Wonosobo Part 1 (-23)

Thursday morning started earlier than expected with a knock on the door at 6:45. I’d requested breakfast between 8:00 and 9:00, and the receptionist had shown on his fingers that he understood. However, a different man was on duty in the morning, and he brought breakfast, usually served at 7:00, a bit early. Since the room was for two people, I received two breakfasts. Fortunately, the order was correct. I’d ordered Indonesian breakfast, which brought a smile to the receptionist’s face, rather than the continental breakfast I’d been served at other places. The latter consisted of three pieces of white (not browned) toast with the small containers of jam and butter. The Indonesian breakfast—fried rice with a little shrimp—was much better. The rice is seasoned with something—not chili—that makes it a little red.

After a leisurely couple hours, I checked out, took a taxi to the shuttle service, and embarked on the journey to Wonosobo, which took 2.5 hours. The shuttle was a minibus—about half the size of a bus with van-style seats. When I arrived in  Wonosobo, I headed for a snack shop to buy a drink. I was fortunate to choose one in which the woman spoke English well. So I asked her where to get a taxi, and she gave me directions and drew a map to the taxi stop, which was only two blocks away. And I was lucky to get a driver who said he knew the guesthouse. Unlike the previous drivers who said they knew and then took me to the wrong places, this one did know how to get to the guesthouse.

The guesthouse is out of the city, and I was really glad to be leaving it, as it felt very busy, but I hadn’t realized how far out it is. Not only is it out of the city, it is part way up a mountain, and it felt rather remote as we drove there. There are only three cottages, which are made from cement blocks and bamboo. They are lovely. I was especially happy to see a shower with a water heater after four nights with bucket showers with unheated water. The toilet is an American Standard Smart Washer. It has a handle with two water sprays for cleaning appropriate parts of one’s body. It also has the big flush/small flush feature. I wonder if these are available in the U.S. now.

The setting is beautiful with lots of flowering plants. The owners are a retired couple. He told me later that he is 71 years old and retired in 1998. They moved here three years ago. He speaks some English; she knows a few words but is very pleasant and liked me a lot.

Shortly after I arrived, it started to rain lightly. After relaxing in my room for a while, I went to the common area for tea. The owner’s wife, Anna, brought me some snacks—one is made with coconut, but I don’t know what the other is made with. I read and relaxed there for another hour, and then decided to go for a walk. The owner told me how to get down to the main road, but after starting to walk, I decided to head up the mountain, and I walked up for 1.5 hours until the road stopped. A young man on a motorcycle offered to take me up the mountain, but I wasn’t interested. And I was not keen on going up the mountain on the back of a motorcycle on a dirt road after the rain.

The walk was just the kind of walk I love—trees, fields, interesting houses, small villages, and friendly people. The road went through a few small villages. Although some houses are made from wood, 

most are made from cement blocks. 

Some are stucco, often only on the front, and many of these are painted bright colors. Most houses have sticks standing or in piles along the front and/or sides for winter heating or cooking. 

Most houses are basic, but a few are modern and fancier. Most people watched as I walked past them. When I greeted them, they responded and smiled. Some spoke first, usually using the Muslim greeting. A few could speak a little English and asked where I’m from.

These are more traditional villages. Men over 30 (I’m guessing the age.) wear sarongs. Some wear Muslim caps. The sarongs are cotton with traditional designs. Such fabric is also used for slings to carry babies. I passed a few women washing using outdoor tubs like the Thais use. Most women and girls, some as young as pre-school ages, wear hijabs, the Muslim head coverings for women.

Not visible in the villages were many young adults. On Friday I asked Desi, my guide, if young adults stay in the villages or go to cities to work. She said some become farmers, but many go to the cities for jobs. As in other countries, children stay with their grandparents. I saw many grandparents carrying babies. Desi also said that many young adults leave Indonesia to work in places such as Malaysia and Hong Kong. She was a nanny in Hong Kong for two years, but now she’s married and is fortunate that both she and her husband work in Wonosobo and can take care of their two children.

