to wait another two days and if the symptoms persisted, get a blood test to confirm.  They immediately gave her medicine for the fever, and provided us prescriptions for continued treatment of the fever and the head cold symptoms.  We filled these in the hospital pharmacy.  Total cost of this side trip:  $12.

Yep, $12.  Emergency visit was $5 for the doctor, $0.70 for the adminstrative fees.  The prescriptions were $3.50 each.  Who needs insurance at those prices?

The hospital was enough for the day.  We returned to the hotel for lunch and spent a boring afternoon at the hotel with my daughter banned from swimming by the doctor, so she missed out on the pools.

 

This time I got the massage while everyone else took a nap.  We had an early dinner and, once again, went to bed early.

Friday in Yogyakarta

Friday morning my son, daughter, wife, father-in-law and myself hopped a plane for the short, 55 minute trip to Yogyakarta, a city on the southern coast of Java. I have been looking forward to our Yogayakarta trip since we arrived. A city of approximately 3 million people, Yogyakarta is the home of Batik artistry, stone carvings, a ruling monarch (the Sultan, who acts as the governor), an ancient Hindu temple and, what I was most looking forward to, the largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia, and the oldest in the world.

Our flight arrived without issue, and our guide, "Bobby", met us just outside baggage claim. First order of business was to visit Prambanan Temple, a 9th century Hindu dedication to the Trimurti, located just a few minutes drive from the airport (I'll let Wikipedia provide the detailed history). Arriving at the temple shortly before noon, we walked the sacred grounds in scorching heat and enjoyed every minute of it. Our infant was in a sling on my chest and I carried an umbrella to block out the sun. We took photos, video, played on the swings at the nearby playground (that they did NOT build in the 9th century), and enjoyed causing the "shy lady" fuchsias to close when we touched them - our daughter liked this part best.

There were two other temples on the same grounds that we did not visit. Our son needs to eat every four hours. He eats at 4 AM, 8 AM, noon, etc until 8PM when we put him down for the night (yeah!). Because we arrived at the temple so close to noon, he needed to eat. When he needs to eat, he lets everyone know. Loudly. Without prejudice. So, we scurried back to the car with tremendous haste after entering just one of the temple's dedicated structures.

We left the temple and went to a famous Batik artist's studio. While my wife fed the baby, and my daughter slept, my father-in-law and I learned the painstaking process of making a Batik and viewed many of the tapestries - silk and cotton - for sale. I was shocked at the price (it was much lower than I was expecting) so I bought three.

I always enjoy the bartering aspect, though I truly don't know if I'm getting ripped off or getting a good price. I guess if we're both happy with the price paid, that's all that really matters.

When our son was fed (and in his afternoon siesta), I asked my wife to come look at the one I liked, and see if there were any she wanted. They quoted us prices of $250, $200 and $30. I told them I was willing to pay $250 for the whole bunch - a little more than half. Of course they said no way, just one of them was worth that much. I thanked them for their time and walked away. They countered with $300 for the group. I countered with $275. They said no, $300. I hesitated, pretended to consider it, then said $280. They agreed.

When they started to complete the sale and entered 2,800,000 Rupiah in the Visa POS terminal, I told them that wasn't correct. In Indonesia, to keep math simple, most people use 10,000 Rupiah as the conversion rate. The actual rate - and the one Visa will charge me - is around 9,250. They were trying to pick up the rest of their $300 counter-offer by hoping I was not aware of the current exchange rate! These guys are smart. Travelers have to be smarter to get a good deal.

After the Batik shop, we checked in to our hotel, the Hyatt in Yogyakarta. Our driver pulled the van into the hotel turn-around and a young woman in traditional Batik greeted us with a sweet smelling, white flower lei. The porters unloaded the luggage and, as we walked on the teak-wood deck over the koi pond, the hostess banged a gong, announcing our arrival. We checked into our rooms only to discover they were not adjoining, and both had King beds - two beds, 5 people. My father-in-law got one room, the four of us took the other. I did manage to procure a crib for our son to sleep in.

I took a nap with the kids, my father-in-law went to the pool, and my wife went to the spa for a massage. We ate dinner at the main restaurant in the hotel and, after a brief walk around the grounds, called it a night. We were leaving for Borobudur - the Buddhist temple - at 6:30 the following morning and needed to get our rest.

Catching up

It's been a while since I've posted an update. I'd like to say that visiting family, work demands, and other commitments kept me busy. They have, but the real reason I haven't posted is I've just been lazy. So, let me get everyone caught up.

My father and sister arrived from the on 5 December. I took the day off work so I could meet them at the airport. After a quick trip back to the house to drop off the luggage, we all went to Hacienda for dinner and then crashed for the evening. They'd had a long day, I'd had a long week.

