Caving at Gunung Kidul and Krakal

On Sunday we all woke up early (well at 8 to go caving). After meeting at UC at 9am and finally getting organised (it took us an 1.5 hours to sort out bikes, helmets, who was riding with who etc.) we finally set of to gunung kidul to the south of Yogya.

I was boncenging with a guy called Ang who I had only met once before, briefly just after I arrived in Yogya. Luckily, he was hilarious and spoke english well so with a combination of english and indonesian we were able to converse on the 2 hour ride to Gunung Kidul.

After arriving in Wono Sari we sought out the local travel agent for directions to the caves. Unfortunately, joel forgot to factor in that it was a sunday and the travel agent was closed. So we shuffled from police post to police post until we finally got directions to the caves.

The ride to the first cave was the highlight of the day. We ended up on back streets that were basically made of rocks. Full on 4WD material and us on scooters! Excellent! The roads were also slightly flooded making them extremely slippery and there were definately a few times we nearly came of the bike. But giggling like crazy people we slowly drove to the cave. The outcome being a very muddy 13 people! The cave was kind of cool - though nothing special if compared to Margaret River caves - but definately worth the visit.

After wandering around for a hour or so it was off to the next cave. Back along the crazy track asking farmers along the way where the cave was. Turns out we'd driven straight past it on the way to cave 1. The second cave was much cooler. We walked down a bush track to the caves and ended up rock climbing to the entrance of the cave. Because of wet season we couldn't enter but it was fun all the same.

We then trudged back up the hill and most of us decided to make a detour to the beach on the way home. The beach at sunset was beautiful and I'm glad we have a field trip there next weekend. After that we drove back in the dark, stopping at bukit bintang for dinner.
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Aku Malas Dong!

So i've now been back in Yogya for over a week and haven't updated! Maaf! This past week has been filed with a variety of experiences, both drunken and sober. I have now experienced my first trip to an Indonesian hospital and excessive Indonesian medicine, seen another appearance of Candi, gone caving at Gunung Kidul, experienced Krakal and Bukit Bintang at sunset, joined a gym and done Aerobics, watched jazz, eaten a lot, gone to an 80s theme foreigner party, and basically done a lot.

Monday we went to our first aerobics class and it was hilarious. We walked in late (jam karet) only to have no teacher. Five minutes later in walked the teacher complete in her 80s style exercise out fit. Short shorts cover with a lycra skirt and mid-drift top. The class itself made me laugh so much. My distinct lack of coordination meant I kept tripping over my feet and generally being a major klutz.

After aerobics Katrina and I decided to be rajin, collected out computers and went to study. We managed to get a couple of hours in and then were met by Fajar who decided he wanted to take us to Bukit Bintang to watch the sunset. It was definately worth it even though we boncenged for nearly two hours on the back of speedy gonzales bike.We then got a message that friends of ours were going to nanamias (apparently it's the best pizza in Yogya) for dinner so we got back on the bikes raced back to Yogya, ate and then ended up and then ended up sitting on a mat listening to live jazz, it was amazing.

Tuesday I woke up with a headache, a cold and just a general feeling of being unwell. After struggling through 6 hours of class i was beat. In spite of this we all trudged to moviebox and watched Merah Putih. An Indonesian movie about the revolution and the struggle for independence. Despite it being an Indonesian movie it was surprisingly well made and we're definately going to watch the second one soon.

Wednesday I was still sick so slept in and then did homework until class started at 1pm. My friend Dimas returned after an exceedingly long trip (well it was only 3 weeks but seemed longer) home to Kalimantan. We met him after class, drunk coffee and then went to Matt's kos to eat sate that had been brought all the way from Kalimantan. It was delicious. It's tradition here to buy souvenirs from whereever you go. This can be anything from foodstuffs to small gifts like bracelets. I went home pretty early though because of a raging fever and being really really unwell.

Yasmin

Thursday = Indonesian Hospital. Since dengue and typhoid are rampant here and i had been unwell with a fever for 3 days Ina took me to hospital to see a doctor. I found it quite intimidating (i had doctors at the best of times) and since my indonesian is still very basic i couldn't communicate enough. Lucky for me Ina is a medical student and knows exactly how to get things happening. I went into the public clinic and came out with a prescriptions for 5 different medicines.I am now also a member of an Indonesian hospital and have the card to prove it.

