Yogyakarta Final Day

The whole reason we took this final family adventure was because Elise's school trip to Yogyakarta got canceled because of the hostile political environment surrounding Jakarta International School. The fee for the school trip was refunded to us...and so we used it to do the trip as a family.

Elise wanted to see Merapi (the volcano which erupted in 2010) so we drove to "base camp" and rented a jeep. To our surprise, Charlotte was the most exstatic about the jeep ride of all the kids! Only minutes into the ride and she started to sing at the top of her lungs, "We're on a bumpy ride! Going up the volcano!" It was as though she were starring in her own broadway musical. The serenade lasted a full twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of pure bliss.  

 In stark contrast to Charlotte's mood, we toured the remains of one of the villages destroyed by the volcano. A spoon cemented to a melted glass cup. Ash everywhere. The skeleton of a motorbike.

 Clouds shrouded the top of Merapi, but the kids enjoyed "exploring" the lava field.

We ended our day by going into the actual city of Yogyakarta to the lovely Phoenix Hotel. Wow - what a beautiful hotel! Harkening back to the Dutch colony days, this is a step back in time.

 The kids enjoyed an evening swim in this lavish pool.

I anticipated access to lots of restaurants, but was disappointed. By the time the kids were cleaned up from their swim, we were starving (definitely the low point of the trip) and the hotel restaurant was extremely pricey. We broke down and got a Happy Meal for Charlotte at nearby McDonalds and ordered pizza for the twin at Pizza Hut - not exactly the cultural experience I was looking for.  I couldn't bring myself to eat the fast food, so Elise and I decided to eat at the hotel. We ordered a minimal amount of food: shared an appetizer, soup, and dessert. The service was soooo slow -- one of those upscale restaurants where the dinner can last for a couple hours -- and we were soooo hungry. We ate all of the complimentary bread, and Elise even ate the interesting sauces because she was famished. When the waitress finally brought the small appetizer I think I actually said, "Please just bring ALL the food, now!" (I get a bit testy when I'm hungry).

With semi-full bellies and a much less-full wallet, we retired to bed. Truman and Owen stayed up until 11pm to watch the Germany vs. USA World Cup match. They ordered room service and even though the program cut off after only the first half (ah Indonesia!), they had a memorable time together.

All in all, Yogyakarta was a wonderful getaway. The only thing I would have changed would be to have Madi with us. But she was in Virginia trekking and camping. We missed her very much and can hardly wait to be reunited as a family.