~farewell to you old southern sky, I'm on my way~

Sitting here in my familiar Singapore airport (complete with two free movie theatres, a swimming pool, game room, massage chairs, and 6 stories of food) I've reluctantly parted with the Southern Hemisphere. The haunting feeling churning my guts reminds me that seven Filipino sunsets separate the wild, blissful freedom of these past three months and the meticulous, rigorous challenges of the next sixty. But in the words of the great philosopher, Yeveniy Elperin, "I'll burn that bridge when I get there"...

So this past week was remarkable! At Jogjakarta (the most important of four cities in the Special District of Yogyakarta which is the last remaining Sultinate in Indonesia), the wonderful Jeanette Ling arranged for a couchsurfing host for us. For those unfamiliar with couchsurfing, it is a social network for travelers by which members offer complete strangers spare rooms/beds/couches in their homes for free! Sure it sounds dangerous, but of the dozens of travelers I've spoken to who've tried it, no one has anyhing but great experiences to share! Our host, Ananda, was THE MAN! Not only did he graciously put us up in his restaurant, Kono Resto, but he drove us around the city, showed us local cuisine, waited in the car while we did the touristy things, and hung out with us. Of course we chipped in for gas and bought him a few meals but we got much more than what we paid for. This was the sort of kindness from a total stranger that can restore your faith in humanity.

So we started off eating breakfast at a hole in the wall local joint that BLEW our minds (or more appropriately, our tongues). We proceeded to the largest Buddhist temple in the world, Borobudur,

until Ananda drove us to a museum which explained Yogyakarta's royal family. Afterwards, we met up with his cousins who happened to be visiting for Ramadan and took a Jeep up a volcano which erupts every four years. It's due for 2014 but luckily, we missed it.

Later all 9 of us went to an ALL MUSHROOM restaurant for dinner where we stuffed ourselves with assorted truffes for two bucks!

Before the night was over, we stopped by a local park where uni students hang out (Jogja is a giant college town). We sat around the park while buskers approached to seranate us with western and Indonesian favorites for a quarter. Kids cruise by in these neon rental beatles blasting top 40.

People drink delicious, mostly nonalcoholic beverages to the wee hours of the morning. There are even a couple of trees 10 meters away from each other that are said to be protected by spirits. The goal is to blindfold yourself and try to walk straight through them from 50 meters away. Jeanette and I failed :-(. All in all, it was a charming little nighttime town hangout that America needs much more of.

Back at the Kono Resto, the coowner, Desi, had some wild French and Indonesian purse designer friends over for drinks so we shared laughs with them. A drunk kid stumbled by, insisting that I was god because of my beard. I played along but Desi was disgusted at his inebriation. Because of a certain religious extremist and mafia presence in the city, many restaurants choose not to serve hard alcohol. The result: less drunk idiots bumbling about. Not a bad call.

The next day found us at Jogja's second famous ruined temple, Pramanan. Local archaeologists struggle to restore and rebuild this UNESCO world heritage site after frequent earthquakes endemic to the volcanic island of Java. Yet they persevere and their efforts shine.

Next Ananda drove us to a snakeskin fruit plantation that his friend owns. What is snakeskin fruit you ask? It is part white juicy lychee-like sweetness and part GOD. Delicious! The owner led us around a river past a couple small waterfalls before the rain started hammering down. We drove to shelter to enjoy a snack of snakeskin, fresh made tempe, and rich, ripe coconut juice!

Upon returning to Kono, Desi had prepard an all-you-can-eat feast that pumped at least 10 lbs of food into my gut. We ended the night at the market for souvenier hunting.

At 6 AM, Ananda picked us up, stopped to grab a few delicious Jogja pastries, and shipped us off to the airport. Off to Sumatra! We didn't have much time to explore the world's sixth largest island so we leapt straight into the jungle for some treking. But not before the World Cup final! We woke up at 2AM to catch the exciting and captivating match from our little jungle restaurant/hotel surrounded by dozens of europeans and villagers.

On the trek, our party consisted of four Dutch, two Swiss-Germans, a Russian, and us. It was a merry cast led by a jungle village pothead trickster guide, Ardo. Ardo, self-proclaimed king of the jungle, found us over a half dozen Orangutans,

 

a pack of black gibbons

and a few other beasts.

The real treats were the Orangutans! There are only two places on earth where you can see these majestic apes, Sumatra and Borneo. The Sumatran Orangutans are smaller an their Borneon counterparts, browner and more tree dwelling. After a rigorous day of trekking, we set up camp in the lush green forest overlooking a stream

and Ardo entertained us with card tricks, matchstick puzzles, and riddles. Great conversations ensued (Oleg talked about how positive life in Russia is and how very little it resembles the ignorant American propaganda), great laughs, and, of course, more great meals! 

 A sketchy river rafting session (one tube popped, a girl and a guide fell off into the rapids) brought us back to the little village, Bukit Lewang from where we caught a van back to the main ciy Medan (according to the Dutchman's well travelled brother, the filthiest city in world). This is a run down massive traffic jam of a town where car horns replace bird song and smoke fills the skies. A $12 flight the next day (+$20 mysterious airport tax) and we're back in the airport to which none other compares, Changi, SIN. 9 more hours and Philippines await!