Yogya
Trip Start
Oct 29, 2009
1
29
36
Trip End
Dec 24, 2009
Where I stayed
Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Our first full day in Yogya we arose very early to make the hour and a half trip to Borobudur, the ancient Buddhist temple. Borobudur was one of the reasons I wanted to take this trip, and it did not disappoint. After making it back to town around midday, I spent a couple of hours shopping that afternoon. In the evening, we attended a Javanese dance performance.
For our second full day in Yogya, we toured the city on bicycle rickshaws. Before leaving the hotel, our guide told us that a stop at the local batik art studio was included. No one in the group was particularly interested, but we had to go, and he insisted we didn't have to buy anything--just watch the demonstration for fifteen minutes and go. Well, every one of us ended up buying some batik artwork!
After the impromptu shopping extravaganza, we continued on to the Sultan's Palace, which wasn't particularly impressive. That afternoon we headed out to Prambanan, the ancient Hindu temple complex which was badly damaged by an earthquake a few years ago and is still undergoing reconstruction.
Sadly, Yogyakarta was also the start of my illness. I had gotten a sore throat in New Zealand, which I treated effectively with over the counter lozenges. So when I felt the same sore throat coming on in Indonesia, I tried the same thing. Alas, the lozenges did not work and my illness worsened in subsequent cities.
