Rainy Season Returns

I don't think anyone ever gets used the ridiculous amount of rain and flooding here in Indonesia. These two pictures are only the beginning...

Don't you love how one side of the road is perfectly dry?

Getting the boats ready!

I'll make sure to post the remaining Malaysia updates this week before I take off to Bukit Lawang for some jungle trekking, orangutan sight seeing, bat caving and elephant bathing for the Chinese New Year holiday!

 xoxo amber

Don't be mean.. go GREEN!

The trip back to Jakarta was a pretty easy-going one. We were exhausted from Mt Merapi and ready for some serious catching up on sleep. We had our things packed and ready to go prior to leaving so catching a cab to the airport was virtually painless. We were checked in and snoozing at the gate. The airport at Yogja is TINY! All the gates are in one central area so you don't really have to walk anywhere. It's also very crowded. I took advantage of an extra seat to stretch out and sleep on Ryan's lap til it was time to board. So many flights were delayed as usual.

I don't know why Air Asia always fails to leave on time - regardless of destination or sunny weather - but it does and quite frankly, it's super annoying. I end up taking their flights because of the price though. And they NEVER seem to apologize for the delay. I think customer service is virtually non-existent. Ryan and I actually got into a conversation about this. He noticed right away that "the jobs that don't really matter" (i.e someone to hold open a door at the mall, wash your hair who isn't the stylist, etc) are in excess but the stuff that one would normally deem important such as customer service or rapid check-out lanes at the grocery store should matter. But they don't. It's definitely a cultural adjustment.. one that I have kind of become accustomed to but will be grateful that doesn't exist when I go back home. There just never seems to be any efficiency here. I know that they don't install traffic lights in busy intersections, mainly because nobody will really follow all the "rules" anyway. But don't you think it would help? Shouldn't they consider having pedestrian walkways or at the very least, sidewalks? There are no animal shelters for the strays so you constantly see dogs digging in garbage or cats roaming the school canteen. The amount of trash that fills the local rivers is absurd.

whistle while you work..

I don't have a picture but this picture from Google images to the right of this passage basically sums it all up. And when it is rainy season, it's even worse!

The theories I've heard behind all the trash in the rivers and side of the roads is that before modern-day plastic, people ate from banana leaves. Sometimes food is actually still served this way at local restaurants. Thinking that because banana leaves are natural and perhaps biodegradable, they found and thought it perfectly acceptable to just throw it back on to the ground because it would eventually decompose. Eventually, restaurants or warungs (small roadside diners) moved to plastic or paper plates but unfortunately, people still continue the same habit. Thus, trash-filled rivers.

Ryan was actually appalled during our trip to Bandung (a later post) when one man who was also traveling in the same vehicle as us opened the van door while we were parked and threw his plastic bag out filled with trash from his snacking. He then closed the door and went back to sleep!

I know here in Jakarta the push for Save the Earth or Go Green campaigns are not so common and perhaps that's due to lack of education or no effort put forth by the government to encourage these types of organizations but Jakarta could really benefit. Even when you go through the tollway, they give you a receipt showing that you essentially paid 85 cents. RIDICULOUS. I went to the school bookstore earlier this week in the Secondary (middle/high school) building and the guy told me to wait so he could print a receipt for my white-out ("correction tape")! Whenever I buy a Roti Boy (see earlier post The Bule Arrives #4), they never fail to place this hand-held deliciousness into a paper bag and then a plastic bag and seal it with a staple but "Sebentar Ibu (Wait a moment, Miss). Receipt!" Indonesia has some really beautiful scenery around it and I wish the locals had a little more heart for their home. And don't get me started about its impact upon the environment.. last year in P5 Science, we had a unit on the water pollution and the kids got to really investigate the city around them. I love educating the young about such vital topics!!

Anyway, I try to save as much plastic as I can and use these green cloth bags for my grocery shopping. Sometimes, however, I purposely leave those cloth bags at home so that I can get my items bagged in plastic to use as trash bags. I didn't mean to get all environmental on you guys so now I will get off my soap box. If BBS had placed me in Science again this year AS REQUESTED this probably wouldn't have been an issue.. jusssst saying..

