Upon arriving in Yogyakarta we checked into our hotel and grabbed quick bite to eat in the neighborhood. Very fun area. Yogya (pronounced Jog-Ja) is a student city and there are a lot of young foreign tourists. Backpacker hippie types were common. Right outside our hotel was a street full of bars and cafes, all cheap of course. The hotel was clean, had a hot shower and a western style bathroom. It felt guilty to enjoy this sort of touristy thing after being in Pacitan but I can't say I didn't enjoy it. I even ate a pizza. (FYI, I gave up on the all Indonesian food thing. Just couldn't do it, it was wreaking havoc on my digestive system. I now allow myself a western meal every few days and that seems to have helped my stomach.) We booked an early morning tour of the Buddhist temple nearby. It is a world heritage site. A private driver for the day with an air conned van set us back about $26. Steep.
The first quality view of the temple. Each level is another step toward enlightenment and nirvana.
Here is our guide, who takes fashion cues from Tiger Woods telling us about a relief. Almost every wall is covered and each one tells a story. If I recall this was about families and children growing up. Around the corner they had examples of the good family, and the bad family.
Lots of Buddhas. Each cardinal direction has Buddhas doing a different pose.
Not all so serene.
Each of these cone things has a Buddha inside. This is very close to enlightenment which is represented by the giant solid cone in the back. The stick on top is a lightening rod because not even enlighteningment protects you from the weather. Yuk Yuk Yuk.
Each of these cone things has a Buddha inside. This is very close to enlightenment which is represented by the giant solid cone in the back. The stick on top is a lightening rod because not even enlighteningment protects you from the weather. Yuk Yuk Yuk.Daniela and Tamara our Indonesian student friends are in the foreground. They joined us from Indramayu for the weekend.
This is what one of the Buddhas looks like inside the cones. I guess one of them is smiling in another cone. Intentional or a sculptor with a sense of humor?
This is what one of the Buddhas looks like inside the cones. I guess one of them is smiling in another cone. Intentional or a sculptor with a sense of humor?
Mt. Malaria. The only place on Java that still has malaria. I told the health services nurse I would not be going near here.
Picture from the back of the temple. Brad Pitt in foreground. At one point at this temple I had a line form for pictures with me. I guess I look like Brad Pitt to Indonesians since I get that a lot. (cool)
This was another smaller temple nearby our driver showed us. Banyan Tree.
That evening we went to Maliaboro (butchered spelling) which is the shopping district. However, Jess got sick and we had to turn back. We were able to watch the US game at a local bar. The next morning we went to Prambanan which is the huge Hindu temple in the area. The temples were contemporary and the cultures coexisted peacefully with each other. Who would have thought?
That evening we went to Maliaboro (butchered spelling) which is the shopping district. However, Jess got sick and we had to turn back. We were able to watch the US game at a local bar. The next morning we went to Prambanan which is the huge Hindu temple in the area. The temples were contemporary and the cultures coexisted peacefully with each other. Who would have thought?This is the view walking to Prambanan. Gardens are very very popular here and most nicer homes and hotels have well maintained ones. It goes without saying that attractions like the temples are surrounded by enormous grounds.
These temples were also decorated with relief sculpting.
One of the mini temples nearby.
More sculpting.
I don't really have much to say about this since they were all out of guides at the official booth. Some guy saw us looking for one and tried to claim he was a guide. He told us his name was "Surprise" and that he was a "very good guide". However after several minutes he seemed to be only telling us stuff that we could see clearly ourselves so we decided to tell Surprise to get lost.
I do know that the temple dates from the 9th century and that the 3 large spires are devoted to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva from left to right. (Creator, sustainer and destroyer) The smaller temples in front are devoted to their transportation, a swan, an eagle and a bull.
Vishnu's temple.
One of the mini temples nearby.
More sculpting.
I don't really have much to say about this since they were all out of guides at the official booth. Some guy saw us looking for one and tried to claim he was a guide. He told us his name was "Surprise" and that he was a "very good guide". However after several minutes he seemed to be only telling us stuff that we could see clearly ourselves so we decided to tell Surprise to get lost.
I do know that the temple dates from the 9th century and that the 3 large spires are devoted to Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva from left to right. (Creator, sustainer and destroyer) The smaller temples in front are devoted to their transportation, a swan, an eagle and a bull.
Vishnu's temple.
The evening after seeing the temples, our driver showed us a great restaurant in a small village down a narrow road. It overlooked a stream in a lush forest and the food was excellent. Following that we attended a traditional Hindu Ballet in front of Prambanan which was lit up. My camera obviously couldn't capture it, so here is a pic of what it looked like.
The show was a story of a warrior taking revenge on a rival who had kidnapped his fiance. The dancing was only ok, as it used a lot of child dancers but the music was excellent and the story was great. I highly recommend it but don't expect broadway level dancing.
The next morning I snapped a few pics of the hotel. Breakfast was served at these little huts which was included in the $30 per night cost.
Right before we left we went to the Kraton (Palace) in Yogya. It was slightly disappointing but there were some nice parts. We didn't have time to get a guide so I think we probably missed a lot of the finer points.
Elf-man of the Kraton Yogya.
After we hopped a plane and spent a few hours in traffic on a bus back to Bogor. A kind lady sat next to me and engaged me in conversation for much of the trip. Her english was not strong but I understood. She was very nice and asked for my email, which I gave to her. She was from Sumatra and recommend I visit the island. She also asked me if I was afraid of her because she wore the headscarf and did I think she was a terrorist. I told her no, that I am comfortable with it and I see women in headscarfs in New York. (true) She seemed shocked that there were muslims in New York and in America in general but she happily accepted my response. She seemed very excited to meet me again, but I work all week. Our conversation must have been quite the spectacle as the man in the next row stared at us for almost 2 straight hours even after his wife started hitting him and trying to pull his face away. I'm not sure why but its probably to try and improve his english. People really want to work on their english with a native speaker and its not an opportunity they have often.
After we hopped a plane and spent a few hours in traffic on a bus back to Bogor. A kind lady sat next to me and engaged me in conversation for much of the trip. Her english was not strong but I understood. She was very nice and asked for my email, which I gave to her. She was from Sumatra and recommend I visit the island. She also asked me if I was afraid of her because she wore the headscarf and did I think she was a terrorist. I told her no, that I am comfortable with it and I see women in headscarfs in New York. (true) She seemed shocked that there were muslims in New York and in America in general but she happily accepted my response. She seemed very excited to meet me again, but I work all week. Our conversation must have been quite the spectacle as the man in the next row stared at us for almost 2 straight hours even after his wife started hitting him and trying to pull his face away. I'm not sure why but its probably to try and improve his english. People really want to work on their english with a native speaker and its not an opportunity they have often.Back to work today. Fairly uneventful overall. I'm finally figuring out the Angkat (minibus) system around bogor. I made a valiant attempt to find this good indonesian restaurant across town in the pouring rain tonight but got hopelessly lost. I ended up eating fried chicken from Texas Fried Chicken. Apparently the states are in a fierce battle to come out as the top chicken chain in Indo