Thursday was also Yasmin's birthday so we headed to Pondok Cabe for food with all our local and international friends. Luckily I was feeling heaps better and afterwards we went to a cafe where fun was had by all - cake was brought out, candles were blown out several times and singing was continued for several minutes as we went through both the indonesian and english versions.

I was determined I would be healthy by friday because I was going out partying - one thing about living here is everything is new so you dont want to be sick and miss out. We had an 80s theme party with the international students fondly nicknamed "The Hot Germans" although theyre from all over Europe. It was a messy night by all and we ended up at a club all incredibly intoxicated. Candi made another welcome appearance.

Saturday we all were nursing hangovers so it was a day for AFL, movies and being relaxing. The brave managed to keep Australian's proud by drinking beer and yelling at the screen. The rest of us sipped ice tea, discussed boys in short shorts, and slept. We also went to moviebox and watched Napoleon Dynamite. I'm not entirely sure the Indonesians got the point of the movie but it was amusing all the same. We pulanged early because Sunday was a day for extreme caving and adventure!

Pulang ke Yogya

Well the past week has flown by which may have been a bad thing (aku malas dong!).

After a 2 hour stopover in Jakarta turned into a four hour without food or water (unheard of here) when we touched down in Yogya Sophie and I were drained but happy, Yogya trully has become our home and we were excited to be back. I ended up staying at Sophie's house all week because her housemates have not returned yet and my kos was completely deserted - when you live in a house with about 17 others you expect at least one of them to be home.

After an early night (by indo standards) we indulged in a Western Food hit with Fikri and his friends at a place called Parsley. Parsley is a bakery with a restaurant serving a combination of Western and Indonesian food attached to the back. It's interesting to say the least - many people dont like it because it's rather mahal by Indonesian standards and it has a slight mosquito problem but the food's nice enough and sometimes you just need that Western fix, especially because a lot of indonesian food is digoreng (fried) and Yogya food is renown for it manis flavour which involves copious amounts of sugar.

Monday was full of PR as I had a lot of it due on Tuesday for a unit i'm doing called Bahasa Indonesia Riset (Indonesian research) - YES I actually do go to Uni occasionally. This unit is designed for people going to Malang to do field research for a semester (I may be doing this). Basically you're given a research superviser for 6 months and you have weekly assignment associated with the 20 page research paper and presentation you have to produce at the end of semester - it's going to be tough work (I've never written a 20 page assignment in my life and writing it in  another language arghhh) but I think the challenge will be worth it when I have a tangible research paper to show for it and will help for my honours, which i'm planning to do in Indonesia.

However, after two classes on Tuesday Uni was done for the week because normal Uni courses had a break for two weeks for Lebaran so it was a bit of a party week. Our quiet Wednesday drinks turned into a pretty heavy night. A ridiculously drunken Sophie, a trashy Steph and me and a rare appearance of  Nathan (and lots of peanuts on the floor) the night was complete.

Mengunjungi Keluarga Ina dan Pulang Besok

Well if I thought yesterday was hectic it has nothing on today. Thankfully we were allowed to sleep in for a while before the day began - Ina's parent knew it would be busy and as the eldest daughter Ina had been working her arse off and was exhausted.

 Chilling with Sophie and Ina's Mum

When we did wake-up we mandied and had nasi goreng for breakfast and then a whole bunch of Ina's family turned up (did I mention Ina's family is huge). Well that was a photo opportunity right there as everyone lined up to get a photo with the bules. What I struggle to remember is how many of the people here have never seen a bule before little lone two bules(one being half chinese and the other being completely bule - they love my nose????).

After everyone left we went and visited the homes of Ina's family. Wow there's a lot of them. Home after home we went shook hands, ate and/or drank (and at many got more photos taken) and then left as quickly as we arrived. Some were strange with only a couple of people there whilst others were party centrals with 20 or 30 people crammed into a tiny room.

