No, you can't go to the Palace. It's Prayday. Prayday? Yes, Prayday. When I looked confused the man did a sweeping hand gesture. You hear? Everyone going to pray.
Finally I caught on. I still didn't go to the student art show. Erlier, I had followed the directions that another man had given me. It seemed like a scam venue, so I didn't go in.
I did, however, take a picture of a bike-free side street. It's parallel to the very busy Malioboro.
The other man told me he controlled parking off that part of the Malioboro. Having seen the number of motorbikes parked there, he seemed like powerful man. Told me his name is Neil Young. Haha.
A lot of transportation providers (want a ride ma’am. Where you going?) call “where you from?” when I ignore their initial call. Canada. Montreal is the first city they name. Then Calgary. I have a brother in Montreal/Calgary.
The Malioboro is a major shopping street, and a tourist attraction for Indonesians. The street has a main corridor, with side corridors. One side is under reconstruction for improved tourism (wider sidewalks, so there is somewhere for people to stroll since the sidewalk is blocked by food stalls during meal times and other parts are blocked by stalls in front of stores. The other side has pedicabs, with the seating area in front of the cyclist, and horse drawn carriages.
On the side with the reconstructed sidewalks, I noticed a Chinese Gate.
And I saw that the road behind the gate was nothing unusual.
I also learned that no matter how often you walk a stretch of road, there's always something new to notice. Like this scupture:
This has not been my most impressive travel-planning day. First I fail to understand that a prime tourist attraction is only open in the morning (entitled Westerner!). Then I can't figure out how to make a local call to check up on my flight tomorrow. After asking the front desk to call for me, and then asking them to tell me how to make a local call (replace the first two digits with a zero), I eventually connect with the English speaking person at the call centre.
Their accent is still thick (yes, I know that in their country, I'm the one with an accent), but I eventually learn that my reservation was cancelled. That airline (Lion Air) only accepts Indonesian credit cards. It didn't tell me. The whole reason I had to call was that they didn't email my confirmation. The last screen I saw told me to print the itinerary, and I didn't even note my booking number. Every other airline emailed me all the required information, and I got complacent. Silly silly me. I really need to learn how to follow instructions.
I made a replacement booking with a different airline (Citilink) and noted both my file number and flight details.
I'll have enough time to have the fabulous hotel breakfast AND go to the palace before leaving town.
:-)
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