Text 19555, 80 rader
Skriven 2014-11-17 19:40:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: Asia 307
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When it came time to leave the Hilton, the MRT back to the
airport was a snap, as we didn't leave until the tail end
of rush hour. Despite our being on a low-cost airline, we
were quickly processed into the real terminal and were on
our way in jig time.

QZ8103 SIN JOG 1110 1225 320 1DE

We paid extra for early seat selection and boarding, so
everything was a snap, and we had plenty of room for our
carryons (there was a cutout at our feet as well). Catering
was buy-on-board, and it smelled okay, but we passed.

A short, smooth flight, with polite and efficient service.

Yogyakarta is not the finest of airports, but immigration
was pretty easy (just so you have the visa fee in hand in
dollars), and soon we were out into the tropical heat, where
we found a genial driver with a signboard ready to take us
the couple miles to the Sheraton Mustika Yogyakarta.

There we were given a two-room junior suite that looked the
size of a regular suite anyplace else, two balconies, could
have slept four. Decent view over the somewhat pastoral
property. Wonky electricity.

Being peckish by this time we headed to the hotel eatery,
where I had a quite tasty herbed oxtail soup (lots of bony,
rather tough oxtail meat, but the broth was good), and Lilli
got the Texas burger, which was your usual overkneaded and
perhaps fillered meatloafy thing, with lettuce, tomato, and
onion and ketchup on the side. Fries were decent.
-

There is a shuttle that takes you downtown, dropping you off
on Malioboro (odd transliteration of Marlborough, I think),
the main shopping road. We walked the length of it and
didn't see anything particularly interesting, but the stores
and their constant yammer and hawking were entertaining. 

Lilli wanted to get some runners for her dining table, so
we stopped by what was supposed to be one of the nicest
batik places; being unattuned to such things, I don't recall
if she bought anything or not. After, we were enticed into a
so-called art exhibition next door, where there were some
reasonably nice things for fairly high prices and some less
nice things for smaller prices. The person on the showroom
allowed as how he was a student, and we could pick up his
stuff for a little less than the standard, and the store was
due to close tomorrow, so pick up stuff quick! We said we
would come back tomorrow (and didn't).

A stroll down the road again then up the next one, which,
surprisingly, was considerably more uninteresting and
grotty, though there were some slightly enticing barlike
establishments where it looked like getting whored upon and
then drugged and robbed might be in the works. Luckily Lilli
was with me, and the sky began to rumble, so we caught a cab
out of there; got back home just as the heavens opened up.

In our room had appeared a fruit basket that had snakefruit
(salak pondoh), which tasted like a somewhat aromatic
potato, some good finger bananas, and an orange that also
tasted rather like a potato. Lilli, not being a strange-food
person, passed on all of these.

It was time for a trip to the lounge, which offered some
not-so-good snacks, the best of which was a sort of baked
siumai. Lilli asked for red wine; what came was a really
nasty rose wine, not nasty in the usual sticky sense but
rather in a having been kept out in the tropical sun way.
Johnnie Red saved the day.

For me, Bintang beer, guava juice, and pineapple juice.

A good sleep after a long day.

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