Bogorians?

While waiting for our friend Stephanie to arrive from Seattle, we took a small side trip to Bogor for a few days to do some hiking. Getting us the heck out of the congested, hot city we hopped aboard a train. It was hilarious having Citta drop us off at the station afraid for our lives as we embarked on the short two hour ride south of the city. 

While the side trip took us to a few small towns surrounding Bogor, my favorite part were the people we encountered along the way. Smiling faces from kids who don't usually see "bule" aka white people, and even a few grumpy folks selling their goods in the hot Indonesian sun.

Friends abroad

It is a great thing when you're lucky enough to have some friends abroad. We met Citta and Stephanie while in Seattle through a mutual friend by the name of Henry Sia. They moved back home, to Jakarta, and we were able to visit (crash at their houses) while there. They are both some of the sweetest people in the world, and we enjoyed staying at both of their houses. Citta showed us some of the finer Indonesian eateries Jakarta had to offer and one hell of a rooftop bar. While Stephanie showed us more local attractions and more amazing food. We also ate lots of fruit from Indonesia and beyond with her boyfriend. As we relaxed, we watched the weight pack on while being at their houses. Hopefully in the furture we will be abe to repay their generosity. Thanks so much ladies!!

Jogja

One thing is very obvious once you arrive in Yogyakarta, known as Jogja, is that it loves it's street art. Everywhere you look the city has been painted, taged, and bombed. Filled with an endless array of characters; it's one of the best cities to just get lost walking it's side streets. If you've read this blog at all in the past you know I'm a sucker for a good peice of street art.

What I love about this expression of creativity is how it builds an even greater culture of artists. On one block you can walk past store after store of clothing shops, filled to the ceiling wth local start up street wear brands. I found this city nothing less than inspiring.

Romance of Rama

While in Yogyakarta we couldn't get our fix of the play Ramayana so we also watched it be performed by shadow puppets. While nothing fantastic, it was fun to watch and a nice escape from the heat and traffic outside. 

Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, oh my!

Just around the corner from Borobudur, is another fascinating temple called Prambanan. This Hindu temple was built in the 9th century, and is the largest temple in Indonesia dedicated to Shiva. The complex consists of 240 temples; however, a lot are in ruins because of earthquakes and volcanoes. The carvings on the three of the tallest temples are details of the epic: Ramayana. It was dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma, all great Hindu divinities.  

One of the things we missed at this site was the nightly performace of Ramayana performed by live actors. At night they light up the remaining temples and perfrom with it in the background. I'm sure it would have been the ideal way to see this show but we saw the show in downtown Yogyakarta the day before, which was fantastic.