The man with the machete

main market, Salatiga

We use Salatiga as our base for the trips in Central Java. Today we’re gonna experience Salatiga. To taste the real Indonesian live without other tourist. So the place to be is the local market.  The market begins as early as 5 o’clock in the morning. Peasants and traders from all over the area come to this market. It’s such a colourful market with friendly people. As there are hardly any tourist in Salatiga, they will leave you alone. They don’t mind if you take photo’s, many will even ask to take their photo with you. So when you’re in Indonesia, don’t hesitate to go to a local market like this. It’s totally save, but keep an eye on your belongings as it’s a crowded public place.

The Chinese temple

After visiting the market we visited a school. The children were having a break. Everybody was interested, teachers came and made a little chat. A girl sang beautifully for us. Of course we have to try the means of transportations here, so we sat in an overcrowded little mini bus, and also took a becak (tricycle) and the dokar (carriage).

Always bargain first (On the market, buying souvenirs, taking the becak or a dokar), it’s normal. If you directly pay the asked amount, the seller will think he asked too little and he’d double the price next time. So always bargain, when you have reached an agreed price, you can give him some extra money or let him keep the change. See it as a kind of sport.

In the evening we took a walk into the hilly area, through a huge Chinese graveyard. As we walked it began to rain. It was the first heavy tropical rain. So we ran to a house and asked if we could shelter on the veranda. Of course you can. We stood there under the roof, and a minute later the house owner opened  the door and asks us in. We were welcomed with tea and cookies. Very nice and warm of these people. We stayed there for about an hour ‘till the rain was over. We thanked the host and left. As we left it began to rain a little, the host asks us in again, but we thanked him. He went in and a minute later he came out with a machete in his hand… He went to the banana trees and cut some leaves for us to use as an umbrella…