Days 126-130: Tour de Solo
In honor of the Tour de France – and Lance’s imminent 7th victory – we took a cycling tour around the town of Solo (Java, Indonesia).
Prologue
The prologue of the Tour took us to the town of Blitar. The town itself was unremarkable except for the stunningly tasty martabak (fluffy pancakes with loads of butter, sugar, nuts and chocolate) sold on the street. North of the town are the Hindu temples of Panataran built from 1200-1450AD.
There were a few stories depicted on the temple reliefs that we found interesting. One was the story of a test between the supersized, meat-eating Bubukshah and the thin, vegetarian Gagang Aking. Although the story was difficult to follow, we’re pretty sure we know who won the contest. Another good tale was a bull that saved a crocodile from under a fallen tree only to be eaten by the croc; not sure what the lesson of that story was (it’s depicted below the kids in the next pic).
No Hindu temple would be complete without scenes from the Ramayana. We were fond of these crazed demons up to no good.
Warm Up
Forget the stationary bike. Nothing gets the heart pumping like a scorpion under your bag in the morning. It was only later that we found the whip scorpion isn’t really a scorpion but closer to a spider.
Stage 1: Tofu Making
This stage involved grinding soybeans to make soymilk, boiling it with some coagulant, and straining the resulting curds. It takes a mighty force to remove the liquid. Good thing there were a pair of noble Runyan quads ready for action.
Marcus puts his weight into it. Yes, Marcus had worked up a good sweat by this point in the Tour. (Let’s hope things are a bit more sanitary in the States.)
Stage 2: Gamelan Making
A brutally hot stage this was; lots of sparks and fire. A gamelan is a group of traditional musical instruments in Indonesia (and elsewhere in the region) and includes many types of bronze gongs hit with metal, wood, and rope hammers. The gamelan makers we visited melt and pound large pieces of bronze into shape like old-fashioned blacksmiths, and a tuner makes the final adjustments to get the sound just right.
Sounded good to us, but that’s why we don’t have his job. Making the final tweaks to large gong.
Kelly giving a gong one final test before it goes out the door.
Stage 3: Arak Brewing
A disorienting stage. Perhaps better called Arak Drinking. Arak is the distilled 60+ proof spirit made from fermented sugar cane juice. Marcus was in need of some liquid refreshment at this point in the tour and perhaps over did it.
It was a punishing stage for Kelly.
Stage 4: Rice Cracker Making
In need of energy, the Tour stopped for some carbohydrates and salt at the local rice cracker making shop. Yum!
Not quite the crowded streets of the French Alps. The local cyclists abandon the Tour route for other duties in the rice field.
Stage 5: Batik Making
The real Tour has the yellow jersey. But the Tour de Solo has batik. Batik is a textile patterning technique that uses repeated application of wax to fabric and colored dyes to make detailed patterns. The dye only penetrates where there is no wax, and the wax is removed after each dying. There are two types of batik: “cap” involves a heavy metal stamp and is only done by men, and “tulis” is done by hand with a small hand-tool capable of detailed design and is only done by women.
He’s been training for years. (Love the cigarette stuffed into the end of a pipe.)
It’s all finesse.
Stage 6: The Road to Solo
Kel makes an unexpected attack on the way back to Solo….
…and takes the top spot on the podium.
This is the court of one of the royal Solonese families. Formal portraits are taken seriously in Indonesia, so you won’t find many smiles.
Tags: Indonesia
Kelly & Marcus
July 23rd, 2005 at 8:33 am
Did I ever tell you the story about the old bull and the young bull…
Also, I’m sure the Solonese Royals appreciate you two dressing up for the formal portrait…nice touch.
July 23rd, 2005 at 10:25 am
Kelly
Avoid any auditions for promoting Arak juice…
July 25th, 2005 at 9:10 am
Somehow I think the reaction to the Arak Juice will be similar to the Monkey Poo Coffee…TBD.
Marcus, good work on the soybeans, did you ever do ballet (twinkle toes)?
July 27th, 2005 at 6:28 am
Suzi & Mike – And that reaction was after a timid quarter sip!
Mike – There were a few years of compulsory tap dance that may have attributed to my technique.
Jon – Those were our dress-up duds. (Note to readers: you can always tell what day is laundry day.)
July 28th, 2005 at 7:20 pm
Hi Kelly and Marc
I do love your comments and pictures.It is wonderful that we can communicate so easily. I am doing well but the heat is really bad this year. I am sure that you are getting some hot weather where you are also. Keep up the good work amd continue having fun. Love Grandma Peggy