You want to see my art gallery?

Yeah, probably not but I’ll have a laugh at your expense. However, I’ve got to give it to these geezers here in Yogya—damn they are determined and resolute. In all honesty, I quite like it and all that jazz but the annoying—and albeit slightly creepy—old scrubbers that roam the streets flogging absolute garbage put me off a bit. It’s not that I can’t deal with it but I can’t turn every moment of my life into a piss take, right? Or then again, maybe I can.

Anyway, as I’ve been eating my way through Central Java, I’ve come across some rather interesting characters as well as some lovely food. Yogya definitely hasn’t lost its reputation for being cheaper than cheap. Yeah, the food is on the sweet side but more or less, it’s good and that’s all that matters at the end of the day. The best deal so far has been the ‘gado-gado’-esque dish plus beer for 35.000IDR. That’s about what I normally pay for a beer in Surabaya depending on how low I want to go in my choice of the watering hole. So as you can see, Yogya is light on the budget.

Yesterday as well I managed to have the best ‘gudeg’ I’ve ever eaten. It was a bit expensive in comparison to everything else here but the quality was just outstanding. I didn’t even go in to eat. I was only looking for a place to sit down and have some real coffee instead of the shit they call coffee in a sachet. Anyway, it was rock n’ roll and really just reinforced what the hell it’s all about and that’s having a hole in the wall joint that serves up better food than you could get in the nicest restaurant here. That’s just the way it is full stop.

Em, aside from the usual culinary adventures and trying not to get killed, I actually have managed to do some useful things. I did the ‘kraton’ tour and even went back to Prambanan yesterday since the last time I was there a big chunk of the temples were still under renovation. Aside from the usual hordes of culturally and historically ignorant buffoons, it was a success. The weather was spot on and thanks to my company I wasn’t bothered by anyone except for some snooty twats whom I would’ve indulged had they not interrupted me when I was talking. Why do people do that and then wonder why I don’t want to give them the time of day?

The plan today is to head out to Borobudur so I can get a second look at it and hopefully a new, better, fresher and clearer perspective this time around. The weather is absolutely beyond fabulous again today. It’s a crisp, clear and—by Indonesian standards anyway—cool 25°C which is just about perfect for anything really. So yeah, I’m going to get my lazy ass out there and enjoy it is what I’m trying to say!

Aside from this rather long holiday in which I had no plan to do anything at all, things are great overall. I’ve managed to finally free myself of the hooks, anchors and quite frankly bullshit that used to run me as well as ruin me. I’m moving on and it feels good to finally be free of the endless stream of lies, deception, deceit and just general horseshit coming out of the mouths of some people. I can honestly say—and with honesty I also mean conviction—that I’m about as happy as I’ve been in a long, long time. Yeah and with that statement I’m going to cut this short to avoid rambling on about nothing at all and ruining a rather productive writing session this morning.

Take care, roll up your shacking trousers, put some cheesy—but fantastic—80’s era KISS on the stereo and eat some dodgy food. “To the hilt” fuckers!!!

\m/