We have reached Yogyakarta (Y pronounced as J). It is considered the center of Javanese culture with gamelan (music) and wayang (puppets) galore. The overnight train ride itself was a terrible experience of too much light and stiff limbs; however, the kindness of one innkeeper upon our arrival saved us from near death as we were able to crash on the couches for a few hours to find out if a room would come available (note: we had arrived at 5 AM and did not sleep a wink on the train).
Waking up a few hours later to free instant coffee, we decided to hang out and see if we could stay. The place seemed pretty nice and social with quite the lovely artistic ambience. The first person to join us near the free coffee was an older Irish man. He told us he was hung over and needed coffee. Then he explained that he and his girlfriend came to Java but upon reaching the hotel she dumped him. He finished his coffee, went to the hotel’s fridge, and got a beer.
Time check? 7:45 AM. I thought of my college friends celebrating our beloved Doghead (St. Patricks day celebration, wake up at the crack of dawn, wear green, drink) and realized if I had had more than 2 hours of sleep I might have joined in on the morning pick-me-up.
We were quickly joined by his Swedish friend, ending up swapping stories and watching the Irish man have a second beer. Then we found out no rooms would free up that day. It was time to be on our merry way.
We stopped at a few hotels but they were also all full. The combination of the early hour and holiday weekend was starting to worry me, but in reality, I was okay because we were hopeful one specific one with a pool would open up. After testing out the deliciously refreshing pool, we decided to try our luck and left our names at the hotel so we could go in search of food and markets.
Luckily, the angels were on our side, and when we got back to check if we had a room, one was available! It was even the cheap one we wanted. Feeling good again. We couldn’t get into our room right away but no worries -- we changed into our swim suits and jumped in the pool. Feeling super-good again.
Heaven. On. Earth.
This hotel feels like it should be tucked away in Greece (not that I have ever been) but I would imagine this whitewash with balconies and terraces could fit in perfectly. Our pool even lights up at night. Fabulous.
P.S. Did I mention that in our sleep-deprived delirium we ended up booking loads of tours? Monday will be spent at Borobudur, a fantastic temple reflecting Buddha’s life and his travel to enlightenment. Tuesday begins a two-day tour, ending in Bali (beaches!!!) and stopping at Gunung Bromo (volcano!!!) along the way.
Fingers crossed the ferry from Java to Bali won’t be overloaded. In the words of trusted world traveler, all ferries in Indonesia look sketchy. Don’t get on the ones that look too sketchy.
P.P.S If you haven’t heard from me in a bit after this post, don’t worry. Just assume I am safely traveling from beach to beach on a motorbike. We met some people who said they rented one for five days and took a road trip around Bali. Yes and yes, please!
No comments:
Post a Comment