Solo 1

This bubur has so many ingredients inside - keropok (2 types), kacang, shreds of chicken meat, special sauces and spring onion.

Today 1/5/12 I awake feeling pretty good and not "cabet" as the Indonesians would say. I do not feel as bad as my old body was telling me yesterday. I put this down to the foot reflexology session and a good night sleep. Had I continued the ascent up Mt Merapi I am sure I would be in a bad shape. That's another story....

After a breakfast of Bubur Ayam Khas Jakarata + kopi hitam cap kapal api with becak driver Tomo at this warung recommended by him we proceed to "KRATON" or the palace of the Yogja Sultan for my final tourist thing to do before leaving for Solo by train.

Just at the warung facing North we look up and see my old friend Mt Merapi "smoking" at the summit.... Tomo says it is abu dari Gunung Merapi.

Entrance to the Kraton or Palace. It is flanked by 2 statues (guards) which are Hindu statutes and the Sultan is a Muslim so it says a lot about the Javanese culture.

One display area inside the Kraton area are some aged old gamelan music instruments. My guide tells me they are 500 years old.

The "anak cucu" of one of the Kraton staff is at the Kraton this morning. He is only about 3+ years old. He is the clear favorite of all the tourists there and so many of them want to have their pictures taken with him because he is so cute. He's dressed in full Javanese dress code.

The emblem and logo of the Yogja Sultanate:

- In the center the huruf Java says H.B. being the sirname of the Sultan

- The sayap (wings) has 8 signifies the 8th Sultan

- The Mahkota (Crown) signifies kekuatan (power or strength)

- The two telinga (ears) by the Crown signify kebijakan (wisdom)

These are all pretty good stories to tell in an official looking royal emblem.

 This is the current Sultan's living quarters inside the Kraton and obviously we cannot go there.

A nice looking reception area built in Dutch architecture. The orang Belanda used to colonize Indonesia.

This symbol of a mask with dragon or snake (I forgot) signifies the Javanese calendar. Each has a meaning of numbers like the creature is 9 or something but I forgot because I did not write it down. The Javanese have their own calendar much like the Chinese do.

 Some artifacts of importance.

The 9th Sultan when he was young. He was an important figure in Javanese history because he was a man of wisdom, political savvy, and power. He is well loved and respected by his "rakyat". He was pronounced a Pahlawan of Indonesia and a past Wakil of Presiden Indonesia. He also served as a Minister for Defence, Finance, Economy and Industry. 

The current Sultan, the 10th, is one of his sons.

What I found out from the guide that Yogyakarta or Yogja, Jogja, Jogjakarta is a city in the Yogyakarta Special Region (Daerah Istimewa). It is renowned as a centre of classical Javanese fine art and culture such as batik, ballet, drama, music, poetry, and puppet shows. Yogyakarta was the Indonesian capital during the Indonesian National Revolution (armed conflict between Indonesia and the Dutch Empire) from 1945 to 1949.

The Sultan's batik collection.

 So much for the Kraton and history. My take is that the Sultanate is nothing but just a symbol. The display and artefacts are in poor conditions and nothing to shout about. Although I have the say the people in Yogja are incredibly proud of their heritage and history.

I am in a hurry and we leave the Kraton back to the hotel so that I can pack and head for the Train Station.

At Yogja Stasiun Keretapi Lempuyangan I pay my RP 20k and get my ticket on the Madiun Jaya Ekspres AC train to Solo. Lucky for me this express train is air-conditioned. 12.06pm we leave Yogja and 13.02om we arrive Solo's Solo Balapan Station. Solo is about 65km from Yogja.

I get a taxi and check into The Solo IBIS hotel which is located on Jl. Gajah Muda No 23 next to the Novotel. The room is nice and new. The bed is firm. Nice. And the staff, just like the ones in Novotel Yogja, are extremely courteous and helpful .... "Pak, this and Pak that" so generous and so genuine.

 

Surakarta, often called Solo is a city in central Java of more than 520,000 people. The city is 44 km2. The city is the seat of Surakarta Sunanate Kraton (palace/court). Together with Yogyakarta, Surakarta is the heir of the Mataram Kingdom that was split into two kingdoms in 1755.

After lunch at Nasi Padang Sari Bundo (very nice padang food. I used to go to Sari Bundo in Jakarta. So happy to see one here in Solo) I get a becak to drive me around kota and to Kraton Surakarta. Unfortunately for me the Kraton closes at 2pm despite my telling him so, the driver he says it is opened. Now he is dumb founded and feels sheepish for not believing me. Anyway no harm done and we shall go there tomorrow.

This is a tugu for another Pahlawan -  Soehati. He fought the orang Belanda during their pemerintahan, for Solo's independence.

An Aussie lady I met at the Ibis lobby told me to visit this House of Dinar Hadi -  a private Batik Museum. I am not disappointed. The guide tells me so many fascinating facts about different designs of batik.... Yogja, Solo, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Dutch, and different regions of Java. He shows me so many antique batik on display. He tells me the cultural and adat of the batik wearing as a dress, short, sarong, chest cover and headgear.

There is a real factory inside the museum. This guy has been working for the company for 30+ years and his special skill is tracing motif and designs onto the kain, the standard size being  2m x 1.5m.

This cloth/kain has been traced and waxed by workers before being dipped in colors.

These ladies are applying wax onto the kain so that the waxed area will show white when the whole cloth is dipped into the colors. Unfortunately I cannot see the dipping of kain into various colors because the ladies have finished that part of work for the day and have gone home.

So much for understanding batik. Batik is seen as art in Java and not a merchandise. After this experience I think I will have a healthy respect for batik.

I am thinking my day today is like a cultural/historical day. I am fortunate to be in Yogja and Solo to experience the Javanese cultures and past and present happenings. 

I feel like spending money and so I get a traditional massage done at the hotel, get showered and have dinner at a famous/popular rumah makan & ice juice .... Gudeg Adem Ayem on Jl. Slamet Riyadi 342. I got the contact from the Ibis Spa (In Balance) receptionist Retno who is Chinese. Her Ah Gong is from China but she cannot speak Chinese. In fact she could not even tell me what dialect they speak or which part of China is her kampong. Dear me.

The gudeg at Adem Ayem is not as good as the one I had in Yogja but their ayam goreng is nice, like KFC's. And I also have a es advocado, my 3rd one this trip. I feel somewhat bloated and I shall not have another es advocado for the next 2 days! I can feel my waistline has gone wider and this is not good for me.

Overall the feeling I have about Solo is that there is nothing much to see and do here. Luckily Ibis is like a resort and so I think I will stay in tomorrow and relax a bit.....