Explorers

After a lazy Saturday of hot tea and the New York Times, followed by a birthday party and then movies after the kids went to bed, we all woke up full of energy and ready to explore again.  We jumped on the train and rode North, to the last stop. 

We explored Kota, the old Dutch city.  We sold it to the girls as a ghost town, and so when we disembarked the train to this hodge podge of traffic and riot of colors, the girls felt they had been misled.

Fatihilla Square, the main square of old Batavia, was touristy and surrounded by beautifully restored colonial architecture.  It was covered with little stalls selling flip flops and cheap jewelry and renting brightly colored bicycles with matching sun hats.

They felt misled.  So we stopped for brunch before moving on.  Cafe Batavia was lovely.  We plan to return to Fatihillah Square partly because all of the museums were closed today (for Eid al Adha, a Muslim holiday which involves slaughtering goats and cows on the side of the street, in the middle of the street, in parking lots...) and we are a museum family.  But also because Cafe Batavia was so lovely.

 
I would return for the ambiance alone, but they also happened to serve a delicious brunch.

After eating, we were able to follow through with our ghost town promises.  Kota is not a ghost town from the Old West, where the entire city has been abandoned to dust and tumbleweeds.  The city was built by the wealthy Dutch a few hundred years ago, and eventually abandoned by them.  It has since been taken over by the city, and most of the beautiful old buildings and canals have crumbled.

We wandered this area for quite a while, and eventually ended up in one of the city's shipyards.  The area was fascinating and full of color and life.  We hopped onto a very small boat with a man and an oar and very little wiggle room.  He scooted us around the harbor a bit, and we enjoyed the glimpse into life on the harbor.

We ended the day with ice-creams on the terrace of Batavia Marina, watching the yachts parked in the water and resting our tired feet.  We walked back to the bajai, rode back to the train station, were lucky enough to grab seats on a rather full train, and then took a taxi to get back home.  Despite the rather long journey home, we all finished the day energized for more explorations through our island and this country.