Waterfall

This one is mostly for the pictures. That, and I am procrastinating some dissertation work.

Three years ago, on my first trip to Indonesia, I went to a waterfall: Kendung Kayang. It is about 1.5 hours from Jogjakarta by motorbike, up a pretty steep mountain pass.

Anyways, last week I invited the pre-missionaries to visit the waterfall with me. Some of them had never been, and they are about to leave for 2 years. I figured it would be a good time to enjoy nature.

The trip included a motorbike ride with many sharp turns.The tree is painted white so people won't crash into it. At least that's what I believe. No one has really been able to explain the painted trees to me.

At the top of the mountain, we parked, paid our 2,250 rupiah entrance fee ($0.30), and hiked down a steep trail to the river bed.Which resulted in an only slightly inappropriate photo.

Today the river bed is full of volcanic rock and sand from the 2010 Mount Merapi eruption. When I was here 3 years ago it looked very different. Not nearly as many rocks. Here is the waterfall. You can see the young men loitering around the base of the falls.

I was the only one interested in getting very wet. Completely understandable, as it was pretty cold. I had forgotten how waterfalls create so much wind. And the water falling on my head really hurt. Much nicer standing next to the secondary falls nearby. The young men borrowed my camera to take pictures. True to Indonesian fashion, I came home with almost 100 photos. I think I took about 20. I don't really mind, though.

Most of the pictures were shots like this:Or this: Indonesians sure love taking pictures. We spent an hour or so enjoying the falls.

Then, after a quick stop at the ever-classy SpongeBob decor restroom, it was time to head home.
Anyways, in a few days these young men are leaving for their missions. I will sure miss them.

I suppose I am going to have to make some new friends. It was a fun trip. I definitely recommend it, if you are in the area.