Isn’t it nice meeting new people?

Our last day in Yogya. We start to know each other’s like and dislike, also rhythm. My friend is selective about bedroom and transport. Retired from 15 years being an hotelier, he expects good sheets and nice room. Feeling traumatic of his father’s car accident, he could not face car coming to his side so I have to sit behind the driver all the time. Fine. It’s good that he’s easy about what and where to eat, it’s me who need to be fed at the right time. Nice.

We had long discussion over breakfast. We talked a lot about philosophy and spirituality. Nothing heavy, just for fun. We also discussed about being men, and women’s value. How Balinese, Javanese, and foreigner see both sexes from different point of view depending on the culture. We talked more about culture with an antique dealer my friend introduced. It was a really nice chat in his house full of Javanese antiques. My friend was happy to have met 'Javanese him' in Yogya. Yea, they’re alike for they like talking about culture and the history of Java and Bali. I enjoyed the conversation so much. Meeting people has certainly enriched us.

And more when we met a Dutch who has been living in Yogya (unplanned) for twenty years. He’s also an art dealer specializing in Chinese-Javanese bed and shrine, and metal safe box. He has big business. The storage is an immense treasure. I could have liked a lot of his stuffs but good I have passed the days I enjoyed collecting good quality stuffs. My friend’s eyes became larger and larger since as Balinese he saw less of such in the island. I enjoyed following my friends trying to make a deal many of the stuffs.

I made a big buy finally in a Sumatran art dealer. He sold many of wooden model horses as part of a merry-go-round in the past (that now made of cast resin!). I spotted one in Solo yesterday but was too lazy to deal so I’m happy to have found many selections in one place. I lost a bit of my appetite for stocking up remembering the large stock of merchandise from Frangipani. When I decided to buy two wooden horses, I imagined an installation for the garden at home. It’s really nice horses: heavy, colorful, and cheerful. Anyway, I bought two more later via phone for Neru. I felt not good if I don’t carry anything for either shop.

We ended our three-day shopping nicely. We both feel satisfied with the experience and merchandise we accumulated. Three nights are just enough.

Picture of an old wooden model horse I bought today.