Next stop—Surakarta/Solo

After what seemed like the glamour of Jogjakarta, Solo was a let down. This was partly due to the overwhelming January heat. We ducked into a movie theatre for the air- conditioning for a couple of hours of relief and watched a long-forgotten movie.

Jogjakarta

Jogja seemed like the silver capital of Indonesia. We spent a couple of days roaming silversmith shops and all the other goodies that Indonesia had to offer. I was after batik, but it had to be green and brown seemed to be the dominant colour on display. My daughter was drawn to fake Cartier watches. This was a dream come true for her because everything was cheap compared to Australia. We idled through markets where batiks hung like waving flags, tasbis (Muslim prayer beads) filled entire stalls in a multitude of designs and hues, and the food was to die for.