My family stayed for the whole long weekend and, considering I usually don't even bother attempting to do more than one thing a day in this country, we managed to fit quite a lot of activities. We had rooms at the Phoenix Hotel, my favourite thing about which was the abundance of real bread and hot water, and, of course, getting to play sleepover with my Mum.
Over the course of the weekend, we managed to fit in several shopping trips as well as several trips to the salon. On the first night I suggested Mum and Aunty Annie check out the salon, and we caught a taxi from the Phoenix up to my end of town in Jalan Kaliurang. I was directing the taxi driver, keeping an eye on the left of the road, but I couldn't for the life of me see the sign for the salon. After a while, I was sure we'd passed it, so I got the taxi driver to do a u-turn and try again. After the third time past, and several calls to my friend, we gave up and went to my kos to get some of my clothes. After that, we tried a couple more times, until finally, exasperated and still unable to find the great hulking pink sign that said Wulandari Salon, I got the taxi driver to pull over near where I thought the salon was. I took a quick walk, and sure enough, 50 metres down the road, I found the little side-street. I looked up, and the sign was gone. It turns out that I wasn't crazy, they'd just taken the sign down for maintenance, and Mum and Annie got their (mostly enjoyable, except for a casualty in the form of a pearl earring) trip to the salon.
The next day, we woke up bright and early to beat the crowds and the sun to visit the famous Buddhist temple Borobudur. Even though we arrived early, we were still swarmed by people trying to sell kitschy tourist things. After a largely successful stint of acting as Grandma's body guard, fending off people (in, proudly, my increasingly scathing Indonesian - for example, makin lama, makin nggak mau: meaning roughly in that context, the longer you try and sell me that, the more I don't want it) we made the crucial error of asking one poor guy about his fan/hat hybrids. It was already warming up, and Grandma didn't have a hat, so she pointed out him and asked me to check how much they were. Unfortunately, in Indonesian bargaining culture, once you express even mild interest in something the seller is pretty much convinced that the sale in the bag, and even if you decide against buying it, he or she will follow you around relentlessly. This guy was no exception. After hearing the price, and Grandma saying she didn't want it, the guy followed us to the door of the visitor's centre, then waited with his nose pressed to the fence for about twenty minutes afterwards, still calling out to me when I went outside briefly to go to the bathroom. After dropping his price to about a third of the original, Grandma decided to buy the hat after all, and finally the guy left us in peace.
I have to say, in a little side-note, I loathe bargaining. The whole institution of it. I hate how time-consuming it is. I hate how both sides are looking to get the best deal for themselves. I hate the competitiveness. I hate how petty I feel arguing over a few measly cents for some thing I barely care about. If I want to buy something, I just want to buy it. I don't want to stand around awkwardly trying to get the best deal without sending some poor Indonesian bankrupt whilst trying to maintain dignity and get out of the place as soon as possible. Ugh.
Anyway, back to Borobudur. We bought our tickets, and my UGM student card came in very handy. My ticket was about AU$2, whereas everyone else had to pay about AU$10. We hired a guide who led us to the temple, starting with the top level, and explained in great detail the symbolism, stories and meaning behind the stones, carvings, flowers and design of the temple.
My three mothers were feeling the heat, so they sat down and made best friends with hordes of school children, while I monopolised the guide and ascended all three levels of the temple. The guide pretty much told me over an hour's worth of information about the temple, so I'll just mention a few of the (in my opinion) more interesting aspects of it. There were the carvings outlining Buddhist economic principles: if you have a shop, make sure you sell cheap, moderate and luxurious goods so that all people can buy from you, and that way you'll be prosperous.
Men should be leaders, and women should be caretakers of the ocean and the environment. The carving below represents what men should be (like the Elephant; strong leaders) and what they shouldn't be (stupid, like a cow, dirty, like a pig...and something like a deer).
There was also a particular statue of Buddha that gave you good luck if you could reach through and touch his foot.
Anyway, after coming back from the temple, we spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and shopping, and then they all flew out at an ungodly hour on Monday morning, while I had to get back to the proverbial grindstone which is class on a Monday.
It was so great to see my family. Even though I feel like I've carved myself a bit of a niche here in Yogya, I miss home and I miss everyone there. It meant so much to me that my family came all the way over just to see me and how I live over here, and I was especially impressed and happy that Grandma made it along as well.
Alrighty kiddies, that'll do it for the moment. Thanks for tuning in!!
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