Mediun and Lake Sarangan

To keep with the weekly posts of what I do, I can write about this past weekend, where a couple of friends and I got on a train and headed into the mountains of central Java, in search of a horribly touristy lake that doesn't see any foreigners. 

We took the train to Madiun, where we met out friend Intan's Aunt, Uncle, Mother and Sister, and had a big lunch with them.  We then took a taxi an hour up into the hills to the mountain 'resort' town of Sarangan.  It's HUGE on the local Indonesian circuit, and tons of families and tourists come here.  But none are white, and therefore, we were quite the spectacle for them.  It's a little muddy lake, where you can take "speed boat" tours around the lake (read: large pond), take a horse trot around the lake, or get in a swan-shaped paddle boat to fight the winds in the middle.  It's hilariously small but packed with people.  We spent the weekend relaxing, and as it was 1200 meters above sea level, enjoying the crisp air in the evening and winds. 

The landscape around the lake is better, some mountains shoot up, and the hills all the way down are filled with crops being grown, terraced rice and corn and other vegetables.  I think the drive down was the best view we had the whole weekend, looking up on big mountains shooting up and their sides all terraced and multicolored from agriculture.

It was a quick weekend, therefore a quick update.  As previously mentioned, its just nice to get out of Surabaya.  It's been hot and humid.  The rainy season has yet to come, and we're all just waiting for that little break in the heat, and the floods to start.  We'll see how it goes, as the local teachers all talk about floods and leaving clothes at work because you'll be "soaked" when you arrive.  Sounds good to me...