Jakarta to Yogyakarta

The morning power cut had an unexpected consequence - no Visa facilities.  So I have to dip deeper into my limited Rupiahs and hand over 260kR for my Exekutif ticket to Yogya - Lonely Planet strenuously recommended against cattle class.  A good move too - my window seat was more than adequate, and I watched Java unfold as we headed southeast.  Railway lines often take you through the arse end of cities, and this was no exception.  The first half hour was a succession of slums, rubbish, graffiti and filthy rivers, with the lowlight being a group of men on the street circling a cock fight.  But eventually the squalor gave way to green rice paddies stretching as far as the eye could see across the plains.

Relatively few animals - a few chooks, goats and sheep, but no cows or buffalo.  Plenty of people working the fields though, with ubiquitous conical hats as common here as in northern Indochina.  And absolutely no mechanisation - why bother when over 120 million people populate the island?

Around halfway through the eight hour trip the scenery changed to rolling hills, so the paddies became terraced, but not to the same extent as Sapa in northwestern Vietnam.  Even the streams were terraced under the bridges - must make it easier to funnel water out to the paddies.

 A rickshaw gets me out of the station and heading to the backpacker area.  My two preferred options extracted from Lonely Planet are full, so I book into Hotel Jaya, and it's pretty basic.  The shared bathroom cubicle is typically Asian - a pipe from the wall supplies the cold shower, a trough full of water with a plastic bucket floating in it serves for ablutions and flushing the squat toilet.  Nik - I'll let Fiona describe the best way feminine hygiene is maintained in this sort of environment - she'll be well used to them.

Having booked the temple tour, the evening sees me wandering the street markets before finding a bar to watch the World Cup.  Bummer - they're playing the Italy/Slovakia game, not the All Whites!  After downing my beer I head back to the hotel, and as an honoured guest they let me watch the All Whites hold Paraguay to a nil all draw.  Go the All Whites - what a fantastic achievement to go undefeated in the first round of the World Cup!  Who'd have thought a team regarded as cannon fodder could actually beat Italy in its group - the team will be in for a heroes welcome on their return home.