Absolutely Djokdja*

* The old spelling for Yogyakarta


I was in Java during the weekend. This trip was planned and arranged back in December – there were some serious ticket bargains then - and I only learnt about the crisis between Malaysia and Indonesia on Wednesday (I haven’t been following the news since Ramadan commenced). I left the office for KLIA on Friday evening and boarded the national carrier for Jakarta, landing at 10.40 pm local time (flight out was re-scheduled to depart half an hour later enabling me to perform tarawikh prayers at the airport). I ignored the pestering cabbies and went in search of restrooms (only found one in working condition at the departure level!) before settling down to wait for Andrea – her flight from Manila only landed at midnight and we then took a cab to Sofyan Hotel. Traffic was kind to us, well, it was after midnight after all and we reached the hotel after 30 minutes. However, I had told the cabbie to drive us to Sofyan Cikini (when it had in fact closed down for quite a while) not realising that we should have headed to Sofyan Betawi. And the blinking cabbie wanted a tip %#^*&*)

I woke up early on Saturday to partake my pre-dawn meal. We only left the hotel after 10 am and, after a detour to a nearby shopping centre where Andrea had some meal, took the bajaj to Sarinah Department Store. There’s even a prayer room there – how convenient! We spent a few hours there (Andrea doing most of the purchasing) before taking another bajaj to Plaza Indonesia. It was here when I discovered that tourists cannot claim the 10% sales tax though you can do that at Sarinah if you spend more than Rp5 million (if my memory serves me right) because Sarinah sells local products, namely batik.We had our break fast/dinner at Grand Indonesia before returning back to the hotel by bajaj to rest.

We had an Easy Like Sunday Morning before leaving Jakarta for our flight in the afternoon (which was re-scheduled a few times – typical of AirAsia). The domestic terminal, Terminal 3, looked really modern and new. Our bags had both exceeded 7 kg but thankfully we managed to bring them onboard. I was so happy with this that I went further and bought a batik sarong and a pouch at Batik Keris (well, there was an offer). Oh by the way, there’s a Rp30,000 domestic travel airport charge.

We landed at Jogjakarta at 3.50 pm and were already in the cab before 4 pm. We headed for Hotel Merbabu (the very same hotel I stayed at in January 2009). I had booked and paid a deposit for a room when I came in end-July so the check-in was very fast. After dumping our bags, we went out to Jalan Malioboro. I broke fast at a restaurant in Malioboro Mall. As the hotel did not provide any pre-dawn meal (boo hoo) I had to go out again to find some meal.

Because we were supposed to arrive into Jogja later, we had asked the hotel the help arrange a tour for us with Sosro Tour & Travel for a day-trip to Borobudur, Prambanan and Kraton (palace). The cost is Rp100,000 exclusive of entrance fees at Borobudur (USD15), Prambanan (USD13) and Kraton. You can pay the entrance fees in either Rupiah or USD. However, when we went to Sosro office on Monday morning, we were told that while the hotel did make a booking for us, it did not confirm our tour (this despite me asking the hotel staff numerous times). The travel agent tried to help us but could not manage to locate any of the company’s drivers. Finally she suggested we take Trans Jogja, the local bus, to Prambanan (17 km away) and then take a 2 pm tour to Borobudur for Rp65,000; this would mean there would be no trip to kraton for us but the palace closes at 12 noon in Ramadan anyway. She reasoned that the trip would take equally long had we gone on a tour and besides Trans Jogja is very safe and reliable. So we agreed and she showed us the bus stop. We paid Rp3000 each (so cheap!) and the #1A bus came almost immediately. It took us only 45 minutes to reach Prambanan. The best part was the bus also goes to the airport and Andrea and I agreed we would take it when we return to the airport the following day. The airport bus stop is across the railway track from the airport and you need to go down and up the ramps to reach the terminal building. Not to worry, it’s all very modern and convenient with walkalators.

It was already hot, hot, hot when we reached the bus terminal at Prambanan – and it was only 8.30 am! We had to walk about 15 minutes in the morning heat to reach the ticket office but fear not if you dislike walking as there are a lot of trishaws waiting to bring you there. Because of the depreciating greenback, I opted to pay in USD. If you opt to pay in the local currency, the ticket is Rp117,000 (USD13.29). We decided to take a guide and he was much, much better than the one I had last year.

