INDONESIA (Java)

DAY 5

We wanted to just get a ride to the Yogykarta kraton (or palace) but the becak (bicycle rickshaw) driver talked us into renting him for the entire day (for only about US 50¢ more). It turned out to be very handy. The palace was beautiful and we even got to enjoy some nice gamelan music.

We were then peddled to the local bird market where there were all kinds of birds, chickens, a few cats and mongooses for sale. The traffic was amazing - bikes, pedestrians, cars, motorcycles, becaks (bicycle rickshaws), ragged horses pulling carts - and everyone has the right of way. Constant noise.

In the afternoon, we watched a shadow puppet show put on by students. Our becak driver came in and sat with us a bit, explaining all the characters. The shadow puppets are made using water buffalo leather for the body, horn for the sticks, and bone for the joints.

We learned the catch for hiring a driver for a day was all the souvenir stores (such as masks, shadow puppets, etc) that we were 'required' to see. But we didn't mind; our driver was friendly, taught us plenty of helpful Indonesian phrases, and even haggled to get us some good prices.

We came home, rested, and at 10 pm caught the bus for our Mt Merapi climb. After a wild uphill drive, all the while avoiding mongooses crossing the road, we arrived at midnight at a small shack run by guys decked out in Himalayan-like outfits (it wasn’t cold out, by the way).

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