Saturday we all went to Taman Safari. The drive there and back is always horrible, but the park never gets old. We've never actually been to everything there, so there is always something new. We stopped in the small town we drive through so I could buy fruit. The carrots offered by the dozens of stands on the main road leading to the zoo are sufficient for the deer and other cloven hoofed beasts, but the monkeys, bears and elephants require a slightly more delectable meal. For the monkeys - which, by the way, are wild, not part of the zoo - I bought oranges. For the bears I bought mangoes. I surprised everyone in the car by buying watermelons for the elephants. The elephants loved the watermelons, and the crowd loved watching us feed them.

While driving through the lions area, I rolled down our window and growled at them...really, more like a ROAR!! Surprisingly, they didn't like that. They literally stalked our car until we left. I think we all feared they may actually attack us and that the windows may not be sufficient defense against such an attack.

The wild cats at the petting zoo were much more our speed. The lion cub was nearly asleep as my father and sister held it for their pictures. The leopard - the full grown leopard - was definitely awake, and apparently in the mood for tasting humans. It spent much of its time licking their arms. The sandpaper tongue actually drew blood on my dads arm. Good think it didn't try a little nibble. The full grown white tiger wasn't in the mood for licking, but it wasn't in the mood for pictures either. It was rather ornery. The "smile" on my father's and sister's faces had a subtle hint of nervousness and they exited quickly once the picture was taken.

The other new experience for me was actually petting one of the kangaroos. On our last visit, one came and stood right next to me, but wouldn't let me pet it. This time, I was able to reach out and touch it. The fur is soft as velvet.

Sunday we went to a children's production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I wasn't sure how good it would be, or if my daughter would enjoy it. Luckily, the musical itself was pretty good, and my daughter loved it. She really got into it and was visibly sad when Charlie didn't have a ticket in his first candy bar. The production was a bunch of expat children aged 5 - 10. We'll probably go to the next one they do.

Monday we toured Jakarta. I asked around the office for areas of the city that would be a good representation of the "Jakarta Experience". We were able to visit areas of the city I had never seen before. We went to Sunda Kelapa, which is a port in Old Jakarta. It's a journey back in time to 100 years ago. The boats used for shipping out of Sunda Kelapa are the same wooden boats that they used in the 19th century. The original Indonesian headquarters of the Dutch East India company is still in use.

Nearby the old port is a neighborhood of extreme wealth and a 7-star hotel under construction. These homes are as large as the White House and have million dollar yachts tied to a dock in the back. I asked my driver who lived in them. He said "the mafia". Apparently crime really pays in Jakarta.

After a quick tour of the city, we visited Cafe Batavia, a famous Jakartan restaurant frequented by expats. It's located on a square of one of the original Dutch forts. The interior of the restaurant is decorated with black and white photos of Hollywood celebrities. The menu is a fusion of Asian and Western foods. I ordered the black pepper steak ribs, hoping it would be like the Sapi Lada Hitam I enjoy so much - it was okay, but not like my normal black pepper beef. My dad, every the adventurous foodie, ordered a salmon sandwich.

My dad left on Wednesday morning. Wednesday night we took my sister salsa dancing at Hacienda. My wife and I watched while she tore up the floor with some of the locals. Friday night, our community hosted a party at the club house. There was traditional Balinese dancing, music....and Mexican food. Interesting combination, but it worked.

Saturday my company's President Director hosted a holiday gathering at his home. My sister watched the kiddies while my wife and I dressed in our best Batik-wear and attended the party. The company choir sang Christmas carols - and they were absolutely phenomenal. Then they had professional singers perform and lead the attendees in dancing. I made the mistake of dancing in my chair to one of the Latin beats. The singer saw me, and during the Cha Cha, pulled me up in front of the entire party and had me dance with her. When we finished, the other expats came over and thanked me for, as they put it, "Taking the grenade for the group". I guess one of the expats has to dance or sing at the party to make it complete.

It is now Monday and my sister has left. Our house is back to normal and we have no visitors on the horizon until January when my father-in-law will visit for two weeks. During his visit we'll take a quick trip to the location I've been looking forward to ever since we arrived: Borobudur. Borobudur is a 9th century Buddhist monument and a World Heritage site. I am hoping to stay at this hotel just outside Yogayakarta.

The rest of this month we'll have four-day work weeks. This Friday is a major Muslim holiday. The following Friday's are Christmas and New Years. We do not have Christmas Eve off. We have no plans, and we see that as a blessing. It was good to see everyone. We're also glad everyone is gone and we have time to ourselves again.

One last thing. My daughter, at age 3, counts to 39 in English, 10 in Spanish and 5 in Indonesian. She knows all her letters and numbers by site, and has started writing many of them. My son, at 4 weeks old started lifting his head. At 5 weeks, he started rolling over. At 7 weeks, he won't sleep through the night, but he can lift himself up on his forearms and roll over from front to back at will. Should be an interesting twenty years or so.