We returned back to the bus terminal for our bus back to Jogja at 10.45 am and stopped at the Malioboro Mall. I bought some food while Andrea had some lunch. Then we walked back to the hotel to rest.

We set off at 1.45 pm and walked to Sosro office for our 2 pm tour to Borobudur. There were Andrea and I and a bloke from Australia in the whole MPV. Borobudur is only about 37 km away and yet it took us close to an hour to get there. We didn’t hire a guide this time and were happy with our decision to change our plans to visit Borobudur and Prambanan in that order to Prambanan followed by Borobudur. There were noticeably less people in the afternoon compared to the morning crowd when I went there last year. So it was a really good decision after all. The driver had told us we could stay until 5.30 pm but we were already back at the MPV by 4.45 pm. We reached Jogja at 5.45 pm, just in time for me to break fast.

I woke up early on Tuesday and went to a local convenience store to purchase some instant noodles-in-a-cup. Yes, a very simple pre-dawn meal (I am also fine with simple break fast meals). There were quite a few people about all buying food and pushing their food-carts, and trishaw drivers asking you to ride with them (wherever to at 3.15 am?). It rained during the night and the ground was wet and the air pleasantly cool.

We went out for a short trishaw ride around the city (but the driver then demanded double what he agreed on %#@)~). I rushed back to the hotel at 9.45 am and picked my bag and hurried over to the bus stop for my bus to the airport. As luck would have it, the bus pulled up just as I arrived and Andrea and I had a quick farewell before I paid for my ticket and boarded the bus. It was a 35-minute ride to the airport and despite reaching the check-in counter 65 minutes before departure, I managed to get seat 5A. We landed at 2.50 pm and I reached home just after 5 pm.

So that was my Merdeka weekend; hope you had a good one too!

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Arsenal visited Ewood Park on Saturday and managed to come away with three points. Kudos to Theo. Alan-yse that Alan Hansen! Love this chant line, thanks to YoungGunsBlog.

Theo let rip with such a powerful strike that it took required lengthy half-time repairs to the net

RvP is out for ankle injury. ‘He is that sort of player’ *sigh*

Shava helped to restore our lead

Customary celebration

... in front of the Gooners

My baby made his first start but was later subbed

Jogja Weekend

I managed to get really cheap MAS tickets (RM295 return!) to Yogyakarta (or Jogja) back in December for my parents and myself. We were due to leave on Friday but unfortunately, Abah wasn’t feeling well on Thursday and decided not to go. This was not the first time it happened; many a time, either he or Mummy wasn’t feeling well (usually it was him) and the trip had to be re-scheduled, cancelled altogether or only Mummy and I would proceed.

We left very early on Friday morning and took the bus to KLIA. Our flight departed at 9.20 am (I even managed to buy a shirt at Mango prior to departure; quite a few stores having their sale) and we landed at Jogja Airport 2.5 hours later. It was a small airport with no walkway connecting to the terminal building so we got down and walked in the hot mid-morning sun to the terminal. There were probably three immigration counters opened but the building was too small to accommodate all of us. Fortunately we disembarked quite quickly and hence didn’t have to stand too long in the queue. The conveyor belt – if I may call it that – was a small belt ferrying our luggage and quite a few bags were already on the floor because the conveyor belt wasn’t long enough and you need to pull your bag off it.

I had made and paid for a booking at the Jayakarta Hotel during the March MATTA Fair and the driver was already waiting for us. The hotel was very near the airport – less than seven minutes away – but about seven km to downtown. The hotel provides a free shuttle to its guests however at scheduled times so one could avail of this service.

Our room didn’t overlook the pool (a good thing because there was a company annual dinner held at the poolside the following evening); it overlooked the road that led to the hotel parking area and there was a small mosque the other side of the high fence.

After freshening up and performing prayers, we took the hotel shuttle to Jalan Malioboro. I made a brief de-tour to Jl. Sosrowijayan to make some enquiries before joining Mummy again. We walked up and down the road and went in and out of shops and yet, and yet, I couldn’t find anything to buy. I often lamented that I wasn’t able to shop when I was there in January 2009 as I had to watch out for my niece and nephew but really, even on this second trip, I still couldn’t/wasn’t able to find anything to buy. We then crossed the street to the Malioboro Mall where we had lunch. I also bought some groceries at the supermarket but that was about it. We returned to the hotel at 5.30 pm.

