Weekend break- journey back in time


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July 14th 2009
Published: July 14th 2009
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Graffiti around JogjaGraffiti around JogjaGraffiti around Jogja

Such and many more lovely wall graffiti is visible around Jogja
Our weekend break back in time, to a historic and a timeless wonder and to tranquility was truly enriching one. That's Yogyakarta for you! Commonly known as Jogja, this place is definitely a nice getaway for a short break from Singapore. If you are visiting Asia on a long haul holiday, then Jogja can be a refreshing place to go to.

We booked a direct flight from Singapore to Jogja on Air Asia for two nights / three days break, though i would recommend a three nights / four days to see the town completely. We reached Jogja only at about 12 + in the noon. The airport is tiny and a full load flight can easily disrupt the visa on arrival and immigration procedures. Once past that you can easily take the pre-paid taxi from the airport. Depending on your hotel location the taxi trip can cost you between IDR 45,000 to IDR 50,000.

As you head out of the airport, you'd notice several buildings along the way covered with wall graffiti. Later through our walks around the city we saw many more shops, houses and even flyovers covered in artistic expression.

Malioboro street is the arterial
Taman SariTaman SariTaman Sari

Taman Sari
road of the town and is the busiest too. The street is about 15 kms from the airport. Thronged with street shopping and eateries, this street is best explored by walking.

With half of the day gone, we wanted to maximise on available time. The first place we went to (by a cab) was 'Taman Sari' or the Water Castle. This part of the castle was used by the Sultan and his family for recreation. It also has swimming pools - each different - for the sultan, queen and their children. Taking a guide here helps as he is better equipped to take you through narrow by-lanes of the settlement outside the water castle. The dwellers of this settlement are known as Sultan's servants. They make a living on the handouts given by Sultan or offer services as guides or are involved in batik industry.

Another interesting place very close to Taman Sari is the underground mosque. Well, its not completely underground but much of it is with only the dome visible at the ground level. This mosque has unique features like voice transmission without having any electric amplifier and also natural lighting that lits the ground.
Taman SariTaman SariTaman Sari

Taman Sari - view of swimming pool

Our next stop after passing several ruins was at the Kampung Taman (village of batik artisans). Our guide took us to his uncle's batik shop and the shop was really rich in designs. Best quality batik is found only at the batik village, here you can also bargain with the artisans. Other places where you can find Batik is on Malioboro street or in the large malls around.

From the batik village we walked around to the Bird Market, locally known as Pasar Burung Ngasem. This place has exotic variety of birds, insects and reptiles. Various bird noises and the vendors calling out to you to purchase creates absolute cacophony.

To explore more of the City we decided to go walkabout from Bird Market to City Center (approx. 2kms). On the way we came across interesting sights, shops and unusual vehicles. At one end of Malioboro street is the puppet theatre known as Wayang Kulit. The show begins by 8:00 pm and we had more than 1.5 hours on hand. After looking at an artisan make a leather puppet we booked the show tickets and went ahead.

Just at the main junction from the puppet theatre you
MosqueMosqueMosque

Underground Mosque
can see some land mark- modern day buildings, like the library and Governor's residence opposite to which is the old Dutch Fort Vredenburg.

Most of the tourist places around Jogja shut at 5:00 pm so plan your day accordingly. Also, key places like Sultan's palace are closed to tourists on Friday. On weekends they are open only for specific durations.

Further down on the street you can find a traditional shopping market - Beringharjo. This market is huge and has batik in all variety along with ample of antique , handicrafts and Javanese herbs.

After doing a quick round of shopping malls on Malioboro street, we took Becak - a cycle with a side seat- to the puppet show. The puppet show is one of its kind and should not be missed. A full orchestra of about 25-30 people play various instruments and a main narrator who also handles the puppets will portray few scenes of the Hindu epic - Ramayana. The atmosphere they create is simply magical with spellbound coordination and team-effort.

After 10 pm + it was time to retire back to our hotel. As we went on becak back to hotel we saw some road-side stalls serving a sit-down dinner. Some stalls were more decorative than others but it was nice to see the local culture of eating the road-side food yet have a restaurant like facility.

A constant backdrop to wherever one goes in Jogja is the Mount Merapi - an active volcanic mountain - Merapi stands in its majestic shape hovering over the city of Jogja. We had to call it a day early as the next day was about to begin in a few hours time....

Day 2

Our guide-cum-driver came to fetch us exactly at 5:00 am. We hoped to catch sunrise from the beautiful Borobudur temple (our first destination for the day). The Borobudur temples are about 50 kms from the town center and it takes about 1.5 hours to reach there. However, sun rises in Jogja at about 5:30-5:45 am. We did manage to see a bit of sunrise enroute to the temples but those who do not want to miss the opportunity, should call for the hired cab to come at 4:00 am.

The drive from Jogja to Borobudur temples transforms you in to another world altogether. Small houses, paddy
CityscapeCityscapeCityscape

View of the city from top of ruins
fields and the lush green surroundings are simply beautiful. Just before reaching Borobudur temple we passed by two important buddhist temples -Pawon and Mendut. Both are significant to buddhists and are visited by monks on Vesak Day each year in May as they come for pilgrimage to Borobudur Temples.

