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Indonesia Update 2017
The River Walks

Many streams and a couple rivers run through Jogja (Yogyakarta's nickname), and all of them basically start in the north on the slopes of Mount Merapi and empty into the Indian Ocean about 30 miles south of the city. None of these waterways keeps their name all the way from the slopes of Merapi down to the Indian Ocean; they all eventually join with either the Progo River (to the west of the city) or the Opak River (to the east).

For the most part, the kampungs on the banks of these waterways are working class. Most of the residents have very little money, but their clean and friendly way of life belies that fact. These river kampungs are the most interesting and energizing feature of Jogja; fortunately there is almost no tourist traffic through them--in more than ten river walks, I have never encountered another foreigner.

The Winongo River is on the west side of Jogja. It starts in the north with the name Buntung, assumes the name Winongo around Kyai Mojo (aka Godean) St., and joins the Opak River a couple miles south of Jogja. The photos here were taken along the Buntung stretch (in the district Bangan Rejo) and the southern stretch just south of the South Ring Road (kampung Jogonalun Kidul).

You can see photos of previous river walks: Kali Code 2012, Kali Code 2013, Kali Code 2015-1, Kali Code 2015-2, Kali Code 2015-3, Kali Winongo 2012-1, Kali Winongo 2012-2. Also see walks on the Gajawong River (2016, 2017).