We returned to Jakarta and took it easy for several days before going to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. We spent Christmas Eve and Day at home and really got to relax. I loved every moment of it! We also exchanged Christmas gifts. Below are some pictures from that week.

after a deep-hair conditioning treatment and head massage for $10

my little bookworm reading his new WW2 book in his new winter set

New Yogya shirt

friendship bracelets.. sooo cheesy, I know

blurry picture.. blurry night

Mexican and margaritas!

Update about 5-day, 4-night Malaysia trip for the New Year coming soon!

xoxo amber

The Indonesian Polar Vortex

This will forever be the day where I thought either my boyfriend was going to get pneumonia or frost bite at the very least. We were totally unprepared for the adventure we were getting ready to embark on. This trek will forever be a lesson learned!

A little background information about Mt Merapi:

• most active volcano in Indonesia
• has erupted regularly since 1548 (last eruption was November 2013)
• locals still live near the volcano, despite its dangerous proximity and thousands of deaths
• many believe Merapi erupts when "he" is angry
• "Merapi" means "fire of Rama and Permadi" (those names are old rulers)
• locals believe these rulers and their palace live inside Merapi (including roads, soldiers, domesticated animals and righteous people of that time)
• to make these spirits happy, locals will regularly give offerings inside the volcano

FAQ: Isn't it dangerous to climb a volcano?
Answer: Not really. Merapi might be active but I actually felt safer compared to Batur because there were more things to grip onto. We didn't have narrow pathways that required balance, despite a steep drop below. Although there are no safety waiver forms (not even at Batur), the tour guides are pretty good at what they do. They hike these volcanoes at least once a week. Also, they don't have you vertically climb a volcano. You hike the surrounding mountain that is part of its landscape (and farrr away from the volcano itself). Depending on the volcano you hike, you can sit on a ledge and see the smoke rising (far off in to the distance). I have seen volcano craters but they are perfectly safe guarded (such as Bromo).

Sunday had been a very busy day for us. As mentioned in previous posts, we had a local Yogya tour with ViaVia and did some silver shopping afterwards. Before our trek to Mt Merapi, Ryan and I finished up some last minute souvenir shopping because we knew we would be completely exhausted after the trek.

Around 9 pm, the driver, Miko, from the Mt Merapi trekking company arrived. Once again, we were surprised that he had arrived on time. Yogya really has it together. I give them props. He was very giggly for a 40 something year old man and always had a smile on his face. An authentic one at that. Indonesians are very happy people. I love it!!

Panorama shot taken with the new HD camera!

We were soon on our way to Mt Merapi. We were pretty tired from a busy day/food poisoning recovery so we slept a majority of the 2 hours in the van on the way to the volcano. We didn't really pack anything. I was wearing a rain coat, tennis shoes, a pair of Adidas capris and a t-shirt. Ryan was dressed in hiking sandals, a t-shirt, khaki shorts and a garbage-bag material-like parka. He also brought his backpack and placed a few water bottles as well as the huge loaf of Rosemary bread we had purchased from a bakery earlier. Ryan actually wanted to bring more items but I convinced him that volcano trekking gets extremely hot, despite the early morning chill. He was thisclose to bringing extra clothes but once again, I told him he would be fine without them. I wish he wouldn't have listened to me. :(

Lush green scenery

Where are the hobbits?

About an hour and half later, we woke up to our driver zipping around sharp curves, splashing through rain and speeding up and down the mountain side. Ryan said he felt like we were in some scary movie -- you know, those ones where the person is basically taking you to a place to be murdered?! I told him he was being ridiculous. He can have quite an imagination sometimes. I rolled back over awkwardly (car naps get harder on the back every year) to snooze for the remaining 30 minutes or so.

