Yogyakarta.... former capital of Indonesia

Yogyakarta..... the former capital of Indonesia.  A little background of  Yogyakarta..... Yogyakarta is located in central Java, however, it is its own province, formally called Daerah Khusus Yogyakarta (Special Region Yogyakarta).  This is the only province in Indonesia still ruled by an actual king, a sultan, the recent one is Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, which also served as governor of Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta is also known as the city of art and the city of students.  Not only that, the famous side trip from Yogyakarta is to visit Borobudur and Prambanan temples.  Both of these temples are UNESCO World Heritage site and main tourist attractions in Yogyakarta. Another popular side trip from Yogyakarta is to go to Kota Gede to see (or buy :D) silverworks, or to visit Batik tulis artists (batik tulis is a fabric that's hand drawn using wax. First time I went to Yogyakarta was on school field trip, if I recall it was during my final year in junior high.  I remember I had so much fun there, that I felt like I had to go back there and share this with my son.  I will make it in few parts, just because otherwise Yogya in one post will make a loooooong one :D  There are many other temples near Yogya, for example Candi Sewu, but I'm gonna make this another reason to go back to Java again! 

We went to Yogyakarta from Jakarta by train.  We could've just fly from Jakarta to Yogyakarta, but this was the first time Vivian been on the train.  From Jakarta, train leaves from Gambir station (can be easily reach by busway) , cost 230.000 rupiah or around $23 one way for executive class, i.e air conditioned non crowded train car.  Economy car definitely only if you are for whatever reason really really trying to save money. Considered expensive, however, definitely worth it considering the trip from Jakarta to Yogyakarta by train takes around 8 hours, so get comfy :D.  Another reason the train ride is so worth it.... these views!  You get to see the countryside of Java, and these view were what I remembered from my school trip back then.  I remember, even as a teenager I was amazed of how beautiful the countryside of Java is.   Along the way are mountains, forests and rice fields.  Indonesia Railway Company website > http://www.kereta-api.co.id/  .  Site is in Indonesian only, but the right hand corner of page, 'stasiun asal' means departure station, 'stasiun tujuan' means destination.  

Rice fields are everywhere in Indonesia, as it is Indonesia's main food item.  

My country is so pretty ^^..... I always think of Indonesia ummm... like a girl who's naturally beautiful without make up! 

We decided to check out Yogya's famous Pasar Burung (Bird Market).  As much as I don't like to see  birds in cages, we decided to check it out just for the sake of checking it out.  I thought there will be nothing but birds, to my surprise, there were other animals too, basically it's a place to sell pets and other exotic animals.  The first one to catch my eye (for those who knows me it wasn't a big surprise) was this guy, a huge fruit bat... actually not only him, but his buddies too.  Cooped up in a tiny cage... :(  The most adorable thing ever.  I spoke to the seller, he said people usually buy bats to be killed to make medication to treat asthma.  I choose to put up with my asthma if my treatment means death to this lovely creatures :(  Oh.... how I was tempted to free them all :(  They looked like little mouse with adorable black wings.... Just the cutest face :(  We spent so much time just looking at them, and wishing we could take them all home then free them into the wild.  Idea!  Anyway.... I can't tell you how sickening this sight was, one example how human can be the most horrible creature in this planet :( 

This adorable wise guy was another one that attracts my attention.  I love turtles and sea turtles.  They reminded me of those wise old men in Chinese movies :D.  Absolutely adorable this little guy ... I stayed and played with him for sometime, and again, wishing I could bring this little guy home.   

Oh my gosh they're adorable (^^)   Too bad, I really don't like this place.  Some dogs are chained up INSIDE the cage :( .... and the cats.... put in small cages :( ...... horrible 

Becak, a transport system that is extinct in Jakarta however still exist in Yogyakarta.  These guys work really hard and barely earn any money for the energy they spent.   Sometimes becak driver will take you to places you don't want to because they get commission from those places, and some can be pushy in terms of waiting for you.   However, they're only trying to make a living.  I did had an argument with a becak driver that made me got off the becak early because I had told the driver that I never asked him to wait and he claimed I did.  I got on because I know he was just trying to make a living, however, along the way he was cursing and swearing of the price we agreed upon.  So I told him he could just drop us off.  Unfortunate incident, but nothing more annoying to me when someone lied then complain about the price we had agreed upon.  

What a beautiful sunrise.... the mountain in the background is Mt Merapi,and the other one is Mt Merbabu.  Mt Merapi  has significant spiritual importance and sacred to the locals in Yogyakarta.  Mythology (which locals still belief till nowadays) surrounding the volcano is that the guardian spirit is one of the four that guarded the Sultan's palace (will be covered in the next post.... omg, this alone is sooo long).  Very interesting mythology, and also well known Javanese folk story.  An 'Mbah' (not sure how to translate this, but this is a word to call an older person, who are spiritual and believed to be able to communicate with a spirit) lived on the mountain to warn people when natural disaster, such as volcano eruption will happen.  Usually will run the generations (dad will pass to son, etc)  Umm... somehow, people really belief in Mbah and not so much in the meteorologist... umm... whoever those person who monitors earthquake and volcano activities..... The last incident, November 2010, was devastating, because he told people there won't be any eruption,  so people refused to leave despite warning from the meteorologist .......Apparently it did happened and he refused to get down from the mountain.  Him and a journalist (who went there to talk him into descending the mountain) died as result.    His son is his replacement now 

Our guide teaching how to make a bird from grass :D

Hellooo (^^) At one of the local's house 

Oh hellow (^^)

We visited this lady who's was making clay plates and pots, she said she's been doing it for years. 

