South-East Asian Adventures: Temples, jewellery-making and traditional ballet in Yogyakarta, Java

While Jakarta may be the business and financial capital of Java, Yogyakarta is the cultural and touristic centre of the island.

Pronounced "Jokjakarta" and referred to merely as Jokja/Yogya, it's a big city with lots to do - we stayed there for a whopping three nights! I know.

In order to prevent this being the longest blog post in the world I'll try not to go into tooooo much detail about everything (famous last words) whilst still giving you a feel for the place.

Right let's crack on!

We arrived late afternoon and checked-in at the Indah Palace Hotel. ("Where are you staying?" "In Da Palace." This provided endless lols.)


The hotel was great and in a fab location just off the buzzy street, Jalan Prawirotaman.

After a twilight swim in the pool under thunder and lightning (that was awesome), we ventured out for dinner at EasyGoin' restaurant. You may be able to guess from the name that it was not an Asian place, but the fajitas were fantastic and I drank a cocktail out of a coconut the size of my head so what more could you want really?


After a delish breakfast the next morning (many a fresh fruit, pastries, chocolate milk, juice, tea and chocolate pancakes) it was time to venture off for some culture.


We were off to Borobudur temple, the biggest Buddhist temple in the world!

It was over an hour's drive away and pretty expensive to get into (if you have a student card, use it - I did, but they were not inclined to accept it. The ladies at the desk were googling NUS to make sure it was legit. Srsly.), but worth it.

The site is huge, with elephants, traditional dance performances and all sorts to entertain the tourists in the grounds around the temple.



We visited on a Sunday which unfortunately meant the place was packed with tourists (eww, tourists). Remember how I've mentioned before that being a white person in Indonesia (well, Java and Sumatra at least) feels like being a celebrity? Well nowhere has it been so intense than at Borobudur.

And it was especially weird because we weren't even the only white people there! Every few seconds, someone would come up and ask for a picture with us, look aghast when we politely declined and then often sneakily try and take pictures of us without us noticing afterwards. We always noticed, and people then tried to pretend they were taking a selfie or a panorama.

It got very annoying and - this may sound ridiculous - actually made me feel really bad for actual celebrities who have to put up with that all the time. Although I suppose it's part of the job for them. I am literally just a white person. A white person trying really hard to get a good tan too. Alas.

I asked our guide what it was all about and she said that basically it's exciting for Asians to meet white people and they want a picture to post on their Facebook pages. The trouble is, if you agree to a picture with one person you'll be there all day taking pictures with everyone.

Anyway.


Borobudur is huuuuuuge!

It was built in the 9th century and features over 500 statues of Buddha.




There's so much detail in the stonework which I find incredible considering how long ago it was built.

We wandered round the nine levels of the temple, trying our best not to melt in the sweltering heat (whilst all the Asian people were in jeans, hoodies and headscarves and apparently fine. Hmph.)


The top levels of Borobudur are particularly cool, featuring ginormous stone bell-shaped stupa with more Buddha statues inside.


If you go to Borobudur, make sure you don't leave before walking up the hill to get the cracking view back at the temple. It's pretty special.


After venturing back into Yogya, I had lunch, went for a swim, got a massage (oh, if only massages were as cheap back home), went out for dinner and called it a night. Why is the heat so exhausting!?

Day two in Yogya commenced in much the same fashion as day one had, with breakfast, obvs. Sarah, Molly and I then decided to pay a visit to what is supposedly one of the city's main shopping streets, Malioboro.

Yeah, don't bother.

There isn't really anything you'd want to buy and we spent the whole time being called out to by men on the street. Not yay.

However the day took a turn for the awesomer when we sat down at Viavia café back on Prawirotaman street.

This place was just fantastic!




Fresh healthy food, a great vibe and lots of delicious veggie options. It was the first time I'd seen falafel and houmous since arriving in Asia and I was so happy about it.

I'm just going to jump ahead a little because I liked Viavia so much that I went back for dinner that night too.

Falafel pitta:


Slightly blurry but super delicious pesto and pepper-topped bruschetta:


And a salad of mixed veggies, peanuts, tempe and oniony stuff:


Yumma.

But let's rewind, shall we?

After lunch we did something that's definitely one of the highlights of my whole trip: a silver jewellery-making class at Studio 76.

Yogya is known for its fine silver jewellery, and having been a super crafty kid who used to make her own jewellery, I was mad keen for this.

We sat down in the little traditional workshop, excited to get started.




Multiple pairs of elephant trousers are all well and good as souvenirs, but they're not exactly going to last, so I was keen to make something that I can keep forever to remind me of my travels.

I decided to make a bangle.

Our teacher was very friendly and talked us through every step of the process - he showed us what to do but then left us to do it all ourselves, which was great.

Melting, engraving, bashing (I believe that's the technical term), cutting, filing, smoothing, polishing... There's a lot involved, but I absolutely loved it.




On the inside of my bangle I wrote "Rachel Yogya 2015", and on the outside "Warm seas and coconut trees" with a little heart.

My pics aren't great as my camera didn't want to focus on something so intricate, but you'll just have to trust me when I say it looks pretty cute. Of course, it looks homemade, but I love that.



That evening the culture continued with a trip to the traditional Indonesian ballet!

We took a rickshaw ride to the open-air amphitheatre which was awesome - it's a great way to whizz through the city, particularly at night when it's a little cooler (although still hot enough to be out in just a strappy dress!)

The venue was beautiful, and we were even allowed backstage to see the dancers getting ready.





