Adventuring in Surabaya

We left Yogya for Borobodur and Prambanan a few days ago. We hired a driver for the day to take us to Prambanan and drop us at Borobodur where we stayed for 2 nights. Borobodur is the largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia, but it actually was built by the Hindus around 700 ACE. The Hindus abandoned their unfinished work, for reasons that are still unclear,and Borobodur was finished by the Buddhists. The temple was again abandoned after the decline of the Buddhists rule and buried under volcanic ash for centuries, it was excavated in the 1800's by the dutch, under Sir Raffles governorship. It underwent a $20 million USD renovation and became a UNESCO heritage site in the 1990's. It has 10 terraces with each terrace representing a level nearing nirvana, which is represented by a large empty stupa. There are many stupas, each with a buddha inside, although relic hunters have run off with most of the heads. It is awe inspiring and I feel privileged to have been able to see it up close & personal.

Prambanan, which is a group of hindu temples, was equally inspiring but unfortunately suffered a great deal of damage during the 2006 earthquake. The restoration has begun but funding is a problem for this very poor nation.

OK, had enough of your history lessons? The true fun of this trip is interacting with everyday folks who do their level best to be friendly & welcoming. During a long, sweaty walk back to our plush hotel (I am a very bad influence on Wendy) from a smaller temple near Borobodur, we stopped at a charming Soto Ayam joint. Soto Ayam is the indonesian version of chicken soup, but it is no ordinary chicken soup, It is simply the best chicken soup on the planet. no, seriously, THE PLANET. And after a long hot walk in the steamy jungle a bowl of hot chicken soup is the best. The Javanese know a thing or two about how to beat the heat and Soto Ayam is the remedy. But I digress, as we were sitting enjoying being on parade & eating our soup, a group of young school girls squealed with delight at the site of us and sat right down and chatted us up for our entire meal. Later in the day Wendy made friends with the local sate dude. We have learned a few key indonesian phrases which always makes people smile and want to interact with us.

We left Borobodur this morning on a train to Surabaya for a stopover to Bali. Purchasing the train ticket was a
goat &**(@@!* but 6 hours later here we are in Surabaya. I suggested that a nicer hotel may be worth the splurge since it was only a night so here we are at an historic dutch colonial hotel built in 1900, now owned by Mandarin Oriental! It is very charming & a welcome respite from the grit of this industrial city. We went to Chinatown today & were nearly accosted. Women and men alike touched & poked & laughed with/at us. We were the daily entertainment in the market. It is a bit overwhelming & exhausting to be a spectacle. We then went for another version of.... you guessed it; Soto Ayam. After playing the human version of frogger with bimos & motorbikes on the roadway, we are back in the comfort of this charming hotel. As I write this I am in desperate need of a cold cocktail, so I will sign off for now. Wendy is uploading some photos of the last few days; the whole photo thing isn't working quite as we planned so look for a flicker link soon.

PS I have taken up smoking; there is something so satisfying about a Bintang & a clove cigarette. Don't worry I have a rule: I will only smoke when I am in Indonesia.