Indonesia - central Java

Sat 2nd March

Sunny 30 degrees, humid, thunderstorms pm.

Today we headed off in to Semarang - a city of 2m occupants for a local tour. 

The welcome party as we walked from the ship

Again we drove through heavy traffic of motor scooter dodging ,although perhaps not quite as dense as we witnessed in Bali.

There are 2 children on this bike - 1 is wedged in front of the driver. Mum and Dad have helmets, youngest has hair and the eldest has extra protection of a bobble hat.

We visited a relatively newly built Mosque (finished in the early noughties) - we learnt that here in Java most muslims are moderate in their beliefs eg. women do not have to wear a hijab and are treated equally with men. They also embrace older traditional rituals and include Hindu and Buddist religious practices (well that’s what our guide told us and he seemed a reasonable chap)

The atmosphere around the area was pleasant and jovial. We did not go into the building itself. Apparently the spaceship looking pillars extend into canopies for cover.

We also visited an adjacent tower with views of Semarang to the sea and the mountains from the viewing platform on top and briefly visited a small museum of all things Muslim.

Q

The mosque from the tower, the city leading to the port beyond. 

Back in the minivan and on to our next stop - a church built by the Dutch in the 17th century. It has been restored with help from Dutch patrons and the government.

They even have an airconned organ! (we have been told it doesn’t actually work - the organ that is not the aircon)

Instead of benches or pews they have ratten chairs.

Outside a crowd of schoolgirls played with balloons - much jolarity - think it must be some sort of feast day?

The kids are quite charming, in fact lots of people we passed in the street smiled and waved hello. Graham even got a couple of high fives! We passed one group of older children and they giggled as they stroked their noses and pointed at ours - guess they’ve not seen many europeans with their funny long pointy noses. Some people asked for our photos with them. Apparently our cruise ship is the first one for 2 months, we think due to fear of extremist muslim militancy. (a  piece of gossip circulating talked of a kidnap plot !)

Java was a dutch owned from the 1600’s until after the 2nd World War. Initially owned by the Dutch East India Co which transfered to the Dutch government in a deal to bail out the Co’s debts. The city has an old town built in Dutch style including dykes and canals but sadly were not as successful as those in the Netherlands. Over the years the buildings have been left to fall into disrepair, but efforts are being made to restore the old buildings to their former glory. However looking at the rather crude building practices this could take a considerable amount of time , great chunks  of the city appeared to be being part demolished and re built with rubble, dust and debris all over the city. There appeared considerable amount of new build going on also - hotels, shops, appartments. Our guide had stated that Indonesia had been very corrupt but he hoped now the government would invest in the country to ease the state of the people who are poor when the country is rich in assets.

Next stop - a traditional local food market .... you can say that again.. Endless stalls of poultry - dead and alive, meat, fish (mostly heads), shellfish, fruit, veg and the occasional knicker stall. Graham declined the pink Bridget Jones style pants waved at him beguilingly by a stall holder. One woman told us the market opens at 2am and shuts at 11am. We think the 2am was a translation error. It was so hot the quicker you bought your meat the better. On one chicken store various bits of chicken were laid out, only the remnants when we got there at 10:30, but the reserve stock was below running around clucking wondering if they had another day left or not.

Imagine John Torode whispering in his Masterchef voice “let’s hope the contestants don’t ruin the ingredients from the invention test table of produce” ( there was not a dismembered human hand - just Carol’s poor photography!)

All modes of transport from rickshaws to bikes.

We caught many puzzled glances as us europeans passed through in crocodile formation.

Then on to the third and final temple - this time a Buddist one. 

Our guide says that the Javeans blend buddist practices with islamic - they use the drums like the ones in Buddist temples as a call for muslim prayer.

A beautiful pagoda with a budda and other deities ( Carol’s a sucker for a Buddist temple as the next pics will prove)

And some other fellas..

Graham being encouraged to rejoin the group - we could have stayed much longer.
We then were driven to a stunning old looking hotel which turned out to be just a few years old. We had a delicious lunch and then was taken around to look at the rooms and grounds ( ah that’s why the cost was so reasonable...) Fortunately for us the sales pitch was halted by a sharp heavy thunderstorm. Still if you ever find yourself in the middle of the countryside in central Java we would certainly recommend it!

The entrance to one of the rooms.

The place was full of we presume authentic art works.

A lizard on a day bed ( wooden - the lizard and the bed!)

The gardeners just about to make a run for it 

Then off to our final stop. The house with a thousand doors. This used to be the rail headquarters for the Dutch administration - don’t think there were actually a thousand doors but if you count the window shutters it looks to have an awful lot.

Actually there were several buildings - again many older school children around.

Some of the rooms contained railway memorabilia, others photos and posters from the post war move to independence.

We love a good propaganda poster.

Sadly nearby is also a memorial for all the young people killed by the Japanese in their bid for freedom. Java was occupied in the war by Japan.

So that was an interesting full day. We left feeling very warm towards the Javaens - we felt very welcome here in Semerang.

Tomorrow another sea day and then we arrive at our destination - Singapore.