It was only when we returned that I noticed there was a Carrefour right across our hotel. The driver informed there were some restaurants at Carrefour so after dark, I went out to investigate. There was a bakso restaurant and a Texas Chicken restaurant or something like that. Upon further investigation, I found that the bakso restaurant sold more food than just bakso so I had dinner there and brought a packed dinner back for Mummy.

We returned to Jalan Malioboro on Saturday morning and despite a slower trek along the road, still couldn’t find anything to buy. By then I had gotten sick of batik products. We went to the mall again but even that bored me almost to tears. Finally I decided to take the beca (trishaw) for a little spin around the area. The driver brought us to the cottage industry area (which strangely included t-shirt stores which we didn’t want to get down for), more batik stores (better as Mummy and I finally managed to buy something) and a store selling bakpia and other local delicacies suitable as souvenirs. Frankly, I think the trishaw ride provided more fun. Maybe because I’d walked up and down Jalan Malioboro a few times before and yet couldn’t find anything appealing.

We returned to the hotel and braved the heavy traffic and blinding sun to Carrefour. Lunch was had at the same bakso restaurant (the food was really tasty and more importantly, cooked there and then). In contrast, a Nasi Padang/Minang stall would normally sell luke-warm (or if you’re unlucky, stone-cold) dishes with hardly any vegetable dishes – and that is one reason why I don’t take to nasi padang.

After a brief rest, we went to the hotel spa for our hour-long reflexology massage. It was different from the reflexology massage we get here where you basically sit and have the masseuse massage the soles of your feet and a bit of your calves. The one we had involved us laying down and the masseuses massaging and kneading our soles and whole legs. It got painful at times – heck, even after the massage, some parts of my legs still hurt but it was good.

Dinner was had at the bakso restaurant, yes, again.

We left yesterday morning after breakfast and our 1140 flight only took off at 1200. We landed at KLIA at 1520 and because of the track works, the ERL transit and express services were still combined. That meant we only arrived at KL Sentral at close to 5 pm. I detoured to KLCC to check out the Isetan sale but wasn’t there long. I was already home by 8 pm.

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I slept late last night, or rather, this morning as I (wisely or unwisely) watched the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and Celtic (I also watched the AC Milan and Lyon before that). I also managed to watch the Arsenal-Milan and Celtic-Lyon matches on Saturday night, much to my surprised delight (there was a channel that showed the matches, hurray. Don’t think I’d be as lucky had I gone to Thailand instead. Bendtner was there, Rambo was there too apparently – I didn’t notice him until I saw the pictures, and even Beckham was there with his boys). New boy Chamakh continued to impress with a goal – his first at the Emirates – but for all the attacking and possession, we didn’t manage to score more. (I really like Chamakh and Koscielny: both looked determined to play even if it was in a pre-season friendly. Hopefully Chamakh can get better haircut and hair advice in London too. I really don’t know what he calls his current hairstyle. And better not ask Sagna for advice.) It was a bit better last night but Celtic rallied to close the gap with two goals. Anyway, it was enough for the Gunners to lift the Emirates Cup again but only just.

Chamakh, please get a new haircut/hairstyle/hairdresser. Though of course you look much better than this poor kitty

Cesc has said that while he loves Barcelona, he’s a Gunner. Wenger said only Cesc can clear the air regarding the situation - and I wonder about this as well. Why didn’t he? Clearly he does NOT have Barcelona DNA because those with that blasted DNA sure can’t seem to stop talking about where Cesc should be.

Right, that’s it for now. Last night’s shenanigans have caught up with me so it’s time for a little siesta.

Solo Weekend

... which was hardly a solo one. I had initially planned to go to Solo and Yogyakarta (Jogja) way back in August 2008 with Delia, then decided to bring along my nephew (el niño). When my niece (la niña) heard about it, she wanted to come along too. So I bought tickets for them both. But Delilah somehow contracted chicken pox on Sunday a week before our flight so that left me all alone to handle the kids. A daunting prospect indeed. My apprenticeship for motherhood and a taster of single parenting. Me!

