I’m waking earlier than I expect. It’s Thursday and a proper rest day, nothing planned other than where ever my ramblings take me.

And they take me first to breakfast.  I return to the same place as yesterday. I am introduced to the dish nasi lengko. Rice, tofu, tempeh, bean sprouts, chili, and crackers. It is good.  When I convert to Nz currency, it works out at NZ .90 cents,  they don’t let me pay more… that price also included coffee, which seems to typically cost for NZ.50 cents.
I later find out this is a vegan style dish specific to the Cirebon area.

I spend the afternoon repairing my gear.  Somethings had come loose, something had stopped working completely, and I wanted to work on refining something in planning for Jogja. The repair seems to work perfectly, added by the magic of gaffa tape.

Later, I catch up with Sam, a performer from Kenya,  Alif, and  Wawan, the show organiser. Another fantastic meal by the roadside, this time a gado-gado styled dish. The spicy paste is made for each individual dish. All spices and nuts are crushed with a pestle in the shape of a cow horn,  I actually think it’s made of wood.

This is the last time I will see Wawan on this trip. This is one of those things about touring that leave a bittersweet feeling. There has been a lot of contact until now in preparation of travel. Then arrival, anticipating of and then delivery of the performance. Through all this, an intensity of feeling and comradery can develop if it all goes well. It all happens so fast. And then you have to say goodbye. It would be wonderful to say with conviction that we will meet again. But that would be dishonest. Sometimes, things unfold in a way that that does happen, but in this, there are no guarantees. It’s hugs, small gifts, and gone.

Next day,  Thursday, I catch the train to Jogja.  A stranger asks a question, and we start talking. Remarkably, this guy is a scientist at a local university working on microbial compounds that can digest plastics and other pollutants. They can then be converted, he says, into something akin to a liquid fertilizer.  He says he is having great results, producing plants with high nutritive value while simultaneously working on a possible solution to a massive problem of plastic pollution.

The train was less than comfortable initally as the air conditioning was set at 29°c. 

Crossing central Java. It’s easy to be gobsmacked at the astonishing  lush beauty or the window.  Rice fields go all the way to the feet of the mountain and volcano alike. It’s staggering.

I finally get to the homestay after getting lost in a taxi in the backstreet labyrinth of allyways off the main road.  

I settle in and get ready to go to the first event of Jogja Noise Bombing. It is a screening of Greed for Speed, a doco on the Singeli music movement from Kinshasa, and Noise is Serious Shit, a documentary about the history of Jogja Noise Bombing.  It is cool to also reconnect with good friends from previous trips.  This is the sweet of the experiences mentioned above.
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Other notes:
The lock to the room in Cirebon is dodgy.  Not only once have I had to pause and plan my escape from the inside of my room. My small freedom arrives, but I can not figure the reason why it worked or when it did.
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Football is the sport of obsession here. I’ve sat wordless while people have discussed the intricacies of an Italian division from before covid.
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The locals are saying they are finding it hot. So it really is. It’s official. It’s a heat wave! Someone said something like 37°c!

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At the first event of noise Bombing I go looking for ice cream… nothing anywhere… the last shop I go in had none also, but perhaps I looked desperate. So person in attendance of the shop had one personal ice cream in the frozen foods freezer. She generously offered out to me.. I asked to pay for it  but she refused.  The ice cream is called Choco Corn.. corn cob textured waffled around chocolate ice cream. The ice cream was average, but the experience was excellent!

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The days are more full now so writing time is limited.