Men have pigeons as pets. I saw several carrying them in cages on their motorcycles. One stopped and let two pigeons out of their cages, and off they flew, reminding me of homing pigeons. One man was doing tricks with them—having them move into different formations on his hands. Later I saw a boy playing with two pigeons.

In some villages the road is paved down the middle for motorcycles. There are frequent speed bumps. As I was walking down after 4:00, there were many motorcycles going up and a few going down. Then it was time for going to the mosque. I saw one large group of women going to the mosque and several groups of men.

Crops I saw include cassava, peppers, corn, lettuce, cabbage, green beans, and green onions. They are planted on small mounds that are covered with plastic with round holes in which the plants grow in order to prevent weed growth.

I noticed that smoking is common. I saw a lot of men smoking, starting with teenage boys. I haven’t seen so much smoking for a long time.

A couple women told me to take their photos, which I happily did. 

I also photographed a few children after asking. They giggled when I showed them the photos. 

On the way down I met a group of boys who were keen on having photos. They followed me and their friends joined them for more photos. When we came to a building being constructed, they said it is a mosque. I knew I hadn’t passed that on the way up; so it was time to ask for directions. I showed the guesthouse card to some women, and they said the name. The boys all repeated it, and everyone pointed back in the direction from which I’d come. So back we—the boys and I—headed. A few minutes later a man on a motorcycle arrived to drive me back. When I realized how far I’d gone the wrong direction because I’d missed the turn, I was especially appreciative of the ride. He accepted a small cash donation, which I was happy about.

For dinner I ordered a chicken dish the guesthouse owner recommended and had it delivered. It came with cucumbers and basil garnishes. I hadn’t had fresh basil since Thailand and enjoyed remembering it and having it again. Cucumbers are a common garnish.

I like the fabric on the women’s sarongs. I realized that I’d seen many patoon fabrics in Thailand that were made in Indonesia and always liked them. But I didn’t buy them because I wanted Thai fabric.

The Dieng Plateau was the reason for coming to Wonosobo. So I asked the guesthouse owner about arranging a tour. While I was eating dinner Thursday night, the guide he contacted came to meet me and make plans. I was a pleasantly surprised to have a woman. When I asked her about this later, she said most guides are men. I liked Desi; so I arranged to go with her on both Friday and Saturday.

Friday’s tour started early when Desi and Danny, the driver, arrived at 3:00 AM so we could drive for an hour to get to Sikunir Mountain, which is famous for sunrise viewing. Desi suggested that I could sleep in the car on the way, but the road was too bumpy for that. After arriving at the mountain, we had a hot drink before starting up. Desi said the area opened to tourism only three years ago. Since it wasn’t the weekend, there weren’t many people going up. After drinking, Desi and I walked for about twenty minutes to get to her favorite viewing point, which is half way up. (Since we’d driven most of the way up, the walk was pretty short.) The trail is rocks and was a little wet from the rain on Thursday. Zigzagging up the rocks in the dark with a small flashlight was challenging but not too difficult. I missed the Chinese steps. Since the altitude is about 2000 meters and it was early morning, it was cool, but walking kept us warm. Desi had come prepared with a mat for us to sit on while waiting for the sunrise. When it started to get a little light, we could see that there were dark clouds above the mountain and white clouds covering most of it. Just a bit of the top was visible between the cloud layers. As the sky became lighter, we could see the mountain top. The amount visible changed as the clouds moved, but it didn’t increase during the hour and a half we watched. It was not a good sunrise day. Oh, well. Desi showed me photos of other sunrises that were beautiful. And the women at the shop said there had been a good sunrise on Thursday, but my bad luck seeing beautiful sunrises continued. 

As the light increased, we did have nice views of the valley to the north.

