Sometimes the moniker fits. Like today.
I have oft driven past a number of
mountains to the west of Yogyakarta during my field visits, but I
really haven't had the opportunity to see what is in them. Since I
handed in my research permission forms a few days ago to the
Immigration Office, I think am technically not allowed to do research
anymore. Thus, I decided today would be a good time to see what is on
the other side of the mountain.
I was firmly hoping that, unlike the
bear in the childhood song, there would be more to see than just the other
side of the mountain. I wasn't too disappointed.
I started by just motoring through some
nice canyons. They were beautiful, and the elevation was soon high
enough for the weather to be cooler.
As I aimlessly traveled, I ran across
this sign.
It says “Puncak Suroloyo 8 km.”
Puncak means mountaintop, so I decided that was where I needed to go.
Indonesian signs are not famous for their correct listing of
distances, but I had a full tank of gas, so I figured I would be
fine.
I wasn't prepared for the roads... but
my motoring skills are nothing to scoff at, so I was fine.
Also, if you ever wondered how to farm every possible square inch of a mountain... this is how:
Eventually I got a little lost, but I
ran into another sign. It had seen better days, but I followed it anyways.
I found myself at a small tourist
destination spread across the top of two or three mountain tops that
looked like this.
There were stairs. And just when you
thought you were done, there were more stairs. I was wishing I had
brought some water with me.
Remember how I said the weather was cooler on the mountains? Well, it is not when you have just hiked a multitude of stairs. As I stood gasping for breath, sweating profusely, and wishing I worked out more, a group of tourists approached me. Turns out they were some evangelical
Christians who promptly gave me the “opportunity” to explain that
Mormons believe in Jesus Christ. Really, who asks your religion before they even introduce themselves? Having been a missionary for two years, I am generally sympathetic to people sharing their beliefs, but this group definitely had no idea how to talk to people about religion.
They were putting Jesus stickers all over the rest area at the top of the mountain. Again, a huge no-no, especially in a Muslim country. After chatting with them for a moment, I felt uncomfortable on the
small platform, so I went back down the stairs.
Along the way I took this picture which
reminds me of the phrase, “Gondor calls for aid!”
You can see it too, right? The little huts on top of the mountains?
As I went back down the mountain I
stopped and took a picture of some amazing hibiscus. The flowers here
are great.
I chose a different road down the mountain, in hopes of avoiding the poor driving conditions I met on the way up. After about one kilometer, though, I ran into this.
I passed it only to find out that it was a "no through traffic" sign, since the road had a huge crane in the middle of it. Apparently they are fixing the nice road up the mountain while ignoring the bad one. I had to backtrack and retrace my steps down the mountain.
Then I took some pictures of a number of peace signs... Not really. These are Indonesia's attempt at population
control. China has the one-child policy, Indonesia has the softer,
gentler “two kids are enough.”
Recently they've revamped the planned
family policy to say “two kids are better.” I guess it sounds
more appealing.
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