Ride Java 2019

Day 1

Surabaya

Flew into Surabaya in the morning, taking the first flight out of Singapore. Arrived at our hotel and our bikes are awaiting us.

Today we went on a city tour following the Heritage Trails of he city....visited some of the famous sites (wished we could cover more).... and also to familiarise ourselves with the bikes as well as the road conditions and habits in this region. Peak hour traffic is a real killer. Kudos to the Indonesian for being so accommodating and patient going through such traffic on a daily basis.

Places we stopped by to explore along the way:

1. House of Sampoerna

The House of Sampoerna is a tobacco museum and headquarters of Sampoerna located in Surabaya. The main building's architectural style influenced by Dutch colonial-style compound was built in 1862 and is now a preserved historical site.

2. Heroes Monument

In dedication to Sukarno Hatta (Father of Independence)

The Heroes Monument is a monument in Surabaya, Indonesia. It is the main symbol of the city, dedicated to the people who died during the Battle of Surabaya on November 10, 1945. The 10 November Museum is located under the monument.

3. Ampel Tomb & Mosque

Ampel Mosque is an ancient mosque located in the Ampel sub-district, district Semampir, Surabaya, East Java. The oldest mosque in East Java was built in 1421 CE by Sunan Ampel where his tomb complex is located within the area.

As one of the eldest mosque and most crowded in Surabaya, Ampel Mosque have special story with ‘Sunan Ampel’, one of ‘Wali Songo’ who have an effect in broad Islam in Java. Sunan Ampel Mausoleum located in building west of Ampel Mosque

4. Cheng Ho Mosque

Cheng Ho Mosque, also known by the name of Muhammad Cheng Ho Mosque, is mosque which the building designs resembles a temple (house of worship of Tri Dharma). The mosque is mostly colored with red, green, and yellow. The ornaments are rich of antique Chinese influence. The entrance resembles the shape of the pagoda, there are also reliefs of dragons and lions made of wax with ‘Allah ‘written in Arabic letters at the top of the pagoda. The name of the mosque is a form of respect for Zheng, a Chinese Admiral Muslim. During his travels to Southeast Asia, Zheng did not only trade and made friendship, also spread Islam.

Tomorrow... we head up to Mt Semeru-Bromo National Park.

Ride Java 2019

Day 2

Surabaya - Mt Bromo-Semeru National Park

Rode from Surabaya to Mt Bromo-Semeru National Park. Left Surabaya town early at sunrise to beat the traffic. Along the way we stopped by Madakapura waterfall supposey known to be the mediation place of the General Gajamada, a warrior of the Majapahit Empire. From there we rode up to Bromo (expecting a 5 degC weather tonight). Played around the foothills of Mt Bromo at the Sea of Sand in the evening and stayed during sunset to watch the sun come down behind the majestic Bromo crater. Started a fire and bracing the cold weather tonight.

Places we stopped by to explore along the way:

1. Madakaripura Waterfall.

Madakaripura is also called as “the last residence of Gadjah Mada“. According to a legend, the 60-year-old prime minister dissolved in the air near a waterfall. He has not been found by the emperor or by anyone else. It's believed that swimming in the Madakaripura falls give health, strength and youth.

Legend or Truth ??

2. Mount Bromo

The legend of Mount Bromo traces back to the fifteenth century, when the princess of the East Javanese empire of Majapahit, Roro Anteng, and her husband, Joko Seger, came to the Bromo region. They named the region Tengger—a combination of their last names (Anteng and Seger). Their region prospered, but the ruling couple found themselves unable to conceive. They prayed to the gods from Mount Bromo’s edge. The gods agreed to give them children on the condition that they throw into the crater the last child born as a sacrifice. Soon they gave birth to their first child, and were blessed with many more.

When the twenty-fifth child, Kesuma, was born, Roro learned that this would be their last and would have to be sacrificed. She refused. This angered the gods, and they threatened to spew volcanic fire over the land. In order to protect their kingdom, the couple followed through on their promise. It is said that the child’s voice was heard shortly after, ordering the Tengger people, and all their descendants, to perform an annual ceremony to commemorate the event and appease the still angry gods.

Ride Java 2019

Day 4

Malang - Surakarta

Completed our longest ride for the trip today. We travelled about 320km from Malang to Solo (Jogya) with all the detours to visit places along the way and we made it to Surakarta (Solo) in good time too. All went according to plan with the places of interest visited. As of now, We have crossed from East Java to Central Java. From the Majapahit kingdom to the ancient Mataram Empire. The culture and personalty as well as language defer slightly in this region.

Places we stopped by to explore along the way:

1. Trinil Museum of Natural History.

Sanggiran, Solo.

UNESCO Heritage Site - The Java Man aka The Solo Man

Trinil is a paleoanthropology site in Indonesia that is slightly smaller than the Sangiran site. Trinil is an area in the Bengawan Solo valley that became the home of ancient life, precisely the Middle Pleistocene, about a million years ago.

