Yogya

It's basically a must go if you are in Indonesia. Yes, it is somewhat touristy, but its touristy for a reason--there's a lot to do there, and, if it makes you feel any better, western tourists are easily outnumbered by the armies of Indonesian school children who are also on trips there.

Bente Vreedeburg--former dutch fort. Nice to look at, and is in a nice plaza with the Yogyakarta's President's Residence (SBY's home when he visits Yogya), and the Bank of Indonesia. All done in the white colonial style, so they blend in together, and creates a nice picture.

Jalan Malioboro-Yogya's main street, and where my hostel was located. Lots and lots of vendors there--my only issue was that sometimes you have to push through the crowds since in some cases the sidewalk is only one person wide.

Tarim Nasari--water palace--a must go--basically a private retreat for one of the Yogya sultans, with swimming pools and lounges built specifically for his harem. Go there now, because it is in the process of getting UNESCO certified, and the sultan wants to tear down and bulldoze the surrounding neighborhood, which gives it a unique ambiance, and landscape the place instead--which is a shame considering that according to the government guide, families have lived in these homes for over 100 years, and are being moved some 5+ kilometers away. These families, by the way, have traditionally worked for the sultan.

If you are interested in Batik, then go to the government arts center--not any other store. It's legit stuff. The problem is that batik isn't exactly molded to American tastes unless you are into sometimes psychedelic, technicolored scenes.

It will break your heart, but since you are in Asia, you do need to go to an animal market of some sort, so go to the Yogyakarta Songbird Market, where they traditionally sell songbirds and cages and food to Indonesians.

They don't only sell songbirds, though. They sell pigeons and prized roosters and chickens as well--the chicken equivalent to showdogs.

Once you get past the birds, you will find some interesting options for sale. Guinea Pigs are everywhere--crammed together in all sorts of cages, with little room to breathe. Same for the hamsters, mice, and rabbits, some of which are evidently so slow that they don't even put them in cages.

As I mentioned before, there were some truly heartbreaking scenes--puppies panting desperately for water (not getting any), with their chewed off tails and stacked in cages on top of each other. Geckos are crammed in cages like the guinea pigs, and seemingly every type of snake is available for purchase.

You see monitor lizards trying desperately to escape their cage, and you see bats clustered together upside down in cages. There was also a bullfrog who was supposed to have mice for dinner, but evidently wasn't hungry, since the mouse was alive and sitting on top of the bulldog.

There were big fuzzball chicks of what can only be assumed to be some big bird or bird of prey, since as chicks they were the size of some pigeons, all desperately screaming for their mother.

That's not all. The two worst instances by far involved two mammals. They had a monkey with a chain around its waste in a tiny cage about the size of two standard computer monitors, and the monkey was going crazy--literally running or climbing around in circles.
I had to refocus my eyes to make sure I wasn't hallucinating for the other: out in the hot sun, in its plastic cage, with no water, and looking deathly ill, was a river otter. A river otter, some of which are endangered species, and a species that spend their entire lives in water. I was very nearly tempted to buy the otter just to donate the animal to the zoo and take it out of its misery.

Once I got past the songbirds, the place made me want to vomit. What's even more disturbing is that this animal market would be considered to be relatively tame by asian standards, especially compared to some in China.

Other random note: on my train from Yogya to Surabaya, they played Shania Twain music videos for the last half an hour, along with an Indonesian group named Vieira, with a girl lead singer that can be best described as some kind of britney spears/averil lavigne/michelle branch hybrid. It actually wasn't all that bad, to be honest, but, then again, without an ipod of my own, I've been forced to adjust my music standards to liking anything that is actually playing.