Saying Goodbye to our New Family

Today we made friends with Ina's aunt (although we've been chatting to her since wednesday). Despite being an older, under-educated (I'm reluctant to say un-educated because she's obviously had some) muslim woman in a tiny town she has very progressive ideas about women and what they're capable of (in fact many of the women in Ina's family are - I can see where she gets it from). She in particular has high hopes for Ina and supports her in here resistance to her dad's more traditional values. Ina objects to the fact she's expected to finish her degree, return to the village and get married. She wants more and doesn't want to be help back by matrimony which I totally get.

Tomorrow before we get home we're going to try out the brand new adventure park including a flying fox over a lake, rope bridges etc. It's a true adventurers playground!

Besok pulang ke Yogya!!! Yay home!

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Lebaran Day

Waduh!!! Crazy day! After getting up at 6.30 to eat and put on our traditional Muslim clothing the day just got crazier and crazier.
We started the day at the mosque for morning prayers (or in our case to take photos).

Cruising with Ina's Family and the Head of Local Government

Unfortunately due to miscommunication between ina and her dad we arrived to late for Ina and Fika to join the mass prayer - not that Ina cared much. After taking a number of photos we left (on motorbike - not easy to sit on side saddle) and drove around looking at various services. The other main service was on a field in the town where hundreds also gathered for mass prayer. It was quite a sight.
On returning home we were greeted by a number of visitors (many from the local orphanage that Ina's father sponsers). It is traditional on Lebaran Day to go visit family (or in our case important officials) to show respect and gratitude. Because Ina's dad is fairly wealthy and known throughout the town there were many visitors whom were none family members. After salam (saying goodbye) to the first stream of visitors it was off to start visiting people.
The 7 of us squeezed into a car (only a Jazz) and drove to the first stop of the day, the grandmas house. There we ate and had photos with everyone and then as quickly as we arrived we departed to the next house. After this it was funny. We went to visit the head of the military (not home), the head and sub-head of local government (both of whom we had numerous photos with) and the head of local police who was quick to introduce us to his son!!!!
We arrived back at Ina's and had a quick nap before the next stream of visitors arrived - this time with a bunch of kids who, in my opinion, had consumed too much sugar. Now I'm all for kids being themselves but it's a bit much when you end up with 5 kids attached to you and a rabbit on your lap! Arghhh!
Taking us to now where sophie and I are hiding out in Ina's room pretending to be asleep - mean but I need a break.
At this point I'm ready to go back to Yogya. Whilst this has been fun and definately a worthwhile experience the lack of freedom and the need to ask permission to go anywhere means I'm beginning to get more than a little claustrophobic.

Asalamulaikum! 

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End of Ramadhan Celebrations

What an amazing night! After another somewhat sluggish day of trying to help in preparations - in this case help the women cook - I had become a bit fed up with life in the kampung. All we seemed to be doing was eat and sleep and sleep some more and for a fairly independent person like myself I was getting a bit claustrophobic.

However, as the day went on you could feel the change in the room and see the excitement on everyones faces as they prepared for buka puasa for the final time this year and for Lebaran day tomorrow. So much cooking and cleaning was done.

Tonight after a delicious home cooked meal we went out to watch the town parade/ ride scooters through the parade. The atmosphere was positively festive and taking photos off the back of the bike provided a refreshing glimpse of the faith these people have. Despite it being an evening to celebrate the end of Ramadhan there was a lot of attention focused on me - unfortunately. The bule on the back of the bike (without a helmet on :() was a winner and the people of the town who didn't know there was bules in the town certainly do now!

Catchphrases of the night included:
"E Bule"
"Mr. Mr. Ke mana?"

Bebek and Sophie

"What your name?"
And my personal favourite the guy who had a conversation with himself before we could respond
"Halo how are you?I'm great and you? I'm good!" Huh??? I'm sure there was a question in there somewhere.

After cruising the streets for a couple of hours we went to this cool cafe that overlooks the entire town and chilled with Ina's two sisters, cousin and friend bebek (duck). We just sat there for an hour drinking juice and playing cards while watching the constant display of fireworks.

Tomorrow we're going to the mosque with ina's family in traditional outfits for Lebaran Day prayers. It should be interesting.

Selamat menyambut hari raya idul fitri 1431
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Riau day 3 - the Family Dinner (or mum's family anyway)

Today was a family day at ina's and her mums family gathered to buka puasa and give speeches etc. Whilst at home the extent of this gather might seem extravagent in both terms of size and the relationship (probably reserved for funerals and weddings at home) this is a yearly occurance here.