Just as our driver cum Guide dropped us at the arrival point, we were surrounded by artisans selling their wares. It is just so difficult to ignore the honest happy faces who are up at 6:00 am and are greeting you! Tourists need to register at the newly made registration counter and also pay entrance fees which is about USD 10 per person. You can also pay equivalent in Rupiah (IDR).

After a short walk from the entrance point the magnificient Borobudur temples unfolds in front of you. As you walk closer you are able to estimate the size and the beauty of the temple. Borobudur temple was built in 9th century and has six square platforms and on the top of the sixth platform there are round stupas which has statutes of Buddha inside. Each of the six platforms have narrative reliefs on them (approx. 1500 of them) portraying Jataka Mala stories. Its essential to have a guide here to help you understand the meaning of panels. During Buddhist pilgrimage, it is believed that if one circumambulates each level then he washes off all his sins.

There are about 502 Buddha statues on Borobudur temple though few of them have completely been destroyed due to natural calamities or due to enemy strikes. Borobudur temple is a large complex and one can easily spend half a day here. There is also a museum and an elephant ride in the complex which we skipped due to lack of time. After eating some local pan-cakes for breakfast, we headed towards Mount Merapi.

Tips : Do not buy artifacts before going to the temple, you'll have to lug them everywhere.
Try to haggle only if you are genuinely interested to buy else, the artisans won't leave you unless you leave from that place.

Mount Merapi is a bit far from Borobudur temple and the drive takes you about 1. 5 hours. Once you reach Merapi, you are welcomed by the pictures of last volcanic eruption in 2006. Mount Merapi is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has
Leather puppetLeather puppetLeather puppet

Wayang Kulit
erupted regularly since 1548. It is nice to see the valley of black lava soil and smoke which comes out of the cone-shaped peak for about 300 days in a year. The surrounding area is pretty barren as such with few stalls selling handicrafts and CDs of the volcanic eruption of 2006.

We spent sometime at the mountain and had to return to the main city for a nice local lunch. Local delicacies were really nice though a bit spicy for those who cannot stomach chillies. The meal ended with Chendol, the Indonesian desert with fruits, colorful syrups and jelly.

Before Sultan's palace closed, we wanted to have a sneak peak but unfortunately we could not make it in time. We could only see the external veranda.

By the time we made our way through the traffic of Jogja city from Sultan's palace, it was time to go to Prambanan temples. Driving distance from Sultan's palace to Prambanan temples isn't much, but the evening traffic can make the distance seem much longer than it is. Prambanan temple complex is nearer from the airport.

Claimed to be the largest Hindu Temple in South East Asia, Prambanan is characterized by the tall pointed Hindu-style of architechture. The entire complex of Prambanan temples has several hundreds of individual temples (approx. 224 temples) most of which are reduced to shambles and only a handful - about 5 of them- are accessible. The temples of Lord Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Nandi and Garuda are the ones which are open to public. Before you enter the temple complex, same ritual of paying the tourist price for entrance (USD 8-10) and being surrounded by artisans takes place. The temple complex is spread on a large area so covering the entire place is tedious. Also hiring a guide here is not essential since most of the temple complex is full of ruins with very limited restoration under way.

But something which a tourist should not miss while at Prambanan temples is the Ramayana Ballet. The ballet is performed at an open air amphi theater around the temple complex. The show is 2 hours long and approximately 200 hundred artists perform at the show. The type of seat doesn't matter because the theatre is semi circular. However, do check the show dates before going to Jogja, as the show happens only on certain specific dates
Puppet Show in actionPuppet Show in actionPuppet Show in action

Wayang Kulit puppet show
and on weekend nights. The restaurant next to the amphi theater serves a sumptuous fare and has mix of local and western cuisine served in a buffet style.

Unlike most of the areas in Jogja, Malioboro does not get quiet until about 11 pm. I'd rank Matahari departmental store as a good place to shop for inexpensive garments along with Berjingharjo market. Do check out Malioboro street-side shopping for handicrafts.

It was time for us to say good-bye to Jogja on Day 3 early morning. However, if you can extend your stay to one more day, you can cover following places :



Some helpful tips:



1. Always bargain while shopping on the street or at historical places. Start with 1/3rd the price quoted.
2. Helps to know few phrases of Bahasa and numbers like 1- 10 and 1000, 5000, 10,000. Village folks do not converse in english and may not be able to transact if you do not know Bahasa.
3. For vegetarians, there are not many options. On Malioboro you'll still find places like Dunkin Donuts or Pizza Hut. Local Indonesian places also have vegetables and rice but conversing with them can get difficult.
4. Starting early helps as the historical monuments are in open spaces and after 12 noon its very hot to stay outdoors.
5. Hire the car on rent from outside your hotel. Hotel folks add their surcharge and admin fee to basic cost.

Credits & References:

Photo Credits: My dearest husband - Ashay Bhise- who loves to experiment with his Nikon D60 DSLR

References: Brochures by Joga Tourism and Wikipedia.






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