I mentioned in my last post how beautiful the Hyatt Regency was. It is an oasis in the concrete desert of Yogyakarta. Don’t get me wrong – Yogyakarta is a beautiful city with rich history and much to see and do, so after we checked in to our hotel yesterday, Ary and Dichi took us out to Malioboro road to do some shopping.
Malioboro is an interesting mix of cheap, made-in-China booths on the street side of the sidewalk, with air-conditioned higher end boutique stores on the other side. We focused most of our attention on looking at batik. For those not in the know, batik is an Indonesian method to dye fabric that makes intricate geometric patterns. If you saw my wedding sarong, it was made with batik pattern on it.
I wanted a shirt that I could wear to work, and we checked out several stores. While I am proud of my weight loss bringing my shirt size in the US to Medium, in Indonesia I am an XL. I found some that were OK, but I wanted to check several stores. After travelling up the road for about a quarter mile, we arrived at Ary’s favorite batik shop. I found a blue print that I really liked and fit me comfortably. I probably won’t wear it too often, as it is dry clean or hand wash only. This is because of the way the dye is applied.
As we were getting tired, we called for the driver to pick us up and take us to dinner. The restaurant was on the rooftop of a shopping center, and I had an excellent burrito and tortilla chips. The portion sizes in Indonesia are smaller than in the US, but are actually in line with what one should be eating at a single meal. Meals are extremely affordable, most entrees being $5-$8 at the nicer restaurants.
We went back to the hotel and took a quick shower before bed. I woke up before Diana, and decided to let her sleep and seek out the fitness center. It was outside, through the courtyard and past the elaborate pool. I got some photos as I was the only one outside at the tie. I spent 30 minutes on the treadmill and it felt great. I had been missing my walks since we left. Diana woke up as I was walking, and started a shower before I returned. I cleaned up and we went to breakfast.
The buffet was extraordinary. There were several breads and pastries, fresh tropical fruits, local and western hot items, and an egg station and pancake station. I had papaya leaves cooked in a spicy coconut milk sauce, an omelet, half an eggs benedict, a pancake, a danish, and some fruit. I was quite full after that. Fortunately, my walking was great for my blood sugar. I met a gentleman from San Francisco wearing a Wisconsin Badger hat, and we chatted for a bit about how beautiful the resort was.
After breakfast we walked the grounds for about a half hour then took a short horse-drawn carriage ride to the golf course and back. Ary and Dichi also took the same ride, then we checked out of the hotel and had the driver pick us up.
We went to a private museum north of Yogyakarta and learned a lot about Yogyakarta history and batik. It was actually only 7 km from Mount Merapi, a very large volcano that last erupted 10 years ago. The guide was knowlegable, and since we were English speakers, we had the guide all to ourselves, rather than going in a larger group. Unfortunately, photos weren’t allowed inside the museum, but we took some after the tour. I wanted to get a photo of the mountain once we got far enough away to see it again, but clouds had settled in and obscured it.
We had lunch at a restaurant back in Yogyakarta, then proceeded to Prambanan temple. This was a Hindu temple built in the 9th century. The tour was similar in structure to Borobudur, but consisted of several separate smaller temples, most with small, dark chambers at the top of stairs. We explored the temples, and on our way back took a golf cart tour of some of the smaller temples on the property.
It was hot at the temples, so we decided to hit up a local mall so we could spend some time in the air conditioning. A little shopping, a little dinner, and we were on our way to the airport in preparation for our late night flight to Bali. Tomorrow, we will wake up at Nusa Dua beach resort.