As the token bules we arrived home late with Ina (Ina's fault - she wanted to escape the kids) and rushed to mandi and get dressed! What wasn't expected was the entiRe family was dressed up and every other female there was wearing a hijab making sophie and I feel quite out of place as we buka puasaed.

After buka puasa we were scooted off into Ina's room where all the women were praying! We watched them pray and then before going out to dinner we put on headscarves as a mark of respect. We thought this was kind of awkward going without then appearing with but the reception we got was hilarious (and we have the photos with every single family member to prove it).

The Kids

Dinner was fabulous and the speeches touching. They were so happy to have people of a non-indonesian, non-muslim background there to celebrate with them and join in the festivities. As Ina put it in her teary speech, she was thrilled that we had come and so happy her family had embraced us with such openness and vice versa. This night definately made coming here worth it and all the more special experience.
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Day 2 Riau

Today we went to Pekanbaru for shopping and to look around. After her dad dropped us at a shopping mall we did a bit of shopping, sophie and I ate lunch (we were starving and Ina was still puasa) and then the fun began.

After a stupid photo booth computer shoot which was hilarious we went and played arcade games. Ina holding a gun, wearing a jilbab and laughing was funny (but kind of scary how much she likes shooting people). After this we chilled out a bit and then pulang.

The drive home was scary because Ina's dad drives like a crazy person. Possibly it was because we were cooking and it was already 5pm and there was at least an hour drive and the family wanted to buka puasa on time (understandably).


For dinner we cooked pasta for Ina's family. I hope they liked it.

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Riau day 1

Ina's Fabulous House

Ok so I've been in Riau a day and it's like I have a new family (sorry mum and dad). Ina's dad picked us up from the airport and we drove the 1hour to Ina's town. It was an interesting drive through the outskirts of Pekanbaru and along the streets heading here - pineapples seem to be the areas specialty!YUMMO.

Ina's dad on first appearances was this scary looking older muslim man but very soon after we realised he was not scary at all. Ina's mum is sooo nice and her sister's are hilarious! (And her cousins who seem to be a permanent fixture at Ina's house).
The house is enormous (even by Australian standards), the money made not from oil - as most people in the region - but from selling birds nests! Crazy!

Today we slept in really late and because Ina was still asleep we snoozed until 11am. Sesudah itu we went to a beautiful lake near here to see the scenery! Funniest moment of the day was the car being stopped by the police because they wanted to give us juice!!!!

The Living Room

We arrived back at Ina's house and it's filled with Kampung women who decided I looked like a doll! Slightly amusing and the world cantik has been thrown in so many times it's crazy. White people aren't seen often around here and the idea we speak indonesian as well is very unusual .

Today we've tried on traditional clothing that we need to wear with a hijab on friday and saturday YAY!


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Another week, Another adventure

Well what they say is true - time flys when your having fun and fly it has. This week was my fourth week here and I can't believe it. It feels like we've just arrived but at the same time it feels like we've been here for years. Everyone makes us feel too welcome.

It's hard to recall what's actually happened this week but there's been a lot of late nights and a lot of bule time (although I'm pretty sure we needed some).

This week marked saying goodbye to Dimas for 3 Weeks which is kind of really depressing seeing as he's my new gay best friend. Other things include a second trip to Milas (a famous Yogya Vegetarian Resto), several trips to bar bintang , Republic (where some Indo literally poored Jack Daniels down my throat), and food - lots of it.

But Indo isn't all about drinking and partying. Classes have actually started and although we haven't had much work it will be sufficient to keep me challenged - I have to write a 15+ page essay in Indo on a research topic of my choice for one subject (that's way more than I write at home). I'm also learning Javanese which is kind of amusing - a fourth language to my growing repertoire plus I just sound ridiculous. Gamelan, Ethnic Food Appreciation and Grammar complete my list of classes.

Today I'm heading to Sumatra for end of Ramadhan celebration. We're going to stay in a village with our friend Ina and her family - none of whom speak indonesian. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and will challenge our language ability drastically (most people in Yogya use at least part English in their everyday conversation even amongst themselves). So next blog shall be exciting.

Until next time sampai nanti