Something to Declare

Post No. 6. If it’s Tuesday, Bye-Bye Bali!

Inta the hearta Yogyakarta

Tuesday, March 21. Have I mentioned the heat and humidity? It’s one thing to contemplate in February, in New York City, the idea of touring on the Equator. It’s entirely another thing to look at your smartphone and see that the temperature really is 92 degrees Fahrenheit, with the humidity making the heat index somewhere around a 104-degree steambath.

Last night (our first night in “Jogja” – the other name they use for Yogyakarta) fd we went, by daredevil motor rickshaws, to a performance of the epic Ramayana. Complete with fire, fireworks, and a brilliant performance by a 2-year-old performer:

Today’s tour began with the Kraton Yogyakarta Sultan Palace. All sorts of memorabilia of past Sultans. Also stuff from Sukarno, the first President of independent Indonesia, who served from 1945-67. Here I am, in front of his desk.

Signs telling us “Don’t Step/Don’t Sit” on any of the exhibits. We were careful not to offend, especially after noticing that our tour guide was armed:

Thence to another Batik emporium, followed by the HS Silver Workshop, where they were handcrafting silver jewelry, mainly filigree.

Sorry it’s a stereotype, but here are the men waiting outside in the heat, while the women silver-shopped in air-conditioned comfort.

Lunch at Srawung restaurant, in the midst of rice paddies. Finished up at Prambanan Temple, an array of structures built in the Ninth Century by a king from the Sanjaya dynasty, and dedicated to the Hindu deities Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu (destruction, creation, and protection, respectively).

Tomorrow we visit Borobodur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). After lunch in Jogja, we’ll be off to the airport for the last third of the trip, Malaysia, beginning with Malaysian part of Borneo. Back to you soon!