Retired Nomads - Part 3: Javanese Culture & Batiks

April 14

We loved today’s guide Adi and the driver's name rhymed with Bruce Lee. He lit up when I said oh, it rhymes with Bruce Lee. I imagine most people interact with the guide and the driver not so much. We like to make sure that they know we appreciate them navigating in oftentimes difficult traffic.

Our day started with a rickshaw ride through the village of Kotagede. We had a separate guide there with Adi. Can’t remember his name but our guide jokingly called him "the hermit". They were friends and made the tour fun as well as informative. They got rickshaws for the 4 of us and we went through many lanes and alleyways.

Greg in his rickshaw

Cathy

Our first stop was at Pak Bas and Bu Gidahs’ bakery where they produce the traditional Kembang Waru Bread. He came out to greet us and show us his flower cookies and we even got to taste them. He is in his 80’s and he and his wife can produce up to 300 pieces a day.

Pak Bas in his shop

we got to taste them - yum!

their factory

the coolies in the molds cooling

when cooled, they get wrapped

Pak Bas said good-bye

Back in the rickshaws our next stop was a local market where we also got to taste a few things.

outside the market - colored chicks for sale

entry to the market

quail eggs

We visited The Kotagede Gedhe Mataram Mosque which is one of the oldest in Yogyakarta. Royals are buried in a cemetery, and we dressed in traditional clothes as we were told we couldn’t enter the mosque without wearing them. We did dress up and then were told we weren’t able to view it, just how we would have to dress if we did. People do visit it, but for some reason it was not open today.

couple taking wedding photos

more wedding photos

we do look Royal don't we?

the Royal Four!

there were ladies there to help you get dressed properly

the wedding couple

Adi & Hermit

We walked to a local’s house to see the Javanese style and they served us tea and treats.

the local's house

he invited us in

bedroom

tea & snacks were served across the street in their cabana

unwrapped

walking back to the rickshaws

We finished our ride through the village and next went to the Sultans Palace.

the end of our ride

my driver belched loudly often throughout the ride - lol

The Suntan's Palace - music performance room

museum

depicting the bathing ritual - Adi showed us a video of his own on his phone

playroom for young children

cute garbage cart

which color the child went to first signified something about their personality

Our lunch was at Omah Dhuwur Restaurant, and we had a set menu that came with a cold tea loaded with spices, roots, and such. An appetizer of cold cabbage wraps and the main was grilled chicken breast with mushroom gravy, a potato and cold veggie salad. It was good, but half of us would have preferred a more local fare.

steps to restaurant

Next up was the water palace and tunnel from palace to the swimming pools. It started to thunder and Adi prayed for rain to stay away until after our tour. We moved on to the neighboring former royal garden, the water castle of Taman Sari, which was built in 1758 by the prince.

ominous looking sky

the swimming pools

stairs to the tunnels that lead from the pools to the Palace

We visited a natural dye batik factory and had the unique experience of making our own batiks. Cathy and I were both picturing a large factory and were looking forward to buying one. It was in the home of a young couple who greeted us with umbrellas since it was raining hard. They had a boy almost 2 years ago.

After our tea we sat at a table in their factory to choose our stamp and then they showed us how to stamp our own squares. At first, she told us to draw what we wanted on the square. Yikes, none of us draw. So, she told us to pick a stamp or more than one to use. Phew!

I picked up the one I wanted, and she said that one was too complicated. So, I chose another one. After everyone chose theirs, they showed us the process of batik making. A couple of us said if we had known the process before, we would have chosen different stamps.

We got them stamped and then she melted wax, and we drew our names on it with the tool she filled with the wax. Next it was rinsed and hung to dry. Since it takes about an hour to dry, they said we could leave, and they would deliver it to our hotel later that night. What fun!

the family

displaying one of their large batiks

part of their storage area

Greg dipping his took into the wax

the dyeing process

mine hanging to dry

Greg's hanging to dry

all of ours

posing with their large batik

Their home and attached factory

their chickens

We had a short drive back to the hotel and the couples went their separate ways.

We went to Marlboro Street (most famous street in Jogja) We saw the obelisk and walked up one side of the street and then back down the other. There were many stalls of street food, but most seating was on mats on the ground, so we opted for a sit down and had quite good Nasi Goring and Smoked Chicken Rice.

I found a lovely hand painted dress for 60,000 IDR ($4 in USD). We came across a gelato place with the line out the door. It was worth the wait.

Next, I found a couple of magnets for Yogyakarta and then we crossed the street and headed back towards the hotel. My feet started to scream, and we grabbed a motorcycle rickshaw back to the hotel and hit the rooftop bar for some refreshments. While up there we got a WhatsApp that our batiks were delivered, and we swung by the front desk to pick them up on the way to the room. The batiks were packaged so cute, and they included a couple of batik ornaments. (a cat and either a mouse or a dog)

saying goodbye to Adi & Bruce Lee - he ran back to the van to get sunglasses to complete the look - wished they had been our guide and driver for our tour yesterday