From Borobudur to Becaks and Batik...

Heres's a batik painting in progress. Notice how they use wax to etch out the imprint before painting. This ensures that you can wet the painting when it's done and the colours won't run... just like OMO!
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This journal entry brought to you by Micky

Welcome to the proud historical capital of Jogjakarta (or ‘jogja’ as the locals affectionately remark). This leg of the journey had it all – becaks (bicycles with passenger compartments at the front), batik (intricate paintings with hot wax and paint on cloth and silk) and, not least of all, Buddhist Borobudur (with a sense of ‘ancientness’ that would make most peoples’ 98 year-old great-grandmothers seem really hip in relative numerical contrast!).

This is an Indonesian "Gang" - no, not a band of thugs who rob you when you're not looking... a little laneway with a lot of funky things in it.
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What an amazing few days we’ve had here. On the first night, I was swindled by a batik salesman who had me believe I was purchasing a painting (which is still beautiful, by the way) 80% of the proceeds of which would contribute to funding a small school wherein street-kids were taught to paint. What can I say? Teachers are simultaneously among the ranks of the most educated and the most naïve in the world. With the realization, the following day, that the inflated price of my purchase probably afforded the vendor an extra case of Bintang (local beer), I headed for the government art store, which sported a range of similarly beautiful paintings at roughly two-thirds of the price I paid! What’s more, proceeds from the sales there really did go to support the training and residency of artists in the area! Oh well, second time lucky eh? We both ended up buying some very nice paintings here, which, without the frames, condensed to the size of an envelope.

Here I am with the world-famous Borobadur temple complex in the background.
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Marc’s usual charm, popularity and connections proved invaluable when he organized a traditional Javanese meal on the second night with a friend of his who lectures at the local university here. Mulyadi wined and dined us through the sultry streets of Jogja, as we sampled local fare and visited the university campus which bore a strange resemblance to club Mac back home.

And who could forget Indo’s number one tourist destination outside of Bali (rhetorical answer: not me)? Borobudur is really about as ancient as you get. We were completely in awe of the stones which told the story of Prince Suddharta’s journey towards enlightenment, and climbing up the steps to the top floor of this thousand-year old structure is an incredible honour when you think about all the people that built it.