Sunrise time having come and gone and daylight having arrived, we headed to the top of the mountain, which took about ten minutes. As we ascended, we realized that we had been lucky where we were because there was no view higher up. The top was in a cloud, and everything was white. Another experience that seems to have been common for me the past couple years. Desi showed me photos of the top with the distant mountain behind it. It would have been nice to see it, but we had a good time anyway. At the top of the mountain, I saw my first selfie sticks to hold the phone farther out for group photos or photos with more scenery. I’d heard that they are very popular in Indonesia. I don’t know why they haven’t reached China yet, but they probably will be popular there soon.

The trail down was easier, as it didn’t zigzag as much and didn’t seem to be as steep. The steps were uneven rocks, making me miss Chinese steps again, but now we could see them, which made walking easier. We arrived at the bottom at 8:30 and headed on to the Dieng Plateau.

The four sights on the Plateau are close to each other. On the way to the first sight, we stopped to see a hot spring that has cloudy, white water from whatever mineral causes the water to be white. The mountains are terraced with potato fields. Potatoes are not frequently eaten; rather they are used for commercial purposes such as making potato chips. We saw four sizes of potatoes at a stall, but most seem to be very small.

The first stop was Colorful Lake, known for its beautiful colors. Not so much on Friday due to the lack of sunshine. But the lake was still lovely and the views from the observation point are also spectacular. Many photos of us with the beautiful background were taken. 

In the distance we could see steam rising from the volcanic crater.

Desi pointed out carica trees, which are related to papaya. The leaves are similar and the fruit grows the same way, but it’s a different shape. These trees grow only on the Dieng plateau. Carica needs to be cooked and is usually eaten in syrup.

After viewing the crater from the distance, we headed to see it close up. By this time, I was ready for breakfast; so we stopped at one of the stalls at the crater and had pan fried potato wedges and fried cassava chips. It was fun to try both. Only a few stalls were open since it wasn’t the weekend. Desi said they’ll all open on the weekend as many tourists from the cities will visit the area.

The crater is an active volcano but isn’t the kind that will ever erupt. The magma far below the surface heats the water so it is boiling. In the largest pool, the water is seven meters deep. When the wind blew our way, we could smell the sulfur. The hot water is used for geothermal energy to produce electricity.

The third sight is 7^th century Hindu temple ruins. There are five temples and an area of living quarters. 

The latter are outlined in stone, and most have stone piles in the center. A group of boys heading across the area walked through and over the ruins. 

We were allowed to enter the temples and sit on the steps. 

You can see the outlines of carvings on the temples, most of which have not been restored. They are in the process of restoring one of the buildings.

The area has abundant trumpet flower trees that were blooming. In addition to the orange and yellow flowers I’ve seen, there were white and pink ones.

The last stop was the theater where we watched a video about the Dieng Plateau. It has subtitles in English, which was nice. It was good that we had saved this for last, as it started raining when we got into to the car at the temple ruins. So we finished the outside sights just in time. After the video, we returned to the guesthouse, arriving just after noon. Having been out for nine hours, it felt like it should be evening; so it was strange to think that so much of the day was yet ahead.

I’d arranged to have my included breakfast for lunch since we left so early. Anna had offered to make a take-out breakfast, but I didn’t really want that. So I had my rice, cucumbers, fried egg, and fried meat patty (I didn’t eat the last two.) on the patio. This was followed by a cut up mango that I especially enjoyed.

Having had a very short night, a nap was in order after lunch. In the evening I took a short walk. A mountain was then visible, which was fun. When I was sitting in the common area drinking tea, Anna brought me a plate of French fries, which was a nice surprise.

I’ve enjoyed the muezzins here. Rather than just being a brief call to prayer, they also include ten to twenty minutes of chanting/praying. The last one at night goes on for almost an hour, reminding me of monks chanting/praying in the wats in Thailand. I’ve also enjoyed the country night sounds—insects and frogs—as well as the quiet.