Food vendor, this one sells instant noodles which he'll add yummie stuff on it so not just plain instant noodles.  Cheap and yummie! 

Borobudur is one of the most popular destination for tourist when they visited Yogyakarta.  It is a 9th century Buddhist temple, built during the Sailendra dynasty of the Sriwijaya Empire, located in Magelang, central Java.  It is one of UNESCO World Heritage site.  Wikipedia has quite interesting read on Borobudur and its history > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur  Most interesting is how many of the sculptures here were looted, and some ended up in posession of a Siam King :(   Some are in National Museum in Bangkok :( 

Borobudur had underwent extensive restoration.  It was restored by UNESCO and Indonesian government, costing millions of dollars.  

Wikipedia has more extensive explanations of the reliefs, which are carvings on the walls that told stories, here it was the story of Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama).  

So majestic..... there was a thought, that the Borobudur supposed to resembles lotus floating on the water, since the area was an ancient lake..... I can only imagine how pretty it was...... 

The middle stupa, which is the main stupa, is empty.  The rest have Buddha statue inside, in different positions.

Yes, every single one of these has a Buddha statue in it.  

One of the open stupa.

Buddha inside one of the stupa

Mendut temple in the passing on the way back from Borobudur.  No one really sure what the spiritual significance of it, but Borobudur, Pawon and Mendut exist in straight line. 

Prambanan temple, one of the UNESCO World Heritage site, another popular destination from Yogyakarta.  Prambanan is a Hindu temple built around 850 AD, and it is located between the border of Yogyakarta and Central Java.  Ramayana (great epic Indian story) dance performance often performed here, I think on the weekend, and it's worth watching, as it is part of Indonesian culture, usually performed by traditional Javanese dancers.  The biggest one, the most beautiful is dedicated to Shiva.  The earthquake in Yogya in 2006 destroyed some of the structures of these temples, therefore when we visited there..... Shiva was closed :(  :( !!!

Each of these temples dedicated to a Hindu god, there are 3 main candi, the biggest one dedicated to Shiva,  flanked by candi dedicated to Brahma and Vishnu. The smaller ones dedicated to shrine the vehicles of each gods, Nandi (a bull for Shiva), Hamsa (sacred swan for Brahma), and Garuda, Vishnu's kite.  Garuda also significant to Indonesia, as it is the mythical bird symbol of the country.  More detail history of Prambanan in Wikipedia.... quite interesting read actually ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prambanan

Nandi, the vehicle of Shiva

The reliefs here.... what dya know.... tells the story of Ramayana, since the epic story played important part in the Hindu religion, as it presents the Hindu teachings.

A folk legend tied to this temple complex and the upcoming one, Ratu  Boko is the story of  Loro Jonggrang.  The  legend was a king's proposal was rejected by Loro Jonggrang, which resulted in the murder of her father.  Loro Jonggrang agreed to the marriage, with condition that he had to built her 1000 statues before sun rise.  The king received help from supernatural creatures, but was tricked by Loro Jonggrang who instructed the girls in the villagers to start pounding rice and setting fires.  When the roosters started crowing, the supernatural creatures went back into the ground, thinking the sun is rising.  Furious by the trick, the king turned Loro Jonggrang into statue which believed to be the durga statue... which I didn't see it :(  The statue was inside Shiva temple, which was closed due to the earthquake that hit Yogyakarta few years ago. 

The market is strategically placed along the exit way, and of course, no  signs in English just to further confused all the tourists :D.  One of the girl was lost in there, because she said she didn't see where the exit sign is..... awwwh, I knew I should've stick around with those tourists :D just to make sure they're safe ... hehe  (by the way, 'keluar' means exit.... just FYI :D) 

Along the way to a temple ruin called Ratu Boko.  You can take combined all day tour including Ratu Boko, but I don't really recommend going there unless if you have nowhere else to go.  Ratu Boko is a ruin of what believed to be public bath, no one really knows exactly when it was built.  The history was really vague.  Not much left from the ruin anyway, but it did looks like a public bath. 

Prambanan can be seen from Ratu Boko.  You supposed to be able to see  Mt. Merapi too from here, but it was cloudy that day . 

Just for everyone to be aware, they charge extra for bringing camera.  It is quite the common practice in Yogyakarta, so if they see you carrying a camera, just smile and purchase a ticket... it's cheap, should be no more than 5000 rupiah. 

Umm... just another local's house we have to pass to get there..... 

See? looks like a hot tub? :D

See? looks like somethin that will spit out water for you :D 

...... and looks like a kiddie pool :D ..... 

VIP onsen? :D 

non VIP onsen? 

Apparently.... Mt Merapi decided to show himself to me despite it being cloudy !  I felt lucky, because we seen it for few minutes before it disappeared again behind the clouds.