And then it was time for the show to commence!

I absolutely adore ballet so couldn't wait to see what it was going to be like.

Yeah, it turns out Indonesian ballet is pretty different to the ballet I know. They told a traditional story, but I have to admit I couldn't follow it and so 90 minutes was quite a long time to have no clue what was going on.

That said, I still enjoyed it.

The costumes were beautiful, the dancing so interesting and there was even fire, people!







And the next morning we were off again!

Yogya had been fantastic though - we'd done so much but there was still lots more I'd have liked to see and do. It's definitely worth a visit, chums!

Italian Adventures Day 4: Desenzano.

After the baking hot weather we'd had during my first couple of days in Italy, Em and I had planned a day of sunbathing and swimming in Lake Garda for my final dose of la dolce vita. We'd had a few days powing out visits to Bergamo, Venice and Verona, and quite frankly the prospect of a more chilled day soaking up the sun was highly appealing.

Unfortunately Mother Nature had other ideas. It wasn't hot and sunny on Sunday morning.

Not to be deterred, Em and I decided to optimistically throw our swimming cozzies in our bags and head off to the lake anyway.

Just half an hour on the train from Verona you'll find Desenzano. I'd never heard of it before and it took me all day to remember the name, but Desenzano is a town on the edge of beautiful Lake Garda, on the southern tip of the Italian Alps.

With its tropical trees, boats and (albeit pebbly) beaches, Desenzano has a distinctly seasidey feel. Almost exotic, if you will. It certainly has a noticeably different vibe to Verona, that's for sure.

Em and I headed straight for the water and took a stroll along the pier. If it weren't for the fading mountains I could see across the lake - it was a wonderfully clear day - I would've thought we were at the coast.

It was like nowhere I've ever been, and it sure was beautiful. There's something really comforting about being by a large body of water, so Em and I picked a sheltered bench by the lighthouse to sit and eat our packed lunches.

The water was plopping against the boats, the waves were crashing against the rocks behind us, flags were flying in the breeze and the boats were gently bobbing up and down. Combined with the squawks of the gulls overhead, the sounds of the boats and water made us feel delightfully peaceful.

Back in town we noticed a little market. It wasn't huge, but there were various things to peruse, from fresh fruit to jewellery. I am a gal easily distracted by sparkly and yummy things.

Realising I hadn't bought anything (aside from food, obvs) over my few days in Italy, I decided to treat myself to these pretty earrings. You've got to have a souvenir of some sort, haven't you?

Having had salads for lunch, it wasn't long before we decided it was gelato time. And gelato connoisseur par excellence Emily knew just where to take me: La Romana.

Oh sweet lord, this gelato was in a league of its own. Without a doubt the best ice cream of my life. And I've eaten a lot of ice cream.

It's all homemade and kept covered in store - that's how they keep it at optimum temperature and consistency. They have really interesting and unusual flavours too (although it took translations from Em and the friendly serving lady for me to learn this.)

The gelato is served not with scoops but rather spatula thingies. Apparently this means it's good, although to be honest with you I'm not sure why.

Em's fab pic

For a reasonable 2.50€ you can get three flavours (hey, we'd had salad for lunch! That's how healthy eating works, right?). Feeling slightly overwhelmed by choice, I picked the same three as Em.

Think we took enough pics?

Oh my days. They. Were. Epic.

The interior of La Romana (it's a chain by the way) is clean, bright and stylish, so instead of heading out to eat our tubs of deliciousness and risking meltage, we sat down inside and savoured every spoonful with a view of the cathedral. After taking the obligatory selfies, natch.

This gelato seriously has a completely unique and utterly delicious consistency: it's super creamy, and our flavours were chock-full of, well, choc, brownie bits and almonds. It's hard to explain just why this gelato was so insanely good, you've just got to try it for yourself one day.

The afternoon kept getting better: as we left La Romana we realised the sun was coming out. Praise be to God!

We took a stroll back to the lake and decided to sit down on the edge of the jetty, feet dangling over the sparkling water.

It was bliss.

Alas, it wasn't quite hot enough for us to strip off and join the ducklings and swans, but just being by the lake in the sun was a treat.

I made sure to savour the moment. This, I thought, is what the year abroad is all about.

After a while we decided to go for a little wander in the town, and we were passed by this hilarious and oh-so-Italian troop of Vespa-riders...

Desenzano isn't exactly the most hip of towns, but I liked it a lot.

The afternoon was on its way to evening and Em and I decided it was Spritz time. OK, it was only like 4.30pm but apparently anything after 11am is Spritz time for the Italians. They blimmin' laaaaave the stuff! Over my four days in Italy I saw everyone drinking the strangely bright beverage, so it was about time I had one myself.

These are Aperol Spritzes - apparently they're a north-eastern Italy speciality, which would explain why EVERYONE was drinking them over my travels. They're a mixture of Prosecco, Aperol liqueur and sparkling water. And I like them.

I also liked that you're generally brought bowls of crisps for free alongside your Spritzes. You know we nommed all ours in minutes. And then asked for refills. You gotta get all the free food you can, right? Mmm... Tortilla chips.

We sat outside, sipping our Spritzes, people-watching and admiring the wonderful view over the lake. A blissful moment indeed.

And that, dear friends, not only concluded my day in Desenzano but also just about ended my trip to Italy. It was so so so great, not only due to the wonderful places I saw but also because I was sharing it all with one of my dear dear friends.

Ciao, bella!*

*Yes I really just said that. Cringe. Cliché. Sorry.