I could tell that neither my parents nor Akak were confident I could handle them. They kept on giving me advices, bla bla bla. To be honest, I was apprehensive too. But I was determined to prove myself.

Saturday, 24 January 2009

We woke up early today – well, I slept poorly the night before (I overnighted at Akak’s) so I was awake much earlier. We left for the airport at 0505. It was chaotic at the terminal but we managed to check in pretty quickly before making our way in. We only had enough time to visit the bathroom after morning prayers before they called for us to board the plane. We joined the very end of the queue and as most people preferred to sit on their own (selfish buggers), we had to sit separately – me across the aisle from them. As expected, el niño and la niña started their bickering in no time and taking turns crying. Oh dear God.

We landed at Solo Adisumarmo International Airport at 0820 after 2.5 hours (Java is an hour behind). Though we landed 5 minutes earlier, there were only two immigration counters (one each for the locals and foreigners) so it made no difference at all. Our bags were already waiting for us by the time we cleared immigration.

Our pre-arranged driver who introduced himself as Supri was already waiting for us (ironic considering a corruption of his name, supir, means driver in Indo lingo). I asked him to take us to a restaurant for breakfast first (he took us to Restoran Bengawan Solo for chicken rice soto) and then to a supermarket to buy some drinks.

We then went to Puro Mangkunegara, a palace built for Prince Mangkunegara (he’s not a king but a prince). In its heyday, the palace oversaw about 1500 km square of area territory but following Indonesia’s independence in 1949, the palace grounds had been drastically reduced to only ten square hectares. The prince is still around but is now a businessman.

There are three main buildings to the palace: the audience hall (pendopo agong*) to receive the audience of ordinary people; the paringitan* to receive official guests and to watch wayang kulit performances; and dalam agong* where official ceremonies are still held. We then walked to bale warni* (princess’ residence) and the building where the royal carriages were housed. There were also birds in cages hung around parts of the palace complex as the Javanese believe there are five things that make one’s life complete: house (for dwelling); horse (for transportation); wife (to ensure lineage); bird (for entertainment); and keris (for status).

* Apologies if I got the name/spelling wrong.
After that, we went to the antique market where antique and some new things were sold. We then went to see the Bengawan River (of the Bengawan Solo song fame), the longest river in Java, and while it was difficult for me to imagine anything from the muddy river, it was at its valleys where the first early human fossils outside Europe (Java man) were found. The driver also received a traffic summon for making a turn – where there wasn’t any sign prohibiting it. We had to wait at least 20 minutes for him to settle it with the police.

We then drove on to Yogyakarta (hereafter referred to as Jogja) passing small towns and paddy fields. As it is now the rainy season (it always rains in Java during Chinese New Year or Imlek), we could see young paddy being planted in the fields along the way. There was no highway between Solo and Jogja and we had to stop at a traffic light every km or so. The driver who drove ever so slowly and courteously in Solo suddenly turned maniacal behind the wheel and he weaved us around the traffic from one lane into the other and back again.

We reached Jogja after 2 pm and went to Ansor’s Silver in Kota Gede. Kota Gede is about 5 km north-west of the city and there are dozens of silver stores and silversmith in this area. We were given a brief guide on how silver is turned to silverware and jewelleries before browsing the showroom. Hunger took over soon and we left empty-handed (besides the silver products didn’t come cheap!) and proceeded to the adjacent posh restaurant for our late lunch. I wasn’t impressed with the food though and when enquired by the staff, gave a frank answer as to what I thought of the food. I don’t mind paying for good food but I do feel cheated if I don’t get my money’s worth and there’s misrepresentation between what’s printed in the menu and what is eventually served.

It had started to drizzle by the time we left the resto and as it was too late to go to a batik centre and showroom, we decided to head straight for our hotel. Our hotel was located in an alley where several other budget hostels and guest houses were (and even the Caucasian tourists stayed in that area as I pointed out to the kids).