The naive-couple-before-the-trek photo

Eventually we arrived and were happy to be there. We were greeted by the tour company staff and also a couple from Hong Kong who were excited to trek. They were definitely a bit more prepared than us -- they had flashlights and layers of clothing. Although the company provided flashlights, we both regretted not having enough clothes later. We were served hot tea/coffee and sweets to hold us over for another hour or so before the trek. The bubbling aquarium was relaxing and at one point, I thought about just sleeping instead. (It was here that Ryan also had his first experience with a squatter toilet.)

We were judged for our lack of attire and were asked several times if we had enough clothing to keep warm but we insisted we were fine. I mean, I had done this before! How bad can it be?  Our tour guide looked at us crazy, in his multi-layered suit and rubber boots before leading us out the door.  Our driver wished us a safe (and warm) journey and reminded us that he would be comfortably snoozing on the couch while we froze our tails off. We were on our way!

The trek up wasn't really all that bad. The first few kilometers were spent walking up an inclined paved road. Thanks to my runners legs, my calf muscles got me up with absolutely no pain whatsoever! I asked them optimistically, "Will it be like this the whole time?" They laughed and said, "No." At the time, I didn't realize what was so funny. I would soon find out.

The aquarium + camera's special effects

Eventually we reached the path that would take us up the side of the mountain. We had occasional breaks and sure, it had some slippery areas because of the rainy season and an occasional shower would come down but it wasn't that bad. It helps to definitely be in shape when hiking these beasts.

Our point of entry for the trek

The biggest difference I noticed between Merapi and Batur (in Bali) was the landscape. Batur seemed more sandy and at parts, had very narrow pathways. Merapai, on the other hand, was very rocky and full of trees. Batur had more bushes and branches to grab a hold of. There was more "climbing" with Batur -- slippery climbing because of the sandy texture of the dirt. In fact, I remember it being so sandy that we could actually "ski" down the side of the mountain.

Merapi landscape

Merapi had more sheltered pavilions which was nice (and more privacy if you needed to use the bathroom!) We passed a lot of locals on the Merapi mountain unlike Batur (on the way down). Merapi was also colder (and rainier) as we climbed but that was probably due to the rainy season. At one point, I couldn't feel my toes. They were numb! I was confused because when we hiked Batur, it got hotter.. not colder.. and when I say colder.. I mean at to the point of teeth chattering. It was bad ya'll, like really, reallllllyyyy bad.

Poor Ryan, his nose was running, toes were freezing and he had chills but was pulling me up despite his uncomfortableness. He was the one encouraging me -- even though I was the only one with a jacket, socks and tennis shoes -- to keep going and was constantly reminding me that we had already come so far. I really started to feel miserable but it wasn't because of exhaustion. It wasn't because of the intense cardio and difficulty breathing (higher elevation).. but the COLDNESS. It definitely had to be at least 32 degrees and it continued to lower as we climbed.

This is what misery looks like

It felt like FOREVER before we reached the "plateau". Because of the clouds and rain (aka no visible sunrise), we were told that we were not going to the peak (which was another 3 hour trek upwards). Thank GOD. I didn't even feel like I was in Indonesia. Ryan swore he saw ICE on rocks. The entire area was white. I don't know if it was part clouds or snow (or freezing rain).. but it was not the Indonesia we were in 3 hours prior. The landscape was barren except for some large Lion King type rocks and a few dying weeds. The wind was intense. It made it very difficult to stand. I thought I was going to get knocked over by the wind.

I turned around at one point and saw that Ryan's "garbage bag" had wrapped itself in all sorts of weird directions and was beginning to rip as it smacked and flapped around in the wind. His backpack was completely soaked, his arms were crossed, and his lips were not their usual color. My palms had turned yellow-ish and the tips of my fingers were blue. I pressed on them to make sure there was still circulation and there was.. but I couldn't feel them. Or my toes. My teeth were chattering but I was happy that we made it.. and would be headed down shortly.