In 1891 Eugene Dubois, who was an anatomist, discovered the first ancient human remains outside Europe (at that time) namely Javanese human specimens. In 1893 Dubois discovered ancient human fossils Pithecanthropus erectus and various fossils of ancient animals and plants.

Until the findings of other older humans were found in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya, the findings of Dubois and von Koenigswald were the oldest known humans. This finding was also used as a reference to support the evolutionary theories of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Many scientists at that time also proposed the theory that Java Man might be the missing link between ape humans and modern humans today. Today, anthropologists agree that today's human ancestors are Homo erectus living on Java.

Its sister museum in Sanggiran, Solo, Indonesia display a similar set of exhibits on th prehistoric humans, The Solo Man.

2. Kraton Kesunanan

Surakarta Palace is one of the most historic places in the city of Solo. This palace is also often called the Surakarta Hadiningrat Palace. This is because from the past until now the Surakarta Palace was a residence for sunan and court families who still preserved the customs and culture of the kingdom.

This Surakarta Palace is part of the history of the Yogyakarta agreement. The agreement was an agreement between Sunan Pakubuwana III and Pangeran Magkubumi in dispute in the Mataram Sultanate and formed an agreement with the Dutch Hindu Government or VOC that the Mataram Sultanate was divided into two namely Surakarta and Yogyakarta.

Typical colonial trick....divide and conquer.

3. Fort Vastenberg

Vastenburg Fort is a Dutch heritage fort located in the region Gladak, Surakarta . The fort was built in 1745 by order of Governor-General Baron Van Imhoff . As part of the Dutch supervision of the Surakarta ruler, especially against the Surakarta royal palace, the fort was built, as well as the center of the garrison . Opposite is the residence of the Dutch governor (now the office of the City Hall of Surakarta) in the region of Gladak.

The shape of a fortress wall is a square with the edges of which there is a spatial projection called bastion (bastion). Around the castle walls there is a trench that serves as a refuge with bridges at the front and rear doors. The building consists of several separate barracks with their respective functions in the military. In the middle there is an open field for the preparation of troops or apple flag.

After independence, the fort was used as a TNI base to defend independence.

Observing the places, culture and how things run in new areas we had a few observation that we had made about Central java. We learnt many new things along the way about the region. Most notably will be:

• Adipura Awards

City of Ngawi

Going through mny towns as we cross from East Java to Central Java. One sight became apparent. A showcase of huge sculpture of elephant tusk within each city... Adipura, they called it comes in different unique sculptures but prominently displayed within towns.

Adipura, is an award for cities in Indonesia that are successful in cleaning and managing urban environments. Adipura is organised by the State Ministry of Environment.

• Fuel

They call it Bensin here instead of Petrol. There are there Big major companies (Pertamina, Total & Shell )

There are also 3 different grades of bensin.

- premium (lowest grade and subsidised)

- Pertalite

-Pertamax (highest quality avail)

So normally a full tank of 3.1 litres wil cost me 28 000 rupiah and I am able to achieve 191 kilometers on one full tank.

Help with the bike fuel consumption calculation... anyone??

In summary, today is our longest riding day covering from Malang in East Jav and crossing into Surakarta (Solo) in Central Java. The journey took us over 320km stretching about a 10 hours journey including visits to a few sites along the way.

Ride Java 2019

Day 5

Surakarta - Yogyakarta

Started the day early. We were excited to be visiting a few UNESCO heritage sites today. These are mostly the ancient temples and places used by the previous empires that are scattered around Surakarta.

Places we explored today:

1. Prambanan Temple

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Built in the 8th century, this is the largest temple compound dedicated to Shiva in Indonesia. Rising above the centre of the last of these concentric squares are three temples decorated with reliefs illustrating the epic of the Ramayana, dedicated to the three great Hindu divinities (Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma) and three temples dedicated to the animals who serve them.

2. Kraton Yogjakarta (Yogyakarta Palace)

A look at the Mataram Kingdom & the shift of political power.

Mataram, large kingdom in Java that lasted from the late 16th century to the 18th century, when the Dutch came to power in Indonesia. Senapati (later known as Adiwijoyo), became the first king of the Mataram Kingdom. Senapati attempted to unite eastern and central Java without much success.

Sultan Agung who came to power in 1613, as the Dutch entered the region, Mataram was able to expand its territory to include most of Java. After capturing several port cities of northern Java, especially Surabaya, he attempted to seize Batavia (now known as Jakarta from the Dutch. He launched two unsuccessful attacks, one in 1628 and the other in 1629. The Sultan also brought and spread the religion of Islam on Java as well.

This caused most Hindu and buddhist worshipper to flee Java into the island of Bali. The sultan also launched a “holy war” against Bali and against Balambangan in extreme eastern Java. He then concentrated on the internal development of Mataram. He moved the inhabitants of central Java to the less populated Krawang (in western Java) and encouraged interisland trade.

Similar palaces and state buildings were found in Yogjakarta and in Surakarta namely a Palace and a Dutch Fort. The Dutch seperated the political powers of Sultan Agung descendants awarding them in name a province each.

Below are picture of similar buildings in Yogjakarta.