Our room was pretty big (I booked two rooms but later emailed the hotel to request only one room but with an extra bed). However, the hotel only replied my email on Friday, a day before our arrival as to what room I’d be getting and it was a vague reply too. But the front desk gave us one room anyway with an extra bed (or rather, an extra mattress). It was OK overall but the bathroom stank a bit and there was no hot water too.

We went out after evening prayers to the well-known shopping promenade of Jogja, Jalan Malioboro, which was less than 30 metres away from the hotel (it was still raining. Good thing I packed my brolly). You can find hundreds of shops and street stalls which offer various kinds of souvenir including batik clothes, t-shirts and batik products. The road is two km in length but of course we didn’t walk the whole nine yards but if you wish to, you can do so or hire an andong (traditional horse-pulled cart) which are aplenty in the city. In fact I wish we had time to ride one too. Dinner was had at the Food Point of the Malioboro Mall.

I survived the first day!

Sunday, 25 January 2009

Breakfast was had at the second floor of the hotel (third floor to the Indonesians) where we had a view over the neighbourhood. The driver only came at 0845 as he was stuck in machet (traffic jam) and off we went to Borobudur. There were literally thousands of people thronging Borobudur today, it being a Sunday and Chinese New Year Eve. My brolly offered us what little protection from the fierce sun.

We spent close to two hours here going around the temple complex and listening to our guide. Oh, and like almost everything else in Indonesia, we had to pay for the guide. We also had to pay for parking at everywhere we stopped/parked at, even if it was a simple resto by the road (so bring extra loose change when you’re there).

Anyway, back to Borobudur. Borobudur is a glorious complex of Buddhist temple. It’s located some 40 km to the north of Jogja. It was built by the rulers of Sailendra Dynasty sometime in the 8th and 9th century. The function of Borobudur is yet unknown: was it used for worship, or as a burial site, or a monument to Buddha perhaps? What we know is that the dynasty must have employed a massive workforce to transport and carve thousands of cubic metres of stone. The name Borobudur is possibly derived from the Sanskrit words ‘Biara Buddha Uhr’ which means the Buddhist monastery on the hill. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

According to our guide, Mount Merapi’s eruption in 1006 led to the massive migration of people away from Borobudur and Jogja area for 700 years hence why Borobudur was only discovered when Raffles (he of the Singaporean fame) governed Java. The Dutch began to seriously tackle the restoration of the complex only in the early 20th century (1907-1911). Elements of nature necessitated another restoration project which lasted for 10 years (1973-1983).

Of the 504 Buddha statues, 432 are contained in open niches on the four galleries leading up to the circular terraces. 72 more sit partly visible in latticed stupas in the top three terraces. About half of all the Buddha lost their heads or arms to the earthquake. The kids had a good laugh at the sight of the headless and armless Buddhas.

At the base of the monument are a series of reliefs depicting a world influenced by passion and desire where the good are rewarded by reincarnation and the evil are punished by a lower reincarnation. There is also a story of Siddartha Buddha’s birth – how his parents were married for 20 years without a child before his mother dreamt of an elephant standing on lotus leaf. She told her husband of the dream and the husband consulted a wise man who told the couple that she would be pregnant soon. True enough, she was with child soon and during her pregnancy, she was miraculously able to heal sick people just by touching them. She was on her way to her parents to give birth but the baby arrived before she reached her parents’. She died a week after giving birth and Siddartha was then raised by his aunt.

The stupas on the centre and middle terraces (32 and 24 stupas respectively) had diamond-shaped holes representing unstability while the 16 stupas on the inner terrace had square holes representing stability. The huge stupa in the middle has no hole as it represents perfection. So the order is unstability moving to stability and ending in perfection.

As I mentioned earlier, it was a hot scorching day at Borobudur and the car air-cond was a welcome relief from the heat.

We then drove on to Ketep Pass driving along winding country road and green carpets of paddy fields. Ketep Pass is where you go for a view of the majestic Mounts Merapi and Merbabu. The former is still an active volcano but the latter is already dormant. We spent some time here looking over the lush valley around us and the mountains in the distance nibbling on our grilled corn and inhaling in fresh mountain air.

We stopped on the way back to Jogja for a simple but tasty soto lunch. It started to rain very heavily while we were finishing lunch. Good thing the resto provides some brollies that we could borrow to get to our vehicle.

