WED: Yogya

Kia ora ano

Woke up to the sounds of the Muslim karakia @4.30am. Took time to take some nice pics of our digs, planning our day then off to try the open air gym........mmmmm first gotta find someone to open the bamboo blinds for me. First thing I noticed it was a 'Manly' gym.........ya know da kind where all the machines were set to heavy weights and the only thing that seemed to work for me was the walking machine, once I figured out how to turn it on and get it started. All good until I hit 1.4kms then I ran out of power.....hee, hee. Back to the pool to get dressed for breakie.

d'Omah Fitness Centre

For the next couple of days we had limited time and sooooo much to experience. Yvonne had it all worked out. She knew all the best places to go and we just followed her lead..........the theme of the week was - 'go with the flow and let it all go!!' And that's just what we did. And it seemed to work in a place like Yogya.

The d'Omah is just beautiful........check out their website, http://yogyakartaaccommodation.com/

Peacock in tranquil garden - they peck, true

Nice little spaces everywhere, thoughtfully laid out with little room clusters surrounding a private pool dotted around the complex of small areas with day beds and lounges. In nice secluded places are chairs, tables and beautiful lamps. You never see or hear the other guests only at breakie or dinner. Nice attentive staff that will do anything for you if you talk slow so they can understand you. They do really well to understand and like it when you try their language.

Breakie on the outside front area

The owner Warrick Purser whakapapa to Whanganui, he Pakeha ia but you can tell from his hotel that he loves Javanese people and the place. He's worked hard to help the people in the surrounding village.....and is really into the arts. Everywhere around you'll find nice pieces of historical and contemporary art & craft. I just loved it.

Traffic jam - 4x4 taking on a bus and motorbikes just fitting their way through

WATER CASTLE

Of course on the way to our first stop, the Water Castle, there was an antique store Amir took us to. This was a treat......I'm not that much into antiques but loved the workmanship in the pieces. I noticed there was heaps of dentist/barber chairs and lamps......how to get it all home!!!

The Water Castle

Things that stand out for me about Yogya, their entrepreneurship is everywhere.....on every street down every ally. From selling petrol in jars on the side of the road (this is sold everywhere on most of the streets) to dairy-like stores, to wood carvers, bike repairers, rice fields, etc.

Also they have a unique take on health & safety. Bamboo scaffolding, no hard hats or safety harnesses. This place is a constant stream of change and evolution. On the one hand there are the very rich and on the other, the very poor. There is a clash of high fashion technology meets beggers and market stands. It took a while to harden up and not feel sorry for the people. I don't like that side of it much, but it is an experience.

Sitting at the Sultan's pool

The Water Castle, an awesome stop where the Sultan who had over 50 wives used to bath in the spring waters before the erruption.......didn't take much notice of the korero from our guide as it was hard to understand his English.......bless him. The wahine used to bath in their big pools while the sultan would stand and choose which number he wanted to bathe with in his private pool and incensed bedroom.......I kid ya not. Interesting lives.....I wonder what it would be like if the roles were reversed!!! :)

Opps picked up the wrong bottled water from the hotel room fridge, then I read the label.......had to get a pick of that. The label reads 'Pocari Sweat' and it tasted like sweet sweat too....yuck!

Bought a nice handmade Batik and would've bought more only the explanation of the designs didn't turn me on......they were mostly about woman serving the husband, the male being the successful one full of prosperity while the woman is on her knees being thankful......I don't think sooooo!

Amazing Race caught on camera!

Meanwhile Amir was txting us, very worried about us. He didn't have a good feeling about our guide and was very relieved when we showed up. Little did he know that we could take care of ourselves....:)

News flash, on the way to the palace we spotted some of the amazing race contestants so had to get a shot of that. That was exciting!!!! You can just see the cameraman running in front of the contestants.

Stately room in the palace

SULTAN'S PALACE

Off to the current Sultan's Palace, who only has 1 wife and 5 daughters. He's opened up his palace to the people and lives just off to the side surrounded by his little army of guards.

The Palace is huge and full of historical items, beautiful craftsmanship and culture. You begin to wonder what life would've been like living in a palace. Heaps of tourists, mainly Indonesian school groups. Usual markets outside the gate......when Yvonne suggested Amir to drop us off at the beginning of the market he just laughed and dropped us right at the gate. Now we know why, when we finished we bought one thing from a seller only to be inundated by others selling us the same thing. 

Yes, there is a resemblance there........hee, hee.

Interesting fact about Yogya: anyone can be a parking valet and traffic controller if you have a whistle and wear an orange jacket. Valets sell you space to park even if the space is not owned by them, everyone gets a %. Then when you have to pull out into the busy street they become traffic controllers and stand in the way of oncoming traffic so you can pull out. Very handy to pay for that privilege, you need someone to control the traffic otherwise you take your life into your own hands.

Off to the Silver factory.......one of many. It was incredible to see the intricacy of the work. Didn't find anything except for postcards. I was looking for some nice silver chains but nothing nice. Lots of things I wanted if I have the $$$$$

My poor feet.......they just love the pool...mmmmmmm!

Back to d'Omah for a relax.....now it may seem like we're not doing much but between the lines of korero there are hours of walking, listening to guides who may not have the best English, and then trying to find somewhere nice to eat. The feet needed a bit of pampering so off to our private pool....:)

Good Java coffee before getting dressed for dinner. Then sitting by the pool again with a vino enjoying the stars and planning our next days trip... :)