The city of Surakarta in Central Java, once the capital of the Mataram Kingdom, has maintained the island's traditional culture more than perhaps anywhere else on the island. The sound of the gamelan, a Javanese traditional instrument, echoes through the streets, and time seems to pass more slowly than in big cities like Jakarta or Bandung.
The smell of wax hits you immediately as you step in to the Danar Hadi batik workshop in a suburb of the city, where about 60 women expertly draw birds and flowers on pieces of cloth.
