Week Nine: Temples and Travelers

After consulting my bank account, I decided it was worth eating Indomie (Indonesian Ramen) for every meal of my last week here to see Borobudor and Parambanan temple, so I booked one last weekend trip to Yogyakarta.

After a 3:00 am wake up call and a short flight, I was in Central Java. Yogyakarta is a smaller, much more manageable version of Jakarta. My friend picked me up from the airport and took me to eat Gegung, a sweet Javanese chicken and rice dish. Then I checked into my hostel and dropped my stuff off before adventuring.

My first stop was Parambanan Temple, which I reached on the public bus for about 50 cents round-trip. There were two very clear markets for this bus: local commuters and tourists who were too cheap to pay for the tour bus. Some Romanians sat down next to me and gave me a brief sales pitch for their country. Then they asked me if America was still the dream. I didn't know what to tell them.

Parambanan Temple

Leaving the Romanians behind, I turned into a little street side restaurant to avoid tourist-attraction prices for food. I simultaneously had my most successful conversation in Indonesian and became a social media celebrity; a boy asked me what I wanted (Mie Ayam or chicken with noodles), where I was from (America) and how old I was (dua-dua, not even twenty-two, just two-two). But he understood, so I’m basically fluent now. During this conversation, his mom, who owned the restaurant, took about 50 photos with me which I’m sure are probably now all over her social media.

After my noodles and photo shoot, I made it to the Parambanan Temple, which is absolutely incredible. The Hindu architecture casts a huge shadow over the courtyard when the sunset peaks through the clouds. I almost missed the last bus back into town because I didn't want to leave.

When I got back to the city, it was pouring, and I still had a bit of a walk to my hostel from the bus stop. But it all worked out, and out of all the hostels I’ve stayed at so far, Laura’s Backpackers in Yogyakarta was by far my favorite. It had this awesome outdoor area where everyone was just hanging out and they even had free dinner. Talking to some of the other guests there made me wish I had more time to travel around while I was here, to go on a long-term adventure without having to make it back to work on Monday.

Sunrise near Borobudur Temple

I spent all of two hours sleeping, then had another 3:00 am wake up call. This time it was to watch the sunrise from a hill above the Borobudur temple. It was a bit cloudy, but still beautiful. I remember walking around Saint Paul’s Cathedral when I was in London and thinking of how old that place was. But Borobudur was built eight centuries before that. I can’t even fathom the changes in the world those tiny etchings have seen over the past eleven centuries.  

On the way back, I road in a creaky, stop-and-go minibus that with two Germans, another American, and a guy who was something of a Canadian/South African nomad. His job is based in South Africa, but he can only stay there for three months out of the year because of his visa so he just travels around and works remotely for the rest of the time. I think that's the best thing about staying in hostels, is that you meet so many people in different parts of their lives, and it opens up the realm of what you think is possible. A lot of their trips were just beginning, and mine is coming to an end, but as I prepare to head back to real life, whatever that might be, I’m glad I got to meet a few more people living their own real life right now. It showed me that whether you’re a recent grad, med student, or nomadic Canadian, where there’s a will there’s a way when it comes to travel.