Parents Visit- Semarang, Kudus, Jepara, Jogja, Jakarta.

My parents left almost two weeks ago. They were here in Indonesia for a week and we decided to stay on Java and not try to visit any other island. For one, it's another $100 bucks (give or take) a person to get to another island (by plane. There wouldn't be time to take a boat) and plus my everyday life is lived on Java, and I could better show them around and plan a good trip for them.

Lombok was pretty nice (I went with my sister in December) and I hear Bali is fantastic, but Java has it's beauty as well. Plus it is, in my opinion, a bit more authentically Indonesian than Bali would be. Bali is a western vacation attraction and therefore filled with all things make-westerners-feel-comfortable. I feel like it would cater to the foreigner and not to the native population. Anyways, for these reasons and more, we decided to stay on Java.

The capital of Java Island and Indonesia is Jakarta. It is a huge, huge city full of malls, slums, museums, old buildings, new buildings, and ports. I find it hard to know when one city ends and another city begins here. There aren't huge tracks of land between the cities. There are shacks and houses and occasional rice fields but every city to me looks the same. To know when I have traveled into the next city I have to read store signs with addresses on them. Sometimes there are big arches above the road that say "Selamat Datang Kota ____" (literally Happy arrive city ___) and that lets you know where you are but not where the city begins. The towns just keep growing out past their welcome signs. I'm tempted to say there are too many people here, but as long as people have roofs over their heads and are happy, who am I to say they should stop procreating. Plus unemployment is at 8% which is a -3.5% change from last year and a huge improvement since 2007 when unemployment was at 12.5% (According to indexmundi.com).

So when I was bussing it to Jakarta last year I didn't really know when we had arrived there, I just noticed the houses getting less village-like and things become more congested. Then the malls started popping up and then I knew.

I actually met my parents in Semarang where they flew into after 24 hours of madness from Phoenix to LA to Hong Kong to Jakarta to Semarang. All their bags got their safe and I was happy as ever to realize they hadn't gotten lost in any of the craziness that is traveling in Asia.

We spent the night at the Dafam hotel, about 20 minutes by taxi from the airport and very close to Semarang's newest mall- the Paragon (complete with a Mac store and Starbucks!). It's a really great hotel. I had stayed there once before and the second time was just as good. Good service, good English, a great room with hot water, toilets, AC, carpeted floors and cable TV. The breakfast is an amazing assortment of juices, breads and jams, egg omelets made to order, savory Indonesian food, cereal, fruit, yogurt, and tea and coffee. We paid about $40 a night, and stayed two nights. My parents, who are used to pretty nice hotels in the US, were very impressed.

In Semarang we went to a batik workshop called Semarang Batik 16 in an outlying village, still in Semarang but about 40 minutes away from where we stayed. I only had a web site with a picture or two and an address and I was nervous there wasn't going to be anything there, but we weren't disappointed when we finally go there. We made our own batik at $5 a square, and then they dyed it for us and we picked it up the next day. In the bottom floor of the workshop there's a store and fabric cutting area, and on the top of the building is the interesting stuff- the actual waxing of the cloth both with stamps and by hand. It has a unique smell that wasn't unpleasant. It smelled hot and waxy. Some men were stamping with stamps about a hand span wide and tall in one room, and women were in the next sitting on low stools, dipping out liquid wax with small tools and tracing lines or filling in shapes on large pieces of cloth. So many colors and so many girls working, the walls were a raw, red brick, the window was open and there was a breeze... A really neat experience that my mom especially loved.

Also in Semarang we went to a big Chinese temple, Sam Po Kong, that actually I wouldn't have minded not going to. It gave my mom nightmares that night and it wasn't the most interesting temple I had seen. It was also 40,000 rupias a person, which while that's only a little over $4, it's a bit considering that's what we paid for each of our dinners that night.

