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Java is dirty. I came off the train the other night a sweaty, grimy, tired mess after a 7-hour survival trip. It was so sweltering hot on the train car and there were no fans to speak of. Even the trains in India give fans! I thought a few older people were going to kick the bucket. I couldn't stand it so I moved to the doorway of the car, opened it and sat on the steps there with the train moving full tilt and precious wind blowing in my face. I did have one short, 2-hour ride on an air-con bus, which was quite nice, but you could tell it was a different class of people riding on it. It's riders were well-dressed and carrying fancy purses, while on the train old men were laying on the seats or right on the floor on a layer of newspaper with their shirts open, begging for mercy from the heat.
At the end of the day, you can pull your fingers through your hair (or across your shaven head!) and a black, tar-like grime will collect underneath you fingernails. If your bored you can clean your nails using the clean ones of your other hand, and then run them across your head again for a new load of grime.
It's not touristy here at all, either. I think the riots of a few years ago have squashed a lot of any tourism that was building up. In fact, as I write this, I'm in Solo which was the hot-bed of action during rioting. You really wouldn't know it as the people are mostly great.
Because of this, accommodation is on the higher side as far as prices, but the food is so cheap. The eateries are pretty dodgy looking for the most part, but the food I've had is all great. I've been eating at this one place for .85-.95 cents... big and really tasty Indonesian food.
I need to add that I'm actually enjoying it a lot, despite what it may seem. It's a very different form of travel than Bali. Bali is refined and catering to the tourist, but Java is much more raw, as I've given you some idea of above. There's something very appealing about hard travel through a country like this, as long as you can get a "break" here or there and know when to take advantage of it - like up in Bromo where I relaxed for a day in comfort there.
Anyhow, I'll upload some photos in a day or two, as the internet here is not great. I expect it to be better in Yogi, where I'm off to next.
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