Salatiga

Straight from the briefing information handout I was given prior to departure:

"Salatiga is situated in the centre of the province of Central Jawa (Jawa Tengah), about 50 km to the south of Semarang and to the north of Solo, and around 90km from Jogjakarta. The town lies 614 metres above sea level in the foothills of Mounth Merbabu.

The population of Salatiga is around 150,000 people, and 90% of them are Javanese. There is a small minority of Indonesians of Chinese descent and some other ethnic groups. Javanese is the most frequently-used language in the streets and markets but nearly everyone speaks Indonesian.

The economy of Salatiga is based mainly on agricuture and its market deals with rice, fruits, vegetables, cattle, rubber, tobacco, coffee, and other products.

Salatiga is not a tourist town, however, if you are interested in the everyday life of ordinary people in a small Javanese rural town, you will find interesting sights to see and people to meet."