Becaks, Buses, and Trains!

MICS's Fall Break began after school on Friday, October 8. Students and faculty were all excited for this 10 day break to begin. Our family decided that during this school break we wanted to do a bit of traveling. We enlisted the help of three of the single teachers to serve as our tour guides; Leah Koger (Abby's 4th grade teacher), Christine Switzner (2nd grade teacher) and Hannah Van (Quintin's Geography teacher). Our destination was Yogyakarta, there are many accepted spellings including Jojyakarta (which is how it is pronounced). For transportation we decided to catch a bus from Salatiga to Solo City, which is what we did, literally. We went and stood on a corner where the buses travel past and waited until the one we wanted (the air conditioned one!) came by. The man in the picture was trying to get us to ride in his mini bus that was not air conditioned...we decided to wait.

After being dropped off in Solo, we hired three becaks (bicycle-rickshaws) to transport us to the train station. We were excited about riding on the train since Jeff was the only one of our family who had ever ridden a train before. We weren't sure what to expect before arriving...first impression of the station and trains took us back into the past to maybe the 1940's. We arrived at the train station early and so we waited right on the tracks, literally. After the train arrives people quickly get on board to claim their seat because you don't want to stand or have to sit on the floor since there is no limit to how many people are riding. Fortunately there were not many passengers headed to Yogya.

The train stops multiple times in Yogya. The first stop is at the airport, second is in the middle of town, and the third stop will let you off on Jalan Malioboro (Yogya's main shopping street, the street to the Sultan's palace and to the motel where we were staying). Unfortunately we got off one stop early and weren't quite sure where we were... our tour guides stepped in and used their Indonesian to ask a few of the locals how to get to Malioboro. After asking for directions three different times we finally arrived on the right street.


Upon arriving in Yogya we didn't have reservations for a place to stay but had been assured by our three tour guides that that would not be a problem. Our first choice was the Bladok Losmen (meaning lodge) and Resturant. In the "Lonely Planet Guide to Indonesia" it describes the Bladok as "having oodles of charm". They are right, our family has decided that we will definitely stay there again.
During our stay in Yogya we ate at McDonald's twice, had delicious doughnuts from JayCo Doughnuts. went bowling, and yes of course went shopping on Malioboro. This street is one long bazaar of souvenir shops and stalls selling batik (printed cloth made by coating part of the fabric with wax, then dyeing it and melting the wax out), leatherwork, woodwork, jewelry, and so much more... It was very over-whelming. You can bargain with the vendors on the street to get a lower price for items or head to Mirota, which is a multi-level store with fixed prices. We enjoyed Mirota, for one it was air-conditioned and for two no bargaining! Although the bartering allowed us to practice our Indonesian, or at least our numbers.

Even though our stay in Yogya was short, we had a good time experiencing Indonesian transportation as well as being introduced to Java's cultural center, Yogyakarta. This trip was definitely a success because of our new friends, Leah, Hannah, & Christine. We look forward to more visits to Yogyakarta, maybe with some of you.