Then, the tour guide asked, "Photo?" Instead of laughing in his face (which I was tempted to do), I turned back around and looked at Ryan who said without hesitation, "I can't stay here. I have to leave. Now." Yikes. I asked him if he wanted my jacket and he looked at me like I was a madwoman and then said, "No." I asked the tour guide in Bahasa (well, to the best of my ability) if he had an extra jacket. He said, "No." Ryan was like, "He doesn't have an extra jacket?!" I remember thinking, This guy is bundled up! So -- in the perkiest voice I could muster -- (he really needed my optimism and support at that moment), I told Ryan that I thought he had misunderstood me so I said I would ask him again. Success!

The tour guide (I can't remember his name -- BRAIN FREEZE) then proceeded to unzip his jacket and removed two sweaters (at this point I had snot running out of my red-tipped nostrils, I was squinting because of the intense wind and my entire body was shaking to keep warm) and was just standing there, bare chested with his jacket flapping in the wind acting so bad-to-the-bone -- as if this was an everyday occurrence. My mouth dropped. This guy is crazy. I knew we were gonna have to give him a big tip after that brave feat! Ryan was so cold that he needed my assistance to zip up the jacket. Poor guy. I remember looking at him feeling so, so bad.. thinking he was either going to get pneumonia or frost bite in those sandals.

Trying to stay warm

There was no way on earth we were going to take a photo at that moment so the tour guide led us to a towering rock to break the wind and then began making us coffee. I hate coffee but downed it. And Ryan suggested we get the loaf of bread out for energy. It made all the difference! Eventually, the other couple made it and we all huddled to try and stay warm enough to take pictures.

I was not moving

Although Ryan had begun to warm up, my teeth were still chattering and I couldn't feel my fingers or toes. Ryan had me put my hands in my pockets and placed his hands over mine to keep me warm. He truly is amazing. He then realized that after all our hard work and effort, it would be a shame not to take any photos so he even got out my camera and had the guide snap some photos! He's so great!

We worked our way back down about a half hour later (it felt like 2). All I could do was move my toes (Ryan informed me later that this was actually a bad idea along with the coffee) and think about my warm, comfy bed back in Jakarta. My knee kept trying to occasionally go out so the tour guide was a great help in getting me down the mountain. He practically held my hand the entire trek downwards. He even gave me his gloves! Ryan joked at one point, "I see you have a new boyfriend." I was too cold to really say anything witty. :)

We ran in to some locals on the way down (it was about 7 or 8 am at this point).. who were probably on the middle of the mountain. I sure hope they had homes up on that mountain because to trek that huge beast every day for gardening or cultivating crops is ridiculous. We did see some tobacco crops on our way down but I was still defrosting so I didn't snap any photos. Remember, volcano soil is very fertile!

Posing with local woman (post-freeze)

We were so glad to make it back down! Luckily, there were no injuries or falls between Ryan and I. The other couple slipped and slid every once in awhile which served as a warning for us since we were following so close behind them!

Posing with the tour guide

We were served a scrumptious banana-pancake breakfast and steaming hot tea/coffee. It was so nice to be in a warm place again!

My lovebug

Our clothes were drenched. Ryan was grumpy and I was tired. I couldn't wait to be back in the van and be able to sleep and snuggle with the heat on until our driver informed us that he didn't have heat in his car. Awesome. We passed out in the backseat. I woke up at one point - Miko is a crazy driver - and he was falling asleep! I was too cold to care. He shook his head, opened his eyes real wide, gripped the steering wheel and handled that rain like a boss.

Never again ya'll.

xoxo amber

Beep Beep!

Macet (maw-chet) : Bahasa Indonesia word for traffic

While trying to grade papers this afternoon (mostly in an attempt to stay awake before working out), I heard the infamous BEEP BEEP sound outside my window. I tried to tune it out but not even Lionel Richie could distract me. I peeked out my window and this is what I saw..

Traffic backed up for miles!

No system whatsoever

 This was last week:

This is nothing compared to tonight

Not sure why one direction was worse than the other

Vehicles of all sizes just trying to get by

Yes, those are pedestrians. And yes, this is very common.

