Yogyakarta & Prambanan

4 hours down the long and winding road that separates it from Wonosobo is Yogyakarta, my home for 2 days. Yogya (pronounced Jogja) is a typically bustling Indonesian city and home to the Kraton, where the tenth sultan (the local governor) hangs out. Yogya once was capital city of Indonesia but once the Dutch handed the country back, Jakarta was decided upon as the new capital. The kraton itself is pretty dull and livened up only by my guide who speculated about the conjugal prowess of the sultan. It appears the sultan doesn't have a male heir which led to the following conversation.
"How old is his wife?" I asked
"60," she replied.
"Ah, too late for the sultan then."
"Oh no, the sultan may take many wives. He is only 64 so I think he has more time."
The food in this country to date has been impeccable. There are warung (tiny family owned food stalls) all over the place, but it's mostly guesswork when you're ordering - an epicurean Russian roulette - but I haven't been disappointed yet. Warning though - do not come to Indonesia hoping to shed weight or lower your cholesterol level. Everything - everything - here is deep fried. They probably even give the salad a once over in the wok.
This afternoon I took a trip out to Pambanan to visit the Hindu temples there. Caught the local bus out and am glad I did so as otherwise I'd have missed out on the station announcer who made each approaching station announcement sound like he was auditioning for Hamlet. The temples were badly damaged by an earthquake in 2006 but remain a wonderful sight and not all that heavily touristed. Used my INTO card as a 'student' card and it worked ($7 instead of $15) - hell, I knew that bloody card had to be useful for something.
As for accommodation on the island so far, hostels have been few and far between at least in the cities and towns I've visited. Instead there are many losmen in which you get your own private room and a toilet if you're lucky but you'll need to bring your own bog roll. Some come with a/c but almost all have a fan at least, essential in this heat. My present home has wi-fi hence the blogging binge but I'll be on the road for the next few days to Solo and then on to Gunung Bromo before heading to Bali to finally rid myself of this farmer's tan.