A mish-mash of my Jogja trip.
I was quite surprised with myself that I did not really had much appetite for food while in Jogja. Maybe it's because I was chugging water all the time for fear of collapsing in the heat. Tsk tsk, I can be such a puteri lilin sometimes ;P.
I asked what is a must-eat in Jogja and was told it was Nasi Gudeg, which is basically rice with stewed jackfruit, served with rendang-like chicken and kulit cape ('sapi' skin, I found out). It comes in many variations; with chicken, komplit etc. Mi baso was everywhere too mainly sold by pushcart vendors.
So, for my first meal there I had nasi gudeg ayam at the roadside stall ('lesehan pojok') along Jln Malioboro, and ordered some lalap as well; a side 'salad' of raw sliced cabbage, cucumber and some ulam served with super hot sambal that had me in tears. Later I was told my becak-man that the locals won't be seen dead eating at those stalls, it's only for tourists and out-of-towners.
Street vendors are everywhere, here the lady sells nasi gudeg.
Wasn't crazy with the taste of this teh botol, I thought it tasted very 'pharmaceutical' but it was strangely addictive especially when served chilled.
I did not have the heart (nor guts) to try out Kopi Luwak - firstly it's USD 8 per cup and secondly, it's basically coffee beans out of a civet's backside.
After dinner I walked the whole length of Malioboro, with a side swerve into the mall, where I tried a keropok ikan Palembang (just okay) and also got myself a refreshing glass of yummy lovely avocado juice, drizzled with chocolate syrup (why? I forgot to ask them to hold this).
Wandered in and out of the many batik and souvenir shops, subjecting myself to endless friendly harrassment from the sales staff. Oh dear. I got a tee and a Mraz hat :)
Becak-men were also a plenty, and I spotted these interesting ones:
Dedicated to RvP.
This is for Stevie G.
Barca. Should be Henry.
This guy, I don't know who from Inter.
Somewhere near the hotel, I went to a batik painting shop; apart from the common patterns there were some really good artwork. Got myself a small black and white one.
Art Studio owner - I forgot his name.
Went to bed at midnight, drifted in and out of sleep, with a little bit of anxiety on the possibility of missing my 5:00 am pick up to the temples the next morning. Oh, and I couldn't charge my phone or camera battery as they didn't have a three-pin adapter. Hmmph.
* * * * *
Bedhot Resto, where I had lunch of Java fried rice and spinach soup.
eFeM Resto, where Masami and I had dinner before the Ramayana show.
I found the gangs (back alleys?) of Jln Sosrowijayan fascinating; they deserve a post of their own.
* * * * *
After my temple outing, I went to the Tugu train station to buy my ticket to Bandung the next day. The one-way ticket on executive class costs Rp 160,000; with an ETD 0927 hrs and ETA 1745 hrs.
The counter service was painfully very leisurely; the young girl was thankfully all smiles.
Waiting for my 0927 Lodaya Pagi train.
I was a bit fearful of crossing the rails just like that, even though it's safe as there are security personnel here and there. Railwayttrackcrossingphobia, that's a new one you read it here first.
I enjoyed Jogja very much, it's small and laid back yet big enough to have everything and it's got some kind of hippie vibe :). There were some places I didn't get to go like the Kraton (closed early) and Kota Gede so I really would like to return one day.
Next : onwards to Bandung!
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