I sat in the cab for entirely way too long. The cab driver actually made me get out in walk. These photos were taken after I got inside my apartment. With this kind of traffic, many locals see it as an opportunity to make some spare change. They will literally stand in the middle of all this chaos and with their scrawny bodies, wave at incoming traffic and stop the others. If drivers are feeling the spirit, they will give these unofficial-sometimes-12-years-old traffic directors 500 Rp (approximately 5 cents).

This kind of traffic is really common throughout the day in Jakarta (except early mornings). Sometimes you can sit in stand-still traffic for up to 2 hours, even if you are just miles away from home. Many people call it organized chaos. There is really no traffic light system here. Some busy intersections have it but the government (at least I think) has basically given up on installing them because nobody follows the rules anyway. People run red lights constantly and honk the second the light turns green. Stop signs are non-existent and so are police officers looking to catch the reckless drivers. The only time I've ever really seen a car pulled over by a police officer is on the Interstate for driving on the shoulder (which so many people do anyway as long as there are no "polisi" in sight). Also, cops will pull people over if the passengers in the front seat (only) are not wearing seatbelts. Have no fear however. Often times you can merely talk/bargain your way out of a ticket and pay the officer a personal fine of 200,000 Rp ($20) that they pocket and then everybody basically agrees the confrontation never happened.

Mt Merapi update coming soon!

xoxo amber

Alternative Medicine

The following morning (Sunday) we had booked a local tour with ViaVia called Jamu and Massage. We originally had planned on taking the Silver Making Course but the instructor had cancelled at the last minute so we chose a different tour for Sunday morning.

At 9 am sharp - most tour companies are hardly ever on time because of culture (however, I think ViaVia runs on-time due to their large European clientele) - we were met by two young women who handed both Ryan and I a helmet, instructing us to hop on the back of their motorbikes. We were off!

My giant baby

Our first stop was a traditional market. It was bustling with locals, bargaining for fresh fruits, vegetables and meat. The meat was fresh off the farm. And when I say fresh, I mean fresh..

Who wants chicken?

We also saw lots of unique fruits and vegetables. I am always in awe every time I go to the grocery store or local markets and witness all the colorful and unique looking produce they grow here in Indonesia. The best part is that it is all so cheap, even in the grocery stores! (at least compared to back home) I always try to stock up whenever I go to the grocery store.

I never knew there were hundreds of different types of bananas.. that come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Many of them have very unique tastes, too!

Vegetable or fruit?

While at the market, we attracted some attention for being tall and larger than most of the people doing their habitual morning shopping. We stopped by a booth to see Yogya's medicine woman who has practiced making and selling Jamu for the past 15 years. Now I'm sure you're wondering what Jamu is. The way I understand it (as it was explained to me), Jamu is all-natural. It uses various spices, herbs, fruit and water to cure various health ailments. Each recipe is different and catered to your specific health issue. The main ingredient in all of Jamu is water.

Posing with the Jamu Medicine Woman!

Ryan told the lady (with the help of our translator of course) that he was having stomach problems and that I was having headaches (I've had chronic sinusitis for years). She made us each a different recipe of Jamu and then we were instructed to chug it and then chase it down with some sort of sweet concoction she had created. Mine was so unbearably bitter! I couldn't throw it back like a champ. The ViaVia tour guide did though. She said there's Jamu for all sorts of things, including menstrual cramps, breast enlargement and fertility! Jamu is safe for pregnant women and children as it is all natural. You can even purchase it from local vendors in pre-packaged formulas. Some of these packages have rated R covers.. including the one for enlargements.. there's even one type of Jamu that uses dried seahorse to increase male stamina! Ryan and I couldn't stop laughing.

Seahorse - main ingredient in one Jamu packet

Ryan's special Jamu

Getting ready to take a (double) shot

Where's the Jose?

Priceless

Our chasers

Of course, seeing the traditional Jamu woman is preferred as it is freshest. Many people will also make their own Jamu at home. She is the only local lady who makes the best Jamu as evidenced by her frequent customers. When we arrived her station, there was actually a pregnant woman with a baby wrapped in a sash-type thing (can't think of the name) who chugged that beast, dropped her coins for payment and sauntered away. The Jamu woman's recipes are secret and were passed down from her mother. It is tradition so whenever she passes away, her daughter will take over the family business.

