Java Jamboree: Eating the Surakarta Way

Upon reaching Solo or Surakarta, we had promptly employed the service of a van. We had not booked a hotel and the van driver kindly took us to a quiet street where there were a number of cheap hotels with rooms and facilities that seemed to have seen better days. One nicer one had not a so nice owner with a snobbish attitude of stay if you want and leave if you please and that had us scouting for a room elsewhere. I remember walking quite a distance and I was beat when we finally ended with one near where we had started. After a shower, it was off for dinner and we walked to a quaint eating place near where the statue Slamet Riyadi was, that's the name of one of the leaders that led a guerilla war against the Dutch in the late 40s. It was already dark then and there was quite a big crowd. People don't just sit on chairs or stools and eat with their food on their table here; some would sit on the roadside on mats and eat their stuff and we heard that was cheaper that way and on the second night, we decided to eat the Surakarta way...

Can you spot the guerilla leader, Slamet Riyadi?

Traveling Tip: Do it like the locals!