Tag Archives: Solo

Day 122 – On to Yogyakarta

I wasn’t really doing much better today. However, we both agreed that being so close to Yogya and with us not liking Solo that much, I needed to be tough and get through this day before crashing.

In Solo

In Solo

After breakfast, we tried the Batik quarter again, just to see if more shops were open in the morning. A couple more were open at 8 am but maybe this was now a bit too early for this rather sleepy town. Anyhow, that fancy shop yesterday with its hand-drawn batiks and natural colours had an impact on me liking the printed cloth now and I didn’t find a new sarong to add to my collection. Those fancy ones were really nice and way out of our price range though.

Slightly disappointed, we walked back and headed into one more Batik department store before we reached the hotel. The AC had cooled it down to icy cold so we took our time browsing the clothes and fabrics. Flo found a shirt that he really, really liked but all the sizes were too big on him until staff undressed a mannequin for him to get a smaller size available. We ended up buying it because it’s really, really nice and fancy. Yes, it cost more than we wanted to spend and yes, the price was still laughably small if Flo would still earn. So we went for it as it was one of the things we had agreed on before even starting the trip: New sarong for me, batik shirt for Flo. With the very limited space that we have, this seems a good compromise between not buying anything and wanting to have souvenirs.

Nice views despite the clouds

Nice views despite the clouds

Back in the hotel, we packed…I had a good round of vomiting…and we left for the temple Candi Sukuh halfway up Gunung Lawa. This was the only thing for today before heading to Yogyakarta. I was dreading the temple due to our experience in Bali but it turned out to be a very small one, unused by now with only one “warung souvenir”, no hawkers and almost no other tourists.

The temple itself is undergoing some maintenance at the moment which was a pity but the views down to the Solo plain were still great. We didn’t take long to move through the area once but it was lunch time by the time we moved on.

Only a couple of kilometers away, we stopped at a warung where I tried some plain rice in the hopes of keeping it but had to ditch my lemon squash as my stomach sent a clear “too early” message. Flo liked his food and the home-made sambal though.

Spelling again ...

Spelling again …

Finally, we were on our way to Yogya. Andy and Shinta who we met on Flores quite a while back have a cafe and a home stay where we were headed to crash a couple of days. In my perception, the last 100 km took forever but we arrived at the “AS coffee” at around 4 pm with neither Andy nor Shinta around. Staff was lovely though, telling us that Andy would be back at 6 pm so we settled down for a coffee. Despite my stomach, I had to try the “Java chocolate” and was drinking it in tiny sips to make sure it’s okay.

At some point, Andy called and we were invited to come to his other place which has a pool to hang out and drop our bike there as it has secure parking. That’s what we did.

Andy's cats chilling

Andy’s cats chilling

When we arrived, Andy and four backpackers were just getting ready to get food so we passed on the pool for now and tagged along. Since our bike would spend the night here, Andy sorted us with a small local bike which Flo loved instantly. We followed the jeep to a roadside warung which had quite the selection of unusual warung food, including sea snail skewers, whole roasted quail and cow skin. I still stuck to coconut rice and a bit of tofu though, not trusting the peace completely. It was good food. Andy collected the remaining meat scraps to take home for his four adopted cats and we went back to the cafe.

Cafe is probably a bit misleading as most of the space is filled with goods of Indonesia that you can buy. It is all very colourful and you can spend way too much money here: batik, leather bags and wallets, silver jewelry, clothes and all kinds of nifty tidbits. Of course, there are also tables inside and outside to sit at for your coffee and four cats running around….well, mostly sleeping really. A very home-y place.

The day had been long enough for me though so I headed straight upstairs to our room and slept while Flo shared stories and a beer with Andy.

Day 121 – Rain in Solo

Nothing to keep us

Nothing to keep us

Our plans were a bit in pieces since we did not manage to get all the way to Pacitan. We did not feel like adding another day here before getting to Solo (also known as Surakarta, don’t ask), hence we passed on the first couple of beach detours along the way and headed straight for a Pacitan beach proper. The one we picked, closer to town was already developed for Indonesian tourists. That means no vegetation behind the beach, a vast desolate beachfront with moderate amounts of rubbish and some “fancy” places right at the beachfront with a bit of a view. All in all it was nothing that could coax us to stay for more than a coffee, especially with it being too hot to swim. We could have gone and check out one of the more remote beaches, but we were not feeling it today.

Adi, who was taking the first group shot

Adi, who was taking the first group shot

So off we went north towards Solo. About half an hour or so later, our bellies started rumbling once more (Nina’s a bit more than mine, she was not feeling too well) and we were looking for a place for lunch. For a moment, I was almost decided on heading out again from the palace we stopped. Now I am super glad I did not. For one, we had a really nice noodle soup and the Es Jeruk (Fresh citrus fruit juice on ice) was the best in a long while. But more important was what followed when we were about to leave after our lunch. Adi, the sweet proprietor, tried to make a point and with google translate it turned out he was pointing out we should have a longer break. A brief look outside explained why: Thick dark clouds were gathering and is was just about to start to rain. The rainy season has started in earnest now. That was all the convincing we needed. I got to put my bike inside under the roof and we all settled in for an hour or so to sit out the rain.

Apri and Bangun

Apri and Bangun

Adi dished out another round of Es Jeruk on the house for us, I got the second pineapple out and shared it in return with him and his wife. Then I got talking to two other fellas on a road trip with their Kawasaki Supermoto, Apri and Bangun. With the pleasant company and in a safe place, time really flew. Nina used the break to chill out and recharge her batteries a bit watching the rain soak the surrounding rice fields. When the rain stopped and it was time to go on, it was smiles all around and we all gathered around for a customary group shot around the bike.

too empty for our taste

too empty for our taste

Coming into Solo, I was surprised of how little was going on on the streets for a city this size. Traffic was almost easy and we found a hotel right next to the action in no time. The reason we were going to Solo was for Nina to check out the local Batik manufacturing and maybe get a present or two to send home. So after checking in, parking the bike securely and having our customary post-road shower, we got some time left to explore the “Batik Quarter”. Turns out, that same as in the rest of the city, the “sidewalks have been flipped up” as we say in Germany. Most shops and manufactures were closed. One was open, though it was the fanciest in town. Nina and I were quite overwhelmed with their massive store and their hefty prices. We still enjoyed a little tour though and having a look at the manufacturing process in the very back of the shop. Sadly, no pictures were allowed there.

For dinner we went out to a street recommended in the Lonely Planet. Next to the old Dutch fort, a street is closed off for traffic daily and a whole armada of stalls woe for the attention of potential diners. Only that, most like in the rest of town, no one was really out. We could count the people dining on two hands, with about three times as many stalls waiting on customers.  At least it did not detract from the taste. Nina got a grilled corn on the cobb and I had another delicious round of sate. All was well, except for Nina’s belly …

Nina’s comment: I started having stomach troubles in the morning and it didn’t get better during the day so I had a hard time riding the bike till Solo. Wasn’t very social and also not up to much.