Various Jamu for sale

I think Jamu is great but I could not adapt to the taste. Next time I think I'lI just take an Ibuprofen. (although I did recently purchase this menthol-based oil from Malaysia to rub on my temples which has helped tremendously..) We were also informed that many people will sell these pre-packaged formulas not only at little stalls on the street but you will also see elderly women with very heavy baskets filled to the brim with Jamu, knocking on locals' doors, asking if they need any remedies! I have never been approached by one of these Jamu door-to-door sellers but I bet they're less annoying (and more useful) than a majority of the salespeople who would come by the house and try to convince my grandmother to buy the latest carpet cleaner. These days, the only door salesperson I want to see is a Girl Scout (Tagalongs.. NOM NOM). Did you know they take credit cards now? Sneaky little..

After we said our goodbyes, we waited outside to climb on board the motorbikes once more. Before we drove off to our next location, we had to wait about 5-10 minutes for one of the tour guides to replace her motorbike that wasn't functioning properly. While we were standing around outside, we saw a man with two interesting buckets. Of course, curiosity got the best of us and we walked over and asked him what he was doing. I don't think an explanation was really necessary after close examination of his uhh, field of work. *VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED*

Hmm, I wonder what he is doing?

Whistle while you work..

This doesn't look good..

OMG, are those baby eels?!

Poor catfish :(

Oh, so that's how you kill eels. Who knew..?

Basically, he was doing two things here:

1)  He was grabbing LIVE catfish with his BARE hands out of the bucket and using what resembled a sharp pocket knife to slice their sides and then remove their INSIDES within seconds. Apparently no part of the animal is EVER wasted in Yogyakarta. This includes chickens (and also explains why I so often see chicken feet and chicken necks for sale). Now I want to re-evaulate my consumption of nasi goreng ayam (chicken fried rice -- did you see those sanitary conditions earlier?!) He knocked this job out! Or pulled.. rather..

2) He was sending electric shock waves into the bucket of water containing the eels to help kill them. I was later informed that these can be found in any rice paddy (along with water snakes), where I definitely stepped barefoot last October to help plant future rice. Oh..my..god..

As if his fear factor job was of no-big-deal, he took out a cigarette and starting smoking. I'd say he basically threw down the gloves but he wasn't wearing any.

I was pretty traumatized and was grateful once the other tour guide showed back up. This time we were on our way to another market but this one specialized in the selling of herbs and spices. Ryan is really into the organic thing (probably more so than I am) so he was pretty excited to see so many natural spices and herbs, especially in their original form (such as a bark of cinnamon). And the best part about all of it? So CHEAP! We didn't buy any, mainly because it's virtually impossible to bring any of it back on the plane. But Ryan did joke about retiring in Yogyakarta. After seeing the extensive animal cruelty (which in all honestly was not even half of it) though, I think we are going to have to pass on that one.. (look, I know it happens in the States but sometimes ignorance is bliss).

Everything you need!

Fresh ginger

We had a visitor

The Beyonce concoction

The salespeople were very friendly and informative. They let us smell and hold (and even taste) so many of the different products they had for sale. It was pretty cool to see all these spices and herbs in their natural form. I was informed that one recipe had a sexy "slimming" effect. Our tour guide pulled me aside, laughed and said, "I've already tried it. It doesn't work!" Sure there was the occasional cockroach nestled in between the ginger and we also saw a little mouse having an adventure (and treating the herbs like they were a maze) but you really can't get more natural than this! I loved it! I bought some facial scrub made of all natural ingredients and also a little package of tea that came with rock sugar, tea leaves and a purple sweet potato for taste (I can't remember its name in Bahasa though).

After some quality time spent chatting with the experts, we ventured off in search of our traditional massage, done exclusively by the visually-impaired population! Let me tell you, it was one painful massage and probably the most painful one I've had in Indonesia yet! The massage facility was in a local village that had some interesting sight seeing along the way.

