In search of the Colonel

We leave Cipanas with heavy hearts, such a lovely place, but time is somewhat of the essence and we must head eastwards towards Yogyakarta (Jogy in affectionate terms). Yogyakarta is something of a modern metropolis, home to several universities and the Sultan.

We are staying very upmarket here, accommodation costing a whopping 250,000 rupia (a whole £13.07) including breakfast! We have a pool and a beautiful courtyard garden.

Our wanderings take us to the main shopping road here Jalan Malioboro, the Batik street it should be called, all the shops selling the same stuff. It's strange how that works here, you will find a street and you can guarantee the first shop you see will sell exactly the same as all the other shops. So, if you see a barbers it will be a street of them, we walked past a coffin shop the other night and there were six more. It obviously works as we've seen it in other South East Asian countries.

Amidst all the batik shops was a mall which we popped into for some air con cooling. The malls here always have food courts which usually represent very good value for money and possibly something a little different, so are worth checking out. There, in a little corner, glowing like a life saving beacon was 'The Colonel'. Sadly it wasn't to be, the chicken was cold and to be fair looked like it had been there for most of the day and a burger would take 30 minutes to cook. I was slightly incredulous at the 30 minutes and did ask "is The Colonel aware of this?" So, it wasn't to be, we headed to the McDonalds downstairs. Adrian complaining bitterly that two large meals had cost nearly £5 (I'd paid), we emerged into the night only to see a 3 story KFC beaming at us from less than 20 metres away. Hey ho.

From Yogyakarta we visit Borobudur and Prambanan two UNESCO World Heritage sites. Borobudur is a Buddhist temple, quite simple and very beautiful in the early morning mist. The top of the temple provides views way above the tree canopy to the mountains and volcanoes beyond, giving a feeling of being in the middle of the jungle. It is quite stunning. As the cloud clears we are treated to views of Volcano Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano. Prambanan is a Hindu temple compound. Very badly damaged by an earthquake in May 2006 (5.9 on the Richter scale), reconstruction is still not yet complete. We are asked on arrival here if a group of tourism students from one of the universities can give us a tour around the site. They are practicing their English as much as their knowledge of the monument but it's interesting and we pass an enjoyable 90 minutes in their company.