Day 91 - Solo surprises, a boring ride and Prambanan - Unfinished Business

July 30, 2023

Day 91 - Solo surprises, a boring ride and Prambanan

I was beautifully organized this morning - up early, raking stuff from all over my room, packing it, loading the bike, coffee, and away by 7.30. There was one glitch - I had not eaten and I don't exercise without first eating. I'd rather the feeling of a full gut I rode down the road, as you do, and turned right onto Jalan Dokter Rajiman Widiodiningrat (say it out loud; I'd pay a lot to live there) and got the surprise of my life.

Jalan Dokter Rajiman Widiodiningrat - last night. It's the main road where I photographed the parked motorcycles.

Jalan Dokter Rajiman Widiodiningrat - this morning!

How dare you Solo, Surakarta, whoever you are; you have delayed me already! It's not hard to find food in Indonesia and it gets even easier when there's any kind of event. In no time I had half a dozen plump spring rolls, stuffed with mushrooms and agreeably greasy. I wanted fuel.

Of course, I then hung around to consume both the spring rolls and the scene. I soon learnt that JDRW is closed until 9 on Sundays.

I can hear the C-word ringing in my ears.

What a terrific surprise! People of all ages enjoying a stroll or a bicycle ride or just a little quiet, albeit for just a few hours. Then you put your bike away and count down the time until Sunday arrives again. I had quite a smile when I weaved through the crowd, turned left, and then right heading to Yogyakarta.

I'm not going to pretend that there was much pleasant about the ride, although I'm convinced that it's much better on a Sunday. This may explain why I saw a few bunches of cyclists. Being on a divided road has its advantages, one being that you don't need to watch as attentively for overtaking vehicles coming towards you. But a disadvantage was that us cyclists could do little more than wave across the divide.

It was mostly much busier than this photo implies.

Tiles were the highlight; I like tiles, especially when they're stacked.

I did a quick 55 km stopping only at traffic lights - red lights when the locals stopped. When I did stop for a decent break, it was as much to get my bearings as it was for food. I knew that Prambanan, the Hindu temple complex, was on the way to Yogyakarta. Well, I got my second surprise of the day when, siting in a restaurant, I discovered that I was in Prambanan! I had done my day's cycling.

I found somewhere to stay and walked the couple of km to the site that dates from the 9th century, when Java was a Hindu Kingdom. What remains is a fraction of what once stood. These structures don't fare well in earthquakes, including the 2006 shake. Much has been written about Prambanan. Here's a brief photographic tour from my very nice afternoon.

The "No Smoking" is a cracker! I could add a few others, but they wouldn't be polite.

There are three temples in the main Courtyard. The central one - Candi Shiva Mahadeva is 47 m tall and is flanked by Candi Visnu and Candi Brahma, both 33 m. Originally, four rings each of 240 small temples, guarded the main structures.

Candi Shiva Mahadeva, along with the others, is lavishly carved and contains four inner sanctums at its base.

The walls of an inner sanctum; now we're getting abstract.

No visit to a Hindu temple is complete without a little time with Nandi, the sacred bull of the God, Shiva, and Ganesha, the remover of obstacles and the offspring of Shiva and his consort, Parvati.

The sacred bull, Nandi. Clearly, Bos indicus.

Ganesha; if you touch her trunk it will turn black!

Now, can you spot where grubby little hands have fondled this deity?

The sanctums house other deities.

Surya being dragged by seven horses, one for each day of the week.

Candra being dragged by ten horses, one for each month. The metric Hindu calendar clearly preceded our imperial calendar.

Prambanan is also a terrific place for jigsaw enthusiasts, especially those used to dealing with missing pieces. It's also a place to hone your language skills, something I could well do with.

I sat back on the western side enjoying the changing light and left as Prambanan was closing.

As I walked back, I spotted this school and admired its colour and shapes. It gave me the urge to find a dinner that matched, you know, like wine and food.

And so I leave you with a bicycle for the day, a tangle, I must admit.

Today's ride: 55 km (34 miles)
Total: 6,867 km (4,264 miles)

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