We went to a place called Kampung Laut for dinner. I'm mad that I have no picture here to post to give you an idea of this place... My dad took pictures non stop while he was there and I figured there would be no need to take them as well. The camera and therefore the pictures went back with him though.. Hopefully he will load them on facebook and I'll be able to put them up here. Anyhow, Kampung Laut in Semarang (actually I learned today the city's name means "rare tamarind")... It's a restaurant on the ocean and it's best all lit up at night. There are small bungalows that you can sit in with your party and it gives you a private atmosphere but your still part of the action of the lights and live music.. The lights, unlike most of Java I have seen, are not those fluorescent harsh bluish lights but soft yellow lights that make things feel cozy.. There is a bridge you cross to get to the eating area and it's all lit up with lights and they reflect on the water. The food has been excellent both times I've eaten there. I especially like the Zupa soup and gurami bakar (baked fried fish). And their gelato ice cream is pretty amazing as well. I recommend the mint. You can also actually rent fishing rods and fish there and have them cook your fish for you. Pretty cool. We picked up Tyler on our way and met Leanne there. I was glad for them to get to meet my parents and to be able to see them. We live an hour away from each other so it's not like we never see each other but they are my closest community from my own culture other than Joel so it's definitely a treat whenever I get to see them.
So Kampung Laut- go there.

After Semarang we went to Kudus where we stayed at the Kenari Asri hotel. It's no Dafam, but it works. There's AC and a bathtub which I indulged in. Their breakfast is decent and they are the only place in Kudus that serves beer, that I've seen. So funny.. When my parents and I came back from dinner one night we passed through the dinning room (kind of weird lay out for the third floor.. To get to your room you have walk straight through the restaurant) and there were about 15 men all slumped at a couple tables together with open Bintang beer bottles in front of them singing karaoke semi-drunkenly. It was pretty funny, the singing was horrendous and the men were all the kind of drinkers that get puckered out with alcohol so I wasn't sure if they were having a good time or if some of them were even awake. It didn't go on for too long and my dad thought it was pretty funny, so it was no bother. Man, if you are a lover of all things karaoke come to Indonesia. There's one on every corner and while in Kudus it's said that it's kind of a prostitute hangout place, in every other city I've been to in Indo, everyone does it and it's one of the few activities available to go out and do. If it weren't for church and church activities and teaching my life might be really pretty boring here. Although, we rarely eat at home at least in my host family so we're always going out for dinner which is nice.
While in Kudus I took my parents to Omah Mode which I would say if Joel's and my main hangout spot. It's a bit expensive for Indonesians so I've only been a couple times with non-western people. And they just jacked the prices up a good 24% so I might also be there less often then I have been going. I love it at night.. Like Kampung Laut, the lights aren't harsh and the pool which is right near the eating area has a fountain and is all lit up as well. I love it. Their menu is Indo-Thai, and they have great Phuket pad thai noodles. Their juice is also pretty good.. I recommend the guava, strawberry, or passion-fruit (markisa). The sirsat juice feels like it has shredded paper towel in it.
We also hit up KFC and it was nice for their tummies to get something familiar in them. For 15.000, RP ($1.75) you can get rice, chicken, and a fountain drink. I only discovered their amazing wraps last week. Was quite impressed. Peppery and all wrapped up in tortilla love. I miss my AZ for sure, and I think my dislike for Mexican food is gone. Rejoice.

We eat in Colo (pronounced "cho-low") as well, up on a mountain and it wasn't awesome. There was no view (the view is great during the day. For some reason you couldn't see anything at night. Oh come on, you know what I mean... There are usually city lights that are cool to look at at night when you're above a town...)  and my dad got a little freaked out by the chicken head and feet sticking out of the meat plate.

We got chocolate milk at the Muria Milk place.... It's a dairy with the cows right next to it, and the milk is freshly squeezed and pasteurized. Right there next to you. So you can stare at the cows and thank them personally as you drink the delights of their udder. If I thought about that long enough I might gross myself into a lactose-free diet. But then there's my beloved cheese so... Thank you udders.