Our next stop was at a batik workshop and showroom where we viewed the processes of making batik. The products were priced expensively though. The driver then took us to another batik shop where the clothes were priced more reasonably. We bought some batik products before returning to the hotel.

It rained again after dusk but we went out again to Jalan Malioboro for some shopping and for dinner.

I made it through day two!

Monday, 26 January 2009

We checked put after breakfast today and went to Kraton Yogyakarta (Yogyakarta/Sultan Palace). The palace was built in 1756 by Sultan Hamengku Buwono I. The palace is still used as residence by the current Sultan and as a Javanese art and cultural centre. Besides being a Sultan, he is also a Governor and director of Universitas Mataram (if I’m not mistaken). There is also a shop in the palace grounds owned by one of the Sultan’s daughters (he has five of them but no son. His throne will be inherited by his younger brother and son when he dies) that sells souvenirs at very reasonable prices. The goods must be priced reasonably or the common people will revolt against the Sultan.

Next, we drove to the campus of the famous Gadjah Mada University. It’s pretty huge, well, it does have the largest university student population in the whole of Indonesia. There are also Malaysian students here studying mainly medicine.

After that, we left the city of Jogja and headed for we went to Prambanan, about 20 km east of Jogja and 40 km west of Solo. We arrived at Prambanan at around noon (at the height of yet another scorching day). Fortunately, there were nowhere as many people at Prambanan as there were at Borobudur.

Prambanan is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the largest Hindu complex in Java and was built in 856 AD, i.e. some 50 years after Borobudur. It was in ruins for years and reconstruction was only attempted in 1937. 244 temples at the outer compound lay in ruins while eight minor and eight major temples stand in the highest central courtyard and while most have been restored, they were not spared the earthquake that rocked Jogja area in 2006. According to the guide, no two temples are similar (he also talked of ‘male’ and ‘female’ stones. Each temple was built with a combination of interlocking male and female stones).

There are a trinity of three main temples (built for Shiva the destroyer, Brahma the creator and Vishnu the protector). The temple dedicated to Shiva is the largest of all temples and also the artistically and architecturally the most perfect. The main spire reaches 47 m high and the temple is lavishly carved. Apart from this and two or three other temples, the other area was cordoned off to the public.

If you ask me, I much prefer Borobudur to Prambanan (hence the shorter write-up on the latter here).

We left the complex and drove on to Solo stopping at the outskirts of the city for a late soto lunch (not that superb). We reached Hotel Sadinah after 2 pm and checked in after paying Bapak Sapri for the car rental. Our room was much bigger than the one in Jogja (and I thought that was big enough) with one queen bed and one mattress (as extra bed) and some elaborate furniture. It rained a few times in the afternoon.

We went out for dinner. The hotel was at the outskirts of the city, about 6-7 km from the centre (but near to the airport, hence why I chose it. We had an early flight out the next day). We were driven to Solo Grand Mall but requested the driver to turn back and take us to Solo Square Mall instead. We only had time to have dinner; most stores were closing by the time we finished dinner.

I made it through day three!

Tuesday, 27 January 2009

We woke up early today and left after a light breakfast (the taxi was supposed to come at 0730 but he came at 0720). We reached the airport at 0735 and checked in. I was surprised to discover that the international departure tax for the tiny airport was Rp100,000! (as expensive as Jakarta). The kids wanted to board the plane early and had started queueing so we took turns standing in line.

The flight was barely full anyway (although we were not allowed to sit at rows 3-10 for God knows what reason). We landed at LCC Terminal after only two hours (the flight was supposed to take 2.5 hours). We managed to catch the 1245 bus to KL Sentral and I took them for their first LRT ride to Ampang Park - Abah was coming to pick them up and bring them back. I then returned back to KL Sentral for my bus back to micasa. (By the way, my can of drink which I packed inside my suitcase burst somewhere along the journey and spilled over my clothing and I had to hand-wash all my clothes and toiletry cases. Grrr...).

I made it! I survived! I survived their tantrums and behaviours (OK, I lost my temper a few times too and gave some lecturing) but I survived. And they survived too! I didn’t starve some kids in the end.

But I sure now have a whole new heightened admiration for single mothers. Single mothers of the world, I salute all of you!