Who needs a dryer when you've got fresh air?

Go Green!

The massage parlor

I asked why this particular facility was hosted by the blind. The tour guides told us it was because it is believed that the blind are so in-tune to their senses due to their visual impairment. This is what is believed to make them such good masseuses. And boy was she right. I felt like Jell-o when I came out of there. Since they were unable to determine the intensity of the massage, our tour guide told us to just say "sakit" ("hurt") or "palan palan" ("slow" I think). Despite the impairment, I still felt pretty awkward being totally naked. This time we weren't even given a sheet to be covered up!

What I thought was super cool about this establishment was Yogya's government involvement in its founding. Basically, the government has created a school for those with impairments such as blindness. Since their opportunity to work a typical job (selling things for instance) is quite difficult, the government has actually trained them (all free of charge) to massage the population. Upon completion of their training, they are then given a job with a massage company like the one you see above. They also have schools specially catered to the blind (or deaf). Pretty cool, huh? Back in the States we have lots of Special Ed rules and regulations but it's really hard to find that in Jakarta, which frustrates me sometimes at my current school because I have definitely encountered students (yes, that are Asian) with learning disabilities and yet the school has no specially-trained persons to accommodate their needs (nor access to the resources). No wonder Yogya is so patriotic! They even have a sultan and do things their own way, unlike the corrupted politics in Jakarta. Many times you can see lots of patriotism in their products. There are many "JOGYA UNITED" shirts for sale. (There are various spellings of Yogya).

Our last stop was the ViaVia cafe in which we prepared our fresh tea purchased from the market (one hot, one cold -- hot was definitely better and that rock sugar had my eyes darting every which direction like a kid hyped up on Mountain Dew). We also made our rice face masks! Ryan was totally up for it. He is such a trooper!

The start of our rice facial mask recipe

Grinding

Our natural tea.. and rock sugar (the yellow cubes)

Before beautiful skin [even though we are still flawless ;)]

Boyfriend up first!

It tickled!!

All done

The remaining facial scrub

Overall, Sunday's tour was so much fun! It was so cool to interact with the locals (again!) and let Ryan get a different exposure to Indonesia. Even though Yogya is only like an hour and a half away by plane, the culture and atmosphere is totally different from the polluted, noisy, hustle-and-bustle environment of Jakarta.

Before saying goodbye to our AWESOME tourguides!

Since we had some sunlight (and energy) remaining, we decided to check out the silver in Yogya. Indonesia is known for having some of the world's largest abundance of natural resources such as oil, silver and diamonds. Unfortunately, the locals don't see ANY of the money. Makes you wonder where it's going..

Anyway, Ryan bought some earrings for his mommy :) that were so cute andddd he also bought me a little pink ring! Both were handmade at the store in which we purchased them. I had so many decisions (and 2 floors) and was in my own little heaven. I think Ryan could tell and was ready to pull me away.

[And no, I am not engaged but it does keep the locals away because it's on my right hand which is the traditional hand for marriage in Indonesia. ;)]

97.5% silver.. for $10.00!

Before the silver shopping, we stopped by a little good Italian place and got a couple of beers, a delicious 4 cheese pizza, a Greek Salad and some potato wedges to share (I told you - we are total fat kids). I think we ate too much though because we DEFINITELY tipped over in the becat.. in the pouring rain.. and busted out laughing about it. I'm sure the driver was freaking out, wondering if he hurt the precious bules.. he didn't say much except "sorry." He also was unable to cycle uphill and made us walk. LOL. It's quite embarrassing to be an American here in Asia you know.. especially in Yogya. They can fit 3 or 4 Indonesians in a becat. We barely fit as 2!

We didn't stay out too late (although I was drooling over all the jewelry) since we knew our ride to Mt. Merapi was coming at 10 pm that night.. Ohhh wait til I tell you guys about THAT adventure! Yeah, I basically thought I was going to lose my boyfriend to pneumonia.


To be continued...

xoxo amber