The End of Ramadan and a Trip to Yogya to celebrate two years of marriage

Click to view the Video we made to document our trip to Yogya.

See photo Album Ramadan 2011 (Previous post slide show) for additional photos of the Idul Fitri community activities. This Holiday marks the end of Ramadan.

After 3 months at our permanent site, we finally got the opportunity to get away for a little vacation. Our trip started with 2 nights of camping on the beach. The first night, we went to Pantai Parangtritis. This beach is huge and has large cliff walls and coral boulders, perfect for blocking the wind. We arrived at sunset, so after finding some food, we started the search for the perfect camping site. You would think with the abundance of beaches, we would see more campers, but we ended up being 2 of maybe 10 people. Daniel had no problem getting the fire started, thanks to the abundance of coconuts scattered on the beach.

The following morning, we woke up to people already walking the beach. It was funny to see their reaction when they see us and our stuff, clearly having slept there the night before. We took our time packing our things and enjoying the morning on the beach. The water was still too cold to swim so Daniel made a sandcastle instead. It turns out Bahasa Indonesia (BI) has no word for sandcastle. For the next night, we wanted to find another beach. Buses don’t run to other beaches and we’re not allowed to ride motorcycles so we made it our mission to find someone to take us to another beach. The first group of people gave us lots of information about the area and mentioned that a handful of beaches that were west of Parangtritis but wanted way too much money for a ride. But thanks to our knowledge of BI we found someone who would take us to another beach for about $8.

The second beach, Pantai Kuwaru had black sand! We were definitely the only non-Indonesians and the beach was packed. This beach was new and known for their fish. We found a “restaurant” where you could pick the fish you wanted, killed right before your eyes, and then cooked to order. Not thinking, Daniel ordered a kilo of fish so we ended up with 4 good sized Gerami fish, baked sweet and spicy. Probably the best fish we have ever had, and since we ordered so much, we had leftoversJ. The fish, veggies, rice, and a young coconut drink cost us $6.

After lunch, we walked the beach and killed time until sunset (when everyone goes home) so we could set up camp. The sunset was beautiful. That night, it took a little longer to get the fire started. This beach had strong winds and huge waves so a lot of the wood was damp. Just when we started to wonder what we would do if we couldn’t get the fire started, it burst into flames. God was putting our worries to bed. To end the night, we cooked our fish, some veggies, and peanuts and had a feast in front of the fire.

After “roughing” it for two nights, it was time for luxury. We made our way back into the city of Yoyga by way of walking probably 7 miles to the closest bus. Paige learned too late, that her shoes were not made for walking long-distances. The rest of the trip, she limped around thanks to a huge blister on the ball of her foot. War wounds from Indonesia!

Arriving in the city, we went to the grocery store and bought a lot of the things we’ve missed since coming here. Hamburger meat, steak, cheese, spaghetti, beer, hot chocolate, etc. Then we found the traditional market to get fresh fruits and veggies. The next two days was food heaven after we checked into our private villa. This villa had a private pool, king-size bed, 2 showers with HOT water, a toilet with TOILET PAPER, air-conditioning and a huge kitchen! You don’t realize how much you’ve missed these things until you suddenly have them all back. Hot showers are a gift from God and Paige may have taken 8 of them in 2 days.

The last two days of our trip we did site-seeing around the town. In Yogyakarta, there is still an active Sultan with a palace and everything. We were able to see the swimming pools and ruins from Sultans who lived hundreds of years ago. We visited Borobudur which is the largest and oldest Buddhist Temple in the world. The size and detail of Borobudur is exquisite.

The site-seeing was fun, but the highlight of the trip was enjoying the mornings and evenings slowly cooking delicious food and enjoying every bite. Daniel made a burger that could easy sell in America. Paige’s omelet could feed a family of 5. And the cinnamon/brown sugar glazed apples…oh… my… gosh… (In BI - Astaga!­)

We couldn’t be happier to have had the opportunity to spend our 2^nd year anniversary in such a new way. It was nice to get away from the village life and act like a tourist, but then surprise most by speaking enough BI to travel like a local. We know now, we are exactly where we should be. God is good.