The plunge from an upgraded suite in a five star hotel to a standard room in a (barely) 3 star place in Yogyakarta is not pretty. For me the room is basic but not the worst I have ever stayed in by a long shot, especially in my back packing days. My life partner has a look like thunder on her face. Through the torrent of criticism the phrase uttered “I want to go home” grates against my consciousness. Then there is the thumbing of the bed sheets presumably looking for bed bugs. What to do? We have started on a guided private tour with a company that I have researched and gets excellent reviews. I go back to reception and inquire about the existence and availability of better rooms. I am sold a better room for the princely extra sum of $40 per night. This room passes muster (just) and we are back on track.
Indonesia is a country with 130 volcanoes. Geologically it is part of the “ring of fire”. Prone to tectonic plate shifts and earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Mt Merapi, an hour drive north of Jogjakarta has been quite active on Java. Major eruptions in 2006 and 2010 have reshaped the landscape and lava flows 11 months ago destroyed a number of villages with loss of life. As we drive up to the volcano it is remarkable how resilient the villagers are and the regeneration of vegetation on the fertile volcanic soil. The devastating forces of nature destroy but the fertile volcanic soil that results restores the balance just as quickly.
Heavily shrouded in cloud Merapi flirts with us revealing some of her flanks through transient breaks in cloud as we jump into the jeep to ascend her flanks.
One cannot ascend the peak and the main tourist complex is about halfway up. The whole area is run by the local villages and I cannot begrudge them the tourist fees. These people have repeatedly had their livelihoods wiped out by the volcano and they keep coming back! There are multiple places to go to, most of them kitsch creations that particularly appeal to a certain Asian tourist stereotype we tried to avoid these. Our first stop was the bunker which is as its name suggests an underground shelter from the thermoclastic volcanic events. As the name suggests these are bursts of superheated steam up to 2000 degrees Celsius. It was such an eruption that killed the tourists on White Island in New Zealand. In the 2010 eruption 2 people sought shelter in the bunker. This time it was lava and not steam and they were entombed and died.
Our final stop was the museum Sisa Hartaku a village chieftain complex again destroyed in 2010 here it was not lava but the thermoclastic cloud. The ruined structure is particularly poignant and demonstrative of the power of nature. The twisted molten metal tells the story.
The afternoon sees us back in Jogjakarta and through the enervating heat we visit he Taman Sari Water Castle. Damaged by earthquake in 1865 it has been restored to its former glory as a castle and water wonderland for the Sultan’s harem. From his vantage point he would watch the women bathe and select from the “smorgasbord” of beauty for the next concubine to pleasure him.
