Java is a BIG, very populated island
Once again the lure of utilizing the red eye flight to make our exit from one country and entering the next is too strong to ignore...and a usual we pay for our shortsighted ideas. The connection flight from Taipei to Suryabaya, Indonesia through Kuala Lumpur was in itself, uneventful. However the reoccuring lesson is the losses, of sleep and ability to make decisions or keep our patience with each other, is far greater than the gains of an extra day in one place or another. Unfortunately due mainly to the cost difference, redeyes being quite a bit cheaper in most cases, we keep finding ourselves, like Alzheimer's patients, on the airline website saying 'Oh, look at this flight! It is on Air Rogant and saves us $25 AND there is only a 9 hour layover...Let's book it!' (A small aside here. If you will be in this part of the world and have to book one of these asinine flights of which I speak then try to get your ridiculously long layover to occur in Singapore. Our information thus far about this airport is not first hand but apparently they have free massage chairs, movie theaters, reclining chair/beds, bus tours of the city, and a plethora of other amenities that can make your layover border on enjoyable).
Packing up, we have this pretty much down to a science
Let's have a talk about our welcome to Indonesia. We landed in Suryabaya and once we made our repairs we headed out of the airport immediately noticing something just wasn't right. It took our jetlagged brains a few extra tics before it registered. Surprise... that the cars drive on the left in Indonesia. Not only that but the gradual erosion of the traffic rules from nation to nation has reached a point where the vehicles on the road act more like schools of fish or herds of wild horses then traditional western traffic. The new rules of the road are - no sudden movements and don't stop unless forced. Follow these simple ideas and you should be fine...maybe.
A bleary-eyed picture of Surabaya
We eventually battled our way to the train station, getting our first meal bought for us by a friendly local bike enthusiast on the way and enjoying our new, and very friendly exchange rate of 14,000 rupiah (RPE) to $1 US. We didn't arrive in our starting point of Yogyakarta, or Jogja as the locals call it, until near midnight. 24 hour of transit was plenty so we checked in too whatever hostel was open and clean and were asleep before we had a chance to fully appreciate our situation.
Indoonsia is truly a unique place, further than we could have imagined from the East Asian world we left behind. Some noted difference are the foods, the way people talk, dress and act, and the fact that we can finally recognize letters and words, even if we don't know what they all mean. Turns out the Indonesian language draws from many cultures that until the past century were still major force in running this country. Porrtugese and Dutch influemnmces primarily are seen in the language. For instance, permisi -excuse me and keju - cheese both draw strongly from romance languages.
We met our Warmshowers "host" the next day. You may wonder why I put host in quotes? Well if you meet Tadeus, the boy wonder, you would immediatley understand. At the grizzled age of 14 and already hosting guests from all over the world through couchsurfing and warmshowers for 3+ years, Tadeeus was a force. Backed by his parents, Tadeus is an experienced climber, inventor of electric devices for bikes, tour guide and some-time high-school student- but something tells us the latter isn't enough to fulfill this kid. Being odd that we were closer in age to his parents but more in common with him made for a unique hosting but it didn't take long for us to settle in and start appeciating what awaited our next month. We were lead around the historic city to see the touristy spots and the not-so-touristy ones (those that we enjoy more) such as a spring fed swimming area ued by locals where we received more than one odd stare when we arrived. We spent 3 days learning the foods, the culture/habits and preparing for our ride. After this start we began to see why other cycle tourers have named Indonesia as one of their top spot to tour and are very excited about what awaits.
Tadeus and his family, B. and Tadeu eating chicken intestines, and Bruce iin crazy-pants Yogya traffic.
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