Arrival in Yogyakarta

I arrived in Yogyakarta from Jakarta by plane. A train is possible, but i am somewhat short on time. The taxi from the airport revealed a bigger city than i was expecting but with the usual billboards and shops. They really do have all the worst stuff from the United States here, however, i suppose if you happen to be in Indonesia and have a hankering for KFC with cheese dipping sauce, a cronut, or a hot dog from the Circle K, you're in luck. My favourite of the ads i saw on that drive was a billboard advertising a children's Halloween party which promised "magic show" "games" and..."baby shark dance". Huh? I have not been able to stop thinking about what a baby shark dance entails and every possibility is unsettling.

Anyway, i'm staying at the Malam 1001 Hotel (1001 nights) on a narrow alley near the end of Malioboro Street (a main thoroughfare of shops, food vendors, ojek [moto rickshaw], and bekak [bicycle rickshaw] drivers). My hotel has a nice leafy courtyard and i have a private room, so i'm quite comfortable though i haven't seen another guest.

The first day i just had the afternoon and the main sites in town were closed early so i just went for a walk to get my bearings.

The area around my hotel has lots of restaurants and tour operators, gift shops and more batik shops than any any country could possibly support. Seriously, who is buying all this batik clothing and fabric? I don't see people wearing it and i can't imagine every tourist stocking up on enough batik tunics and dress shirts to keep these places in business. Plus, as far as i can tell, most of it isn't real batik anyway...fauxtik. (That term should totally catch on.) the good news is i haven't seen anything i would like to buy.

I walked, politely declining offers of rickshaw rides and thanking people for compliments on my tattoos, eyeing the street side food stalls and trying to determine if there is any vegetarian food. 

I sat under a tree and watched people setting up for a carnival/night market which is to open later in the week. Chatted with a taxi driver. Smoked cigarillos. 

Walked back to the hotel, stopped to check out a supermarket called "Hero" (Super Hero Market?). I'm always fascinated by foreign supermarkets and have been ever since i saw a box of Rice Krispies in a market in Israel on which Snap, Crackle, and Pop were muscular superheroes...though i have come to question that memory over time. Bought a fresh guava juice and gawked at people lined up for a block for a coffee/donut/burger joint. 

Also, i checked out some of the street art in the narrow streets around my hotel, which ranged from cute to political, and watched children playing with chickens.

There seems to be quite a lot of public art here. Much of it i spotted from the taxi on the ride from the airport but happened on a few statues as i walked around.

Dinner of super spicy green beans with rice at a pleasant restaurant. $3.00 cdn including iced tea. A cigar in the courtyard. Bed. A fairly uneventful day, but a perfectly pleasant one. Plus i had a 4am pick up scheduled for the next morning for one of the highlights of the trip...Borobudur. (Separate post.)