Thursday, 13 June, 2019, Surakarta (Solo)
We've
just heard the Mt Sinabung, the volcano we saw in Sumatra the
other day, erupted fully the day AFTER we left. When we saw it,
smoke was coming out the top, but no one seemed unduly alarmed by
it. But the next day, it went off with a considerable bang.
From a local news website:
A large eruption
occurred on 9 June, at 04.28 p.m., local time, sending a plume
of ash 7,000
metres into the air, and generating a pyroclastic flow 303.5 kilometres
long towards the south
and southeast
above right: My photo from last Saturday. This was our view of Mt Sinaburg during our drive from Berestagi to Lake Toba.
Fortunately, this time there were no reports of casualties... but see this video report from The Guardian.. And this map from the US Geological Service is a little disturbing (X marks the spot we're at at the moment) - but I shouldn't worry, there's only a couple of them actually active (i.e., erupting) at the moment:
Like
Borobudur, Prambanan fell victim to both earthquakes and volcanoes,
which forced its local population to flee the area a thousand years
ago, leaving behind the archeological remnants of their marvellous
temples. left: Some of the temples have been rebuilt (see main grouping at top of page), but most are now just a heap of stone blocks in the field in front of the main group.
Archeologists and other specialists simply don't know where all the jigsaw bits belong, so there's little prospect of any more of the temples being rebuilt.
right and below: some of the Hindu figures in the temple
Friday, 14 June, 2019, Surakarta (Solo)
Another item to add to my fund of useless knowledge.... today I heard, for the first time (I know, I'm an innocent abroad), about male chastity belts. And saw one, in the flesh, so to speak (well, not really). It was in a museum that was part of the king's palace in Surakarta, BUT we weren't allowed to take photos. It looked gruesome, and Dave flinched a bit.
I won't say it was a highlight of the palace visit, but it was a memorable moment. The palace itself is still lived in, with very modest royal apartments off to each side of the main reception pavilions.
The Palace itself bears little resemblance to our European ideas of what constitutes a palace.
This is its main "pavilion" for ceremonial events.
The palace guide pointed out, quite proudly I thought, the King's car, a large Toyota, as it was standing in the driveway. It was really quite anonymous, except for its number plate, which we were told reflected the King's office. The King actually has no political power - it's purely a ceremonial office, and the main buildings here in Surakarta are only for ceremonial occasions. The King himself is a businessman - and I suppose his Royal status would not be a hindrance in that respect.
below: among the cultural collection on display was a carved ivory tusk, a really delicate intricate piece of work which we were told took six years to carve.
Late in the afternoon, we
took a short
walk around the block in Surakartas old town area.
Now this is a block containing two
hotels of a big chain, 3 and 4 star, and hard up on their
boundaries is a
laneway or two of poverty. I
didn't
have a camera with me, but I would have been embarrassed to use
it on people
going about their daily lives in slum conditions.
I think it's called poverty porn. and
yet, this is such a fertile country we assume no one
would ever go hungry, and indeed I did see people cooking and
eating and
playing and simply living.
And then, we walked back to our four star
Novotel comfort. ...