Joe’s a Teenager!!

From From Bali to Prambanan then to Borobodur – 2014-12-09

We had a great day yesterday after arriving in Yogyakarta the day before (the 9th), hiring a car a driver and heading straight for Candi Prambanan where we spent the morning wandering through the temples dedicated to the different deities of the Hindu religion.

From From Bali to Prambanan then to Borobodur – 2014-12-09

Helen shouted me to a GoPro Hero 4 black edition on the way out of Darwin so we captured some of this historical architecture in 4K colour.

After Prambanan we stopped at a restaurant located in rice fields for a traditional lunch. When we first got off the plane we had a bowl of Ba’so which is a meatball soup and is so common in Indonesia it could well be the Indonesian equivalent of a pie or sausage roll.

We drove onto Borobodur and after checking into the wonderful Manohara Hotel situated at the foot of Borobodur we headed straight to the temple and did the right thing by walking around each of the 9 levels (or ten if we include the ground) before ascending to each level above.

It is true to say that once you have reached the top, a sense of serenity and calmness that slowly envelopes you on the journey upwards rewards the eyes and soul with a vista among Bhudda statues that does in fact clear the head of unimportant things as you reflect.

From Dawn at Borobodur – Birthday and Anniversary – 2014-12-10

Back down on Earth the gauntlet of souvenir sellers required the maintenance of some of the tranquillity secured at the top of Borobodur to ensure a calm trip back to the hotel.

A dinner in the low light at the foot of the temple was a fitting was to see in Joe turning 13.

On the morning of his birthday we ascended again and took in the wonderful view of morning cloud, sunrise and silhouettes of volcanoes competing or rather complimenting the magnificence of the stupas and Buddha images, carved from the very rock offered up to the surface as lava from these once fiery gargantuans of our geological landscape.

One, Gunung Merapi continues to sometimes wreak havoc, with an explosion in 2010 spreading ash which turned to mud for a 40km radius around the volcano, destroying much plant life in that ring of destruction. The “cold lava” (solidified lava rocks) resulting from the eruption blocked rivers leading to inevitable flash flooding and damage as the deadly rocks made their way down the mountain.

After the morning spectacle of Borobodur we made our way back to Yogyakarta and our new hotel located just 150 metres from Yogyakarta’s most famous monument, The Tugu monument.

Through the wonders of Facebook, we knew that Joe’s cousin Fayth and her partner Kurt had arrived in Yogyakarta that morning and we arranged to catch up for coffee and bite to eat to extend the family celebration beyond just us three.

Catching up with Fayth and Kurt in Yogya 2014-12-11

We had a lovely sojourn down through Marlioboro street, crossing the railway line near the main train station. Along this streets are clothes and artefact sellers along with a rich night market of eateries. I think Yogyakarta does the “pop-up restaurant” on the sidewalk very well. Synthetic straw mats are laid out on the sidewalk, posters advertising dishes places and items like a cloth, toothpicks, sauce and ashtray are placed on each mat where customers take their shoes off and lounge on the mat with accessional buskers or musicians in search of an audience wander from mat to mat into the wee hours of the morning.

We know this because our walks took us late into the evening, actually into this morning where we had a  well deserved sleeping, rising at 5:30.

Today we are off to the Sultan’s palace via Marlioboro street again and hope to fit in the old architecture of Kote Gede, the Intramuros of Yogyakarta.

So our son is a teenager, officially taller than his dad and reflected with Fayth and Kurt last night on the pros and cons of being an only child on travelling journeys with parents. I am not sure whether as an only child he will be scarred for life by the experience of being the only child we can take photographs of… or force to sleep on an extra bed in the same hotel room… Only time will tell.

Pictures uploaded – but will be linked tonight (have to hit the road)