Solo

From the tourist hub of Bb we traveled an hour north to Solo by local train. Solo has no tourists. And the reason for this is probably there’s not much to see in Solo though it is a cultural center. The highlight of the three days there was a beautiful performance, Vayan Urang (people theater), with gamelan music and dancers.

The only other person staying at our guesthouse was an… interesting character from Australia. The first night we met him he was quite drunk with a new local friend who was supposedly going to find this Australian man, of about 75, an Indonesian wife. His new friend from Solo turned out to be an interesting piece of work as well, we found out later, while he pontificated to us during one very hot and lazy afternoon the virtues of Islam especially how it is the one true religion, and my personal favorite moment was when he compared women to rice fields.

Becak (aka cyclo) ride in Solo.

Borobudur

The most touristy attraction we visited was Borobudur (Bb) a massive, I think Lonely Planet is calling it the biggest, Buddhist temple in the world. It was built like a pyramidal layer cake of black stone. We spent our first afternoon in town walking around the perimeter of the grounds in hopes of finding a secondary entrance in order to avoid the outrageous entrance fee for tourists. Despite our best efforts it was unavoidable entering through the super deluxe/VIP/air con special entrance for tourists. The entrance fee for international people was $10 US (126.000 Rp). The entrance fee for locals was 15.000 Rp ($1.50 US). To put this in perspective my bed for the night was 20.000 Rp ($2), my supper 4.000 Rp ($0.40) and the 1 hour bus trip 10.000 Rp ($1). Once I got over the shock of spending 70.000 Rp in one place (I conned my way into getting the student discount with my driver’s license) I joined hoards of Indonesian school children on a field trip to Bb. It seemed for the school kids I was a better attraction than the temple, many of them stopping me for a “picture miss!”
An unfortunate Buddha statue on Borobodur.

Mmm Java

I really, really liked Java. The food was fantastic and cheap. The local people were friendly, and some places totally unique. I’m traveling with a Swedish/Maltese duo. We’ve crossed all of East Java to Bali on public buses and an economy train. Probably the best transport deal I’ve had in my life was the 9 hour train between Solo and Probolinggo (500 km ish) for 25.000 Rp = $2.50.

Delicious "warung" street food in Jogja.

Jogja

I made the executive decision, as the solo member of my traveling entourage, to fly directly to Yogyakarta (pronounced Jogjakarta and affectionately known as Jogja which quite frankly makes me smile every time I say it) skipping Jakarta and the 8 hour train journey through rice fields to get here.

At the airport I successfully leeched onto another couple traveling in the same direction as me. It's been quite interesting explaining to everybody we meet that we're from Canada, Sweden and Malta individually.

Rooftops of Jogja.

Jogja is the seat to the only sultan in Indonesia... or so I've read. It's primary tourist attraction is said sultan seat aka The Kraton. We have tried four times to get into this building. Each and every time our mission has been thwarted. Either by overly friendly locals diverting us to batik gallery scams (they come with free tea so as long as you don't buy anything it's a good time), or overly friendly locals telling us it's not open yet/it's actually closed/ it's open special tonight only etc etc etc. We actually never made a fifth and final attempt deciding it was probably a sign and for the best that we not actually visit The Kraton.

good times and t-storms

If Disney was to make a city (and yes I realize there's already a D. World and Land neither of which I've actually visited) I believe it would bare a striking ressemblance to Kuala Lumpur. Possibly I've been in Asia too long but, to me, KL felt extremely orderly, safe, friendly and uber colourful. The buildings were all quite attractive and there were many a palm lined street. Even the Petronas Towers were very attractive and I usually find skyscrapers quite ugly.

The Petronas Towers.
I guess Disney would have made a more pedestrian friendly city than KL actually is. The core of the city is actually quite condensed so it was easy to cover distances on foot. That is until your side walk disappeares and you find yourself negotiating the flower beds in the middle of a traffic circle.

I had a really good time in KL. The hostel worked out, there was a nice courtyard with shelter from the crazy afternoon thunderstorms, good people and a nice vibe.

What's that smell?

Just for the record, the durian does smell. Actually, it reaks. I've been facinated by the concept of the durian since I first heard about it during the KL Commonwealth Games. Turns out that was more than a decade ago. That made me feel really old. But I vividly remember a special report done on CBC about the curious case of the fowel smelling fruit and the Malaysian devotion to it.

The infamous durian fruit.

My first introduction to its smell was on my way to hostel no. 2. I was feeling quite tired, carrying my pack, and a little bit lost. (I was looking for a KFC. According to my directions I needed to turn right there. Somehow I'd managed to walked passed the biggest KFC in Malaysia). Anyway, walking down the street minding my own business and suddenly I'm surrounded by this overwhelming, weird, and generally unpleasant, durian smell. Can't say I got out my stash of ringits to buy one right then and there. They are actually very large. I'm keeping my eye out, for more durian stalls and another sucker tourist to go halvsies with...

KL

Despite a grade A day in the Cameron Highlands I decided to move on. The students had to get back to Singapore for midterms (!) and I figured I'd leave on a high note and try and make up for some lost time. I've nixed my plans to go to the Perentian Islands due to budget and time restraints. And Singapore is on the chopping block depending on what I find out about flights to Jakarta.

I had a bumpy entrance to Kuala Lumpur (KL) which involved about 2 hours of riding the monorail back and forth (which means I've seen the two towers many times and from every angles already) to find a hostel with an open dorm bed. I've landed in a sweet place so I'm happy.

It's raining, which it does a lot in Malaysia especially in the afternoon. I'll try and do some more concrete planning, i.e., book a flight to Indonesia.

A visit to a KL mosque.