yogjakarta, still day 1

continuing from the previous day 1 post......

so after the visit to prambanan temple, some started complaining of hunger. at first the driver (rudi) suggested lunch only after the visit to merapi at 3p.m., luckily we did not take to his suggestion. we would be starving by then.

so he brought us to a....gosh...i also dunno what to call this place. here is the photo:

a restaurant in a rustic setting? we were the only customers there and the place looked as if it had not been frequented for a long long time.

we ordered 3 different dishes, each 2 servings and white rice.

assorted vegetables but it came in a rather miserable portion. not as much as we expected.

fried catfish

white rice

baby chicken- grilled. i think it is a local specialty. it is advertised everywhere along the roadsides. and yup, it is delicious.

this was our ride for 2 days. it could fit 10 passengers comfortably.

so with a full stomach, it was up that winding journey to mount merapi, one of the most active volcanoes in the world. we snaked through villages and reached the foot of the mountain while witnessing the devastation brought by the eruption last year. it took about 30 mins i think.

everything was kinda ashy and dusty. there were stalls here selling local snacks and many peddlers would come to you offering pictures of the erupting volcano and dvds too.

we were unfortunate not being able to catch a glimpse of the top of the volcano nor the smoke billowing from the crater. i wished i could blow away those thick clouds!!! it was quite cooling being so high up. villagers built at the foot all perished in the mud and lava flow.

scenes you see along the road leading to the volcano.

aren't we glad to be in a land without volcano??

so before heading to manohara hotel in borobudur's compound, the driver stopped us at a silver factory cum show room. apparently borobudur's silver is quite famous but none of us bought any here. their silver is very white compared to the normal one we see. and of course they said it won't get dark easily.


according to the tips given, you only need to apply a bit toothpaste to whiten your darkened silver. well, i will wait for someone to try first.