We took a day and went to Jepara and saw the old Portuguese fort area (there's not actually a fort there... It's just a short board-walk thing next to the sea) and wood making. I bought a couple of door stops. Love when souvenirs can have a functional purposes. The ride was rough on my dad's back and took forever so if I went back and did it again I might have only gone to the wood place and not the Portuguese fort. We saw so many teak trees and got to see the process of making some of the furniture and carvings which was neat. I love wandering in this country.. It's when you go to the back of the shop or take a wandering bike ride that you see the stuff that sticks with you.

We toured around the hospital where I teach and the University and I loved getting to show them my life. That's what sucks about being far away from people you love.. You can't relate experiences if they've never been where you are. They can only imagine and when they've never been to the country.. nay, continent!.. that you live on, how are they going to imagine anything close to what it is? So three cheers of Muria chocolate milk for planes and the efficiency of travel these days. I appreciate you bringing my loved ones to me. I don't appreciate you taking them home.

Jogja and Jakarta were our last stops before they left. At Jogja we stayed in the Ibiz hotel off of Malioboro road, the main shopping center. It was a great hotel perfectly located. Great buffet breakfast with an awesome machine that grinds the coffee beans right before they are brewed. My dad and I were impressed. We shopped a bit on Marlioboro... Prices are great. There are legit stores but it's the market atmosphere of the stalls that line the street that people are after. Batik galore, t-shirts, souvenirs, jewelry, henna, bags.. That doesn't begin to list everything they have for sale down that street. The light posts were all decorated when were were there for some parade they had just had. It is the capital of Javanese culture and if we had had more than 20 hours there we would have hit up some museums and possibly seen a traditional Prambayan play. Instead we found a little travelers cafe and eat pesto bruschetta and tuna and shopped in their environmental safe-the-world shop that I loved. We then went and checked into the airport and then went and saw the Prambanan temple for a way too short 30 minutes. It is gorgeous and I like it more than Borobudur. I hope to make it out there again before I leave in July.

In Jakarta we stayed at the FM7 hotel near the airport. An ok hotel with a good restaurant, a great work out room complete with a pool, sauna, and hot tub, and free shuttle to the airport. The internet wasn't free and the bathroom was open in the room which made going to the restroom a bit awkward in a room for three.. We went on the sweetest tour of the old fish market and a local fishing village with an associate of a man named Brahm. I would recommend Brahm himself and not the guy we went with, but he was ok. It was where he took us and not he himself that made it awesome. We had lunch at the Batavian Cafe located in the main old Dutch square, and it was the best food and atmosphere I've had so far here in Indonesia. However, it was not Indonesian at all. It was like 1940's decor, a complete bar.. I felt like I was at a manor in some plantation. Big windows, big chairs, crisp white linen table cloth, jazz playing in the background... Oh and loads and loads of pictures filling the walls. Most of them from the 1940's. Famous people and famous photographers. Even the bathroom stalls had framed pictures in them. I really loved it. Got a mint cappuccino frap that was to die for and munched on an assortment of cheese and home made bread for lunch. Split a salad with my mom... What a vacation from Indonesian reality. It's good to find those atmospheres that allow you to get away from it all for a few moments. After a long lunch we faced the heat again and walked around till we decided to get an anggota (small van bus) to Monas, the national monument. Good thing we did because we would have been walking forever. The Monas is a huge torch, about the size of the Statue of Liberty I would say.

They left the next day for Hong Kong and I left about the same they did but headed to Semarang. It was a little tough the first day they were gone but I had activities lined up with the community and teaching started the next day so it was really ok. I'm doing much better now that I was before they visited. Just, mentally, culturally... More focused, more in perspective.

My parents were TROOPERS here. I drug them everywhere, and, while now that they are back in the States they're sick, they weren't sick once here and never complained. Blessed people they are.

Hopefully these give someone out there ideas about what to do when visiting Indo. There are a couple of things I would change but mostly, it went so well.

Thanks mum and dad. Love.