3. Vredeburg Fortress

Fort Vredeburg Museum, was a former colonial fortress located in the city of Yogyakarta. The military complex has been converted into an Independence Struggle Museum which was opened in 1992. It is located in front of Gedung Agung and Kraton Yogyakarta.

Again this is a similar concept to that of Surakarta.

A very convenient place for the Dutch to oversee the movement of the local King during that time. With a garrison holding down the fort the Dutch governor were able to manipulate the local political scene during that time.

**Fort Vredeburg was closed during our time of visit.

4. Taman Sari

Proposed UNESCO Heritage Site

Taman Sari consisted of four distinct areas: a large artificial lake with islands and pavilions located in the west, a bathing complex in the centre, a complex of pavilions and pools in the south, and a smaller lake in the east. Today only the central bathing complex is well preserved, while the other areas have been largely occupied by the Kampung Taman settlement.

Since 1995, the Yogyakarta Palace Complex including Taman Sari has been listed as a tentative World Heritage Site.

Myth or Truth ?

It has been said that there is a secret tunnel leading from Taman Sari to the sea. And each and every new ruler will use the tunnel to commune with the Spirit of the sea, Ratu Kidul. Nyai Loro Kidul (also spelled Nyi Roro Kidul) is an Indonesian goddess of the sea. She is the Queen of the Southern Sea (Indian Ocean) in Javanese and Sundanese mythology. According to many popular belief she will remains as the consorts of all kings beggining with Senopati.

We arrived at our Destination for tonight. It was the shortest ride of the trip today of a 100km but it still took us 10 hours to complete the journey due to all our detours to visit places of interest.

Ride Java 2019

Day 6

Yogyakarta - Cilacap

Started out early morning while most were asleep. We headed out at 4am to enter the Borobudur temple in the hope to catch the beautiful sunrise over Mt Semeru and to experience Borobudur at the dawn of light. Tickets have to be bought in advance (we bought it yesterday) and it provide us with a stay in Borobudur temple from 4am ill 8am with a buffet breakfast included. We had entered the temple complex in the wearly hours and climb the steps in the darkness.

1. Borobudur Temple

UNESCO Heritage Site

The Sailendra dynasty built this Largest Buddhist monument in the world between AD 780 and 840. The Sailendra are the ruling dynasty in Central Java at the time. It was built as a place for glorifying Buddha and a pilgrimage spot to guide mankind from worldly desires into enlightenment and wisdom according to Buddha. This monument was discovered by the British in 1814 under Sir Thomas Stanford Raffles, it was until 1835 that the entire area of the temple has been cleared.

Borobudur built in the style of Mandala which symbolizes the universe in Buddhist teaching. This structure is square shaped with four entry point and a circular center point. Working from the exterior to the interior, three zones of consciousness are represented, with the central sphere representing unconsciousness or Nirvana.

Notice someone common in our history??

Today we will ride with the idea of Ecotourism in mind. We are visiting places that villagers have converted into eco friendly yet with a touristy appeal to draw in the toourist dollars. The residents aof these areas have modernised themselves and wish to get out of poverty as well as the agricultural industry. This is especially true of the younger millennials who have better education and access to resources. Many NGOs (non government organisation) set up help groups and fund to help these villagers.

2. Kali Biru Forest Park

A paradise for instagrammers however it caters more to local tourists. Pretty much unknown... better to keep it that way i guess before it becomes too commercialised. The road in is quite bad with very steep incline up to 60 degrees. Road does not appear on gps map so need to rely on instinct and asking around.

Kali Biru used to be a farming oriented community that has now moved towards Eco tourism by the youngsters of the villagers. A great initiative to create income for the community.

3. Hutan Mangrove Api Api

Ecotourism day

The villagers of this village used to be fisherman (most still are) however some of the villagers have come together as a community to start ecotourism in the village. Their idea and focus was to built unique and creative bamboo bridges along the mangrove swamps. The bridges are all interlinked by banboo walkways. What is interesting is that only ropes and bamboo are used in the building of such structures.

4. The Statue of Dewa Ruci.

A Javanese Story.

The Story of Dewa Ruci describes a student's obedience to the teacher, independence act, and hard struggle to find identity. The introduction of identity will bring one to know the origin of oneself as a creation from God. The introduction of God gives rise to a desire to act in harmony with God's will, even unite with God or often referred to as Manunggaling Kawula Gusti (the union of servants of Gusti)

The stoey of Dewa Ruci was later adopted into a play or title of a puppet show, which contained the teachings or philosophy of the moral life of the Javanese people.

Late arrival today into Cilacap.

Last 60km had a 20km mountain stretch. It took us 1 hour to clear the hill climb with switchbacks and up to 70 degrees slope. On some stretch we had to be trodding on gear 1, dragging it all the way. Did not help that it was single lane only with narrown sides for overtaking.

On a side note the new straight stretch of road between Puworejo to Cilacap is great to ride...less traffic but take note there is no petrol kiosk for quite a stretch. The road remained un-tolled (no charges for using the road) for now.

We rode 2.5 hours into the dark today before reaching our destination.