When I arrived at the Shah Alam bus terminal on the evening of the 8th. my handphone which i bought for 50RM went Kaput! had to depend on my cousin Zakaria's never failling disciplin for keeping promises and being on time. He picked me up and took me to his house where i passed the night. The next day he drove me to KLIA and woosh!! I am off to Jogyakarta!!. Who cares what lay ahead, i dont mind where i am heade so long as I get there! Sat beside and English gentleman and got to nkow him while watching the scenario in the plane of a very sick lady on the way back to Indonesia. We felt sorry for the man, maybe her son in trying to get into the sit infront of us while the flight crew and attendants stood and watched without giving any hand. It is easy to judge under such circumstance but when Tony my travelling companion mentioned about liabilities did i realized the reason for their reluctance to help.
I learned that Tony was on his way back to Solo and after learning that it had been raining practically every day especially in the evennings in Jogya, I asked if I could tag along with him to Solo as it is only about an hour's drive from Jogya. So there i was heading for Solo in a taxi which would had cost me about two hundred thousand Rupiah one way but was free as Tony winked and told me its on his company. He later booked me into the Novotel Hotel where he is practically a permanent resident knows jusat about everyone ther from the house keeping to the geberal manager of the Hotel. I only had to pay half price! That same evening we had a great time at the bar listening to live music and getting hit on by the local pimp who kept insisting in getting me laid. Tony talked me out of it and gave some sound advice about surviving in Java.
I could not have for a better Guru and my trip to Solo was meant to be that I met such a character who is well loved by all at the hotel and whose heart is larger that his body.
I spent the next day roaming Solo City on my own sometimes walking and sometimes riding on trishaws. I visited the Danar Hadi Antique Batik Gallery( Batik Kuno Dabar Hadi) which houses a collection of Javanese batik. Displayed in this gallery are antique batiks that were created through the period of time before and during the Dutch and Japanese occupation, till a few decades after Indonesia proclaimed its independance. There all the different designs motifs influenced by the different ethnic and cultural groups l;ike Dutch, Chinese Japanese and the many different regions of Jave itself.
Some examples are like the Batik Demak and Batik Kudus the colors of which are more cream. The batik Suwatra, Batik Jambi and batik Lampung the colors of which are darker influenced by the coffee growing regions they came from. Some Javanese Batiks are desinged in two halves, one halve for the morning and the other for the evening! Did not know that before!! Madura batiks are reddish in color while the Jogjya batiks has chocolate and white. The slanted motifs (Parang motifs) in Javanese Batiks was originally worn by the royalties. Anyone interested in knowing more about Javanese Batik (Batik Java) should make a trip here as it offers more than just a batik shopping showcase but tells more than just its history. I have always been mesmerized by the Javanese batik more than just aesthetically, I feel that this is the most sensuous wear.
The next day I decided to splurge on myself and had SPA body Massage at the Hotel and was glad that I did as the lady (Titin) was great at it and I felt like a new man walking outof the SPA. I spent the rest of the day sketching and writng and getting my this ready for the trip to Bali which I had booked at the hotel. I left Solo in the evening at five and Tony saw me off after giving me a great bear hug I had a hard time keeping back my emotions and I had never seen an Englishman who is big and loud teary eyed!! My journey has begun and i felt like i have found back a part of my old self, the Artist Traveller.
The taxi driver and I had dinner just before we entered the Airport at Joggya for my flight to Depasar. The flight was one hour delayed and as i sat having acigarette at the smoking area I met an Autrian who i offered the sit next to me remembering Tony's advice that manners does not cost anything. We struck a conversation and soon were lao9ughing our heads off over the stories i was realting of my experiences while travelling. The funniest par was telling him how i found myself sitting on a plane headed for Jakarta by mistake instead of the one for Denpasar!!
There i was all psyched up and praying and doing my ZikhruAllah while waiting at the terminal and reading The great Sheikh Kadir Al jilani just to saty focus spitiually and so on... and ended up getting on the wrong plane!! There I was sitting at the window sit minding my own business and suddenly there a little commotion in the ailse and then two kids sat beside me strange looks while their mother hung out in the ailse complaining to the stewardess and the rest of the flight attendance. Then I heard my bame called on the speakers and walla!! get off the plane or you will up in Jakarta and your luggage in Denpasar! No Sir you dont that to happen not in Indonesia! Imagine that, a world traveller like me making this mistake, like hey you can take the wrong bus or the wrong train for crying out loud! But the wrong Plane!!?
So, I tagged along with with Joachim and his felow Austria Stephan taking the same taxi together to Kuta Beach where we stayed at the Surga Hotel which cost 100 thousand Rupiah a night for a single room. Not bad! for i culd be taken for a ride in the middle of the night and landed at another expensive hotel after paying through my nose for the taxi.
I learned that Tony was on his way back to Solo and after learning that it had been raining practically every day especially in the evennings in Jogya, I asked if I could tag along with him to Solo as it is only about an hour's drive from Jogya. So there i was heading for Solo in a taxi which would had cost me about two hundred thousand Rupiah one way but was free as Tony winked and told me its on his company. He later booked me into the Novotel Hotel where he is practically a permanent resident knows jusat about everyone ther from the house keeping to the geberal manager of the Hotel. I only had to pay half price! That same evening we had a great time at the bar listening to live music and getting hit on by the local pimp who kept insisting in getting me laid. Tony talked me out of it and gave some sound advice about surviving in Java.
I could not have for a better Guru and my trip to Solo was meant to be that I met such a character who is well loved by all at the hotel and whose heart is larger that his body.
I spent the next day roaming Solo City on my own sometimes walking and sometimes riding on trishaws. I visited the Danar Hadi Antique Batik Gallery( Batik Kuno Dabar Hadi) which houses a collection of Javanese batik. Displayed in this gallery are antique batiks that were created through the period of time before and during the Dutch and Japanese occupation, till a few decades after Indonesia proclaimed its independance. There all the different designs motifs influenced by the different ethnic and cultural groups l;ike Dutch, Chinese Japanese and the many different regions of Jave itself.
Some examples are like the Batik Demak and Batik Kudus the colors of which are more cream. The batik Suwatra, Batik Jambi and batik Lampung the colors of which are darker influenced by the coffee growing regions they came from. Some Javanese Batiks are desinged in two halves, one halve for the morning and the other for the evening! Did not know that before!! Madura batiks are reddish in color while the Jogjya batiks has chocolate and white. The slanted motifs (Parang motifs) in Javanese Batiks was originally worn by the royalties. Anyone interested in knowing more about Javanese Batik (Batik Java) should make a trip here as it offers more than just a batik shopping showcase but tells more than just its history. I have always been mesmerized by the Javanese batik more than just aesthetically, I feel that this is the most sensuous wear.
The next day I decided to splurge on myself and had SPA body Massage at the Hotel and was glad that I did as the lady (Titin) was great at it and I felt like a new man walking outof the SPA. I spent the rest of the day sketching and writng and getting my this ready for the trip to Bali which I had booked at the hotel. I left Solo in the evening at five and Tony saw me off after giving me a great bear hug I had a hard time keeping back my emotions and I had never seen an Englishman who is big and loud teary eyed!! My journey has begun and i felt like i have found back a part of my old self, the Artist Traveller.
The taxi driver and I had dinner just before we entered the Airport at Joggya for my flight to Depasar. The flight was one hour delayed and as i sat having acigarette at the smoking area I met an Autrian who i offered the sit next to me remembering Tony's advice that manners does not cost anything. We struck a conversation and soon were lao9ughing our heads off over the stories i was realting of my experiences while travelling. The funniest par was telling him how i found myself sitting on a plane headed for Jakarta by mistake instead of the one for Denpasar!!
There i was all psyched up and praying and doing my ZikhruAllah while waiting at the terminal and reading The great Sheikh Kadir Al jilani just to saty focus spitiually and so on... and ended up getting on the wrong plane!! There I was sitting at the window sit minding my own business and suddenly there a little commotion in the ailse and then two kids sat beside me strange looks while their mother hung out in the ailse complaining to the stewardess and the rest of the flight attendance. Then I heard my bame called on the speakers and walla!! get off the plane or you will up in Jakarta and your luggage in Denpasar! No Sir you dont that to happen not in Indonesia! Imagine that, a world traveller like me making this mistake, like hey you can take the wrong bus or the wrong train for crying out loud! But the wrong Plane!!?
So, I tagged along with with Joachim and his felow Austria Stephan taking the same taxi together to Kuta Beach where we stayed at the Surga Hotel which cost 100 thousand Rupiah a night for a single room. Not bad! for i culd be taken for a ride in the middle of the night and landed at another expensive hotel after paying through my nose for the taxi.
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