My first, and only, full day in Yogakarta I decided to get an early start and head out to Borobudur Budhist Temple for sunrise. I booked a tour through my hostel, and me, and a couple from France, were picked up at 5am to make the hour long drive. Despite the hazy morning that left us with an uninspiring sunrise, the temple was totally worth only getting 4 hours sleep... Please refer to Wikipedia's description of Borobudur: a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist Monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues.[1] A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.blowing that over a thousand years ago people built this by hand. The details in the carvings are mind-blowing, and it's incredible to see how well the art has held up to the elements for a centuries. I took waaaaaaaay too many pictures, but I did capture some pretty cool shots overall. This is what I mean by how detailed everything is... this is just one carving of Queen Maya, but there are thousands of carvings that cover practically every wall on the temple.
Now for my description..... Amazing. It is mindI walked around each level twice before heading back down to have some breaky and head back to Yogakarta. I spent the rest of the day wondering around the city, and seeing the sights. I went to the Kraton- which is the Sultan's palace, walked along the crowded markets, went for lunch at a great cafe called Via Via, and took a bacak (bicycle taxi) back to my hostel. Doing so, we passed the Bird Market... which is an open air market filled with birds in cages that are sold to customers, and then prepared and eaten on the spot... You can buy almost any kind of bird to try- including BATS!!! EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW My friend Glenn actually ate one- he said it tasted like jerky. Oh yah, and they cook them with their heads still on... Glen showed me a picture of a plate full of bats with their mouths frozen open and teeth hanging out. I almost threw up in my mouth. He said he didn't eat the head though (thank goodness) just the back part. I still don't understand the motivation to do this.... The next day I woke up with montazuma's revenge... first time so far, which isn't soooo bad, but I was happy to have the forethought to have booked a sweet room with a western toilet!! Speaking of which... I have recently been enlightened to the arguments FOR the sqatty-potty. Please enjoy the below courtesy of Amy P.
Proponents of squat toilets argue that:
- They do not involve any contact between the buttocks and a potentially unsanitary surface.
- The lack of water in the bowl avoids the problem of splashing.
- Squatting helps to build the required exhaust pressure more comfortably and quickly.
- Squatting makes elimination faster, easier and more complete.
- Elimination in squatting posture protects the nerves that control the prostate, bladder and uterus from becoming stretched and damaged.
- Squatting relaxes the puborectalis muscle, which normally chokes the rectum to maintain continence
- Squatting securely seals the ileocecal valve, between the colon and small intestine. In the conventional sitting position, this valve is unsupported and often leaks during evacuation.
- For pregnant women, squatting avoids pressure on the uterus when using the toilet. Daily squatting helps prepare the mother-to-be for a more natural delivery.
- Squatting may reduce the occurrence or severity of hemorrhoids and possibly other colorectal disorders.
- They are less expensive and easier to clean and maintain.
Anyhoooooooo, back to my last day in Yogakarta... My back and neck were killing me after the intense motorcycle rides in Cianjur, so I decided to treat myself to a massage. I found a place that would give me a 1/2 hour neck and back massage for cheap so I gave it a try. The lady did this weird thing with an Indonesian coin where she scraped the coin up and down my neck, and back vigorously until it hurt and actually burned my skin. Then she massaged around the area. I left with the kinks in my neck gone, and about 6 bright red coin skid-marks on various places on my back and neck... It looked brutal, and is still kind of red now... but my neck feels WAY better so... whatever.
After that, I went to get a pedicure, and foot massage. Awesome. Then I walked back to my hostel and stopped to buy a short sleeved t-shirt to cover the scary marks on my backs since people were pointing at me saying aaaaahahhahaha the BULE got Chinese medicine massaaaa... The good news? I got a new t-shirt for only $2.
By the time I got back it was time to head to the airport for my flight. I grabbed a pizza to go from the hostel and hopped in a cab. To be honest, I was kinda sad to leave Yogakarta, and would have stayed longer if I hadn't booked my ticket already. That said, I do only have 10 days left to do Bali and I am excited to get some beach time in!!
I will sign off with one last picture of Borobudur, cause I just realized I forgot to include an overall shot of the thing so you can see what it actually looks like as you're walking up to it.... BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE xo
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