Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 17 November 2017
Indonesia is an archipelago of over 17,000 islands and I am on the island of Java. The world’s most populous island, more than half of the country’s population, 145 million people, live on Java. I flew from Caticlan to Manila, then from Manila to Jakarta, and finally from Jakarta to Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta is in the central region of Java, and is the cultural capital of the island. It is the only region in Indonesia that is still governed by a pre-colonial monarchy, the Sultan of Yogyakarta, Hamengkubuwono X.
There is a daily market near my hotel, aside from the main market hall, provisions are also sold from small stores the size of a cupboard, or straight from the pavement, anywhere that looks like it could be a good spot to display items to sell, is used.
Coconut preparation is done using a homemade machine and pasta is dried on the roadside.
I came across a furniture restorer, what looked like a cycle/junk shop and locals having refreshments at a local café.
Outside the market, there’s a line of becak, a bicycle-rickshaw with three wheels, the drivers dozed while they were waiting to take shoppers home, there is a choice of motorised or human powered becak, and this is a very popular method of transport here.
The top floor of my hotel provides a good place to capture the sunset.
