Day 5: A Volcano in the Clouds and Handicrafts

Today we had to get up relatively early again. At 8 AM, we met with our guide and driver and then drove out of Yogyakarta to Mount Merapi. This volcano is one of the 30 active volcanoes on Java.
On the way, we briefly stopped at a local market. Our tour guide let us taste Tapè (fermented cassava) and snake fruit. Both didn't really convince us in terms of taste.

Shortly before the national park, we changed vehicles and boarded two jeeps. The vehicles themselves were rather adventurous, but they had an official permit. However, the technical condition left a lot to be desired. In our jeep, first the door wouldn't open - then it wouldn't close properly. But at least there were doors; the second vehicle didn't have any at all.

But the tour was fun and reminded us a bit of our trip to the JimJim Falls last year in Australia.

We drove to a viewpoint from where you can see the summit of the volcanic crater - if it isn't shrouded in clouds like today.

We also visited the former house of the mayor of the small village at the top of the volcano, which, like all the other houses there, was destroyed during the last major volcanic eruption in 2010. It now serves as a kind of museum where the remains of the house and furnishings can be seen.

After we switched back to our minivan, we stopped at a batik workshop on the way back to the city. There, we were shown the elaborate process of traditional batik painting, and we also got to try our hand at tracing patterns with wax.

The second stop was at a silversmith, where various ornaments for jewelry were made from thin silver wire.

After a rather late lunch (there was again a 3-course menu and juice cocktails), we hurried to get to the Taman Sari water palace since it closes at 3 PM. We just managed to get in. The water palace used to be the residential complex for the sultan's wives, including a bathing pool.

Before returning to the hotel, we made a shopping stop.
Since we're taking the train early tomorrow, we gave our luggage to our driver. He will take it by bus to our next hotel, allowing us to travel light tomorrow.
We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool. For dinner, we went to Malioboro Mall.


Statistics:
Distance traveled: 78 km
Distance walked: 8.5 km
Overnight stay: Melia Purosani Hotel Yogyakarta