Yogjakarta

The train ride flew by and was more than comfortable. When we arrived in Yogjakarta, the Argentinian and I shared an Uber to our accommodations. After arriving at the Nextdoor Homestay, I fell into bed exhausted and took a nap. After waking up, I went in search of food. The owners of Nextdoor Homestay were very helpful and friendly. They quickly and thoroughly explained how to get to Boroubodur and Pambranam and what else I could do in Yogjakarta. Yogjakarta is the largest university city in Indonesia, so there are many young people there. Additionally, Yogjakarta is still ruled by a Sultan.

Since arriving is always very important, I decided to visit the water temple the next day.

There are many Indonesians offering their services as guides there, but you definitely don't need one!

One special highlight there is the old underground mosque.

In the afternoon, I fell into bed exhausted and rested. Rain and heat really take it out of you. I thought! In the afternoon, I booked the Sunrise Tour to Boroubodur. I was supposed to be picked up at 3:30 am. But everything went differently than expected.
Due to the heat, I had turned on the fan in my room when I went to bed. Suddenly, I felt a little cold. So I turned off the fan. I was still cold. But I could have fried an egg on the back of my neck. In no time, I was in panic mode. I rummaged through my backpack and grabbed the thermometer. A good advice I received before my trip and I want to share with you: You should always have a thermometer with you when traveling! Waiting for the beep was not a good sign. Tada, almost 39 degrees. Crap!!! 23:30, even more crap!!! In panic mode, I packed all the necessary things into my small backpack and had the staff at the Homestay order a taxi to the nearest hospital at midnight. I'm telling you: creepy! I chose this hospital because supposedly they speak English there... more or less. The only thing they were able to do at that hour was measure my blood pressure and write down medication. Thanks a lot! Back at the Homestay, I took one of the Paracetamol tablets and Googled the other pills. Highly concentrated cortisol!!! And then one that is administered during chemotherapy when the immune system is almost non-existent. They want to kill me!!! Into the trash it goes. The night was a horror and I felt pretty beat up the next day. The fever hadn't gone down. I have to mention that the entire staff at the Homestay took care of me very well. Not to mention the discussion about selecting my food. Vegetable soup with rice. It couldn't be anything else! It tasted terrible in that moment, especially because it was so thickened. But there was no other option, I had to eat it. And: Take the temperature every two hours. Despite the paracetamol, the crap stayed consistently high. So the next day, I definitely had to go to the hospital for a malaria and dengue rapid test. The plan had the catch that according to the staff on site, the rapid tests can only be done on the third day with a fever. Well, patience. I didn't really have any left. Thank God, the fever was gone by noon. But since precaution is better than cure, I went to the hospital again the next day. Still without fever. When I asked them to do the rapid tests, this time I got the answer: "Yes, yes. Please waiting and talk to the doctor!" At least it was progress. Until the doctor somehow explained to me: "Ooooh, Malria and Dengue quick test, we don't have it!" I was about to have a hysterical fit. They did offer me a small blood test. Always trying! Better than nothing. Very cute: The nurse in the lab apologized for having to prick me with a needle.
They were relatively quick with the results. However, the discussion about it made me lose faith. The doctor confused the meaning of thrombo- with leukocytes. University city, huh? Then I left with medication again. This time with steroid cortisone, which also went straight into the trash. The values were fine, by the way. Slightly low due to the fever, but still within the normal ranges. The fever was gone, but then the sore throat came. Well, the bottom line is: probably a severe sore throat. In an emergency, I would have somehow flown to Bali earlier and gone to the International Hospital in Denpasar. I really don't wish an Indonesian hospital adventure on anyone. They're all very eager to help. But if you don't have a little knowledge yourself, they can quickly make your health worse.
After another day off, I finally got to visit Boroubodur and Pambranam. Two wonderful places.

Boroubodur (9th century Buddhist temple)

Pambranam (9th century Hindu Shiva temple)

At some point, I had to flee the area because the groups of students were following me and I couldn't get rid of them. A little annoying, but by then I had seen everything.

There is so much more to do in Yogjakarta. But I felt the need to leave the place where I suffered from my health issues. So off to Bali!

In this sense: Stay healthy. Have fun and be proud!

Yours, Jan/Mutti