Dieng

Photos: Sunrise at Dieng Plateau

This weekend I went with Annie to the Dieng Plateau in Central Java – a 3 hour mini bus ride to Wonosobo via Magelang then a 1 hour public bus up the mountains to Dieng. The bus to Dieng was very scenic – terraces of cabbages and potatoes, mist, clouds, small villages clinging to the side of the hill…and it was cold!
On Saturday we got up at 3am to climb up a mountain to watch the sunrise with some other ACICIS girls that were also in Dieng. We set out in the dark (and freezing cold) along a pitch black road and then dirt track through the cabbage patches with only 2 torches between the 7 of us. As dawn started to break we passed through the highest village in Java (Sembungan – 2300m above sea level). A couple of hours after setting off we finally made it to the top of the mountain, just in time for sunrise. The view was amazing – although there were low lying clouds, the surrounding mountains poked through and we could see all the way back to the smoking peak of Gunung Merapi near Yoyga.
After watching the sunrise we had planned to go and visit a waterfall, but after walking for half an hour down an incredibly steep hill and still only being able to see it in the far distance we gave up! Not wanting to make the long, painful trip back up the mountain side, we paid a farmer to drive us back – we all jumped in the back of his ute in true Indonesian style!
Later that day we went to the bubbling (smelly) sulfur crater, a few of the oldest Hindu temples in Java (8-9^th century) and the coloured lake. The lake was a strange cloudy turquoise hue, coloured by sulfur deposits – the best view was from on top (another) hill. We also went for a wander through the village, which was lots of fun. The roads were narrow and blissfully devoid of traffic - little kids and animals (chickens, cats, goats…) roamed the streets instead. I think I must have said ‘selamat sore’ enough times to last the rest of the month – everyone was excited to see the tourists walking past their house!

Symposiums, Ramadan

Photo 1: In my official among tamu uniform
Photo 2: The ACICIS/BEM symposium committe

Wednesday was the day of the Symposium. I arrived, as instructed, at 7am, only to sit around doing nothing in true Indonesian style until an hour and a half later. On the surface it seemed that the organisation had come together – the venue was impressive, there were high quality gift packs to hand out to the participants and we all looked very official in our batik ‘uniforms’. However by 9am (the official start time) one major hiccup had arisen – no one had come! Well that is a slight exaggeration, but numbers were well, well below what the BEM committee had been hoping for. I can’t say I was particularly surprised – advertising had only begun a week before the event and as a result, no one knew about it.
After fulfilling my role as an among tamu (guest greeter) I filled in with the everyone else, trying not to cringe at how empty the hall looked. The actually symposium itself wasn’t too bad, although it didn’t really seem to address the issue of spiritualism as a new form of diplomacy. But Emma gave a brilliant paper addressing the problem with the words spiritualism/ spirituality from an Australian perspective. In an earlier speech a retired Australian academic had given a paper about declining religious participation of Australian youth. When he asked the audience if they were surprised there was a general nodding with wide eyes ‘yes, I am so surprised’. So if nothing else, at least they’ve learnt something new about Australia!
The next day was the start of Ramadan. Having decided to do at least one day of fasting, I got up at 3am with the rest of the girls in my kos to eat breakfast. They all nearly fell off there seats when I emerged bleary eyed from my room, not quite being able to comprehend why I wanted to get up. It really wasn’t so bad and it was brilliant breaking the fast at the end of the day. Ramadan hasn’t really changed anything too much around here, although at about 1pm you can actually cross the road without fearing for you life because everyone is sleeping! At the end of the day, around the time of the evening prayer the foot paths are packed with little stalls selling sweet drinks, fried snacks and young coconut juice for people to break the fast with – it's really quite a party atmosphere!

Beach Escape

Photo 1: The beach
Photo 2: Collector at the beach

On the weekend I, along with the rest of the ACICIS students, escaped busy, bustling Yogyakarta and headed to the coast for a bit of relaxation. As we drove out of the city and headed into rice fields, mountains and tropical forests I just sat back and enjoyed being able to breathe fresh air for the first time in 3 weeks! The beach itself was lovely, all but deserted, with yellow sand and clear water. It unfortunately wasn't that good for swimming though, because the reef came right up to the edge of the water. I spent most of the afternoon relaxing by the water reading my book, although I did manage to pick my way over the reef to a cave that appears at low tide. We clambered our way through, only to be informed later that it is absolutely crawling with sea snakes - oh well, what we didn't know didn't hurt us! Later that night after a dinner of fresh barbequed seafood we sat around on the beach under the stars, attempting, and failing, to start a singalong! After a chilly night I headed back down to the beach hoping to find a sandy inlet where I could swim. Dissapointingly though the swell and tides were too strong even to paddle out too far on the reef. We headed down to the main beach for lunch - it was tiny - just a strip of warungs and a few shell shops. Emma and I shared the best seafood I have had in a while - freshy caught and barbequed fish.

Bus adventures

Photo 1: The inside of a city bus
Photo 2: Merapi finally showing itself
The last week has been a little bit mucky with at least 7 ACICIS students (including myself) coming down with various stomach bugs and fatigue. Thankfully the worst of my bug got itself over and done with in about 6 hours. Not much to complain about really, considering one guy is in hospital with dengue fever!
In other news, I have finally braved the Yogyakartan bus system. I still have absolutely no idea where the buses actually go, but I know which one to get on to get to uni, and which ones to get to Malioboro (though im not sure where it leaves from exactly...) Unfortunately there doesnt seem to be anywhere where all the routes are written down, so I think I'll just have to rely on word of mouth plus trial and error. The buses dont opperate to a timetable - you just have to wait on the side of the road until you see the bus that you want. When it comes by you just flag it down and jump on as it slows down. Im still not sure exactly what the deal is with the bus fare - no one asks for a exact amount, you just seem to have to guess. It seems that Rp2000 for a shortish journey is ok. When its time to get off you just have to stand up and hope that they slow down and move over enough that you dont have to jump into a second lane of traffic! Or else just yell at the driver to stop. Most of the buses here are of questionable roadworthiness. I alway try to tread lightly so that I dont put a foot through the rusy floor, and to avoid the windows (often with no glass) so if we stop suddenly I wont be thrown from the bus. Luckily as a general rule the intercity buses don't manage to get up enough speed to threathen their structural integrity.
Over the last couple of weeks I, along with a group of other ACICIS students have been involved/tagging along with an international symposium that is being organised by a student committee at UGM. The symposium will happen next wednesday and aims to strengthen Australian-Indonesian youth relations. It has been interesting to see how a committee of this type opperates over here - not nearly as organised or on top of things as they could have been! But I wont pass judgement until I see how the even turns out next week. Last night we had a dinner at the ACICIS house to have group disscussions about the ideas and potential of the symposium. Part of this included a food cultural exchange, so we feasted on hotdogs with tomato sauce and onions, fairy bread, SALAD, lamingtons and imported Australian bree and rice crackers (thank you Carrefour!). As pathetic as it sounds to get so excited about food, it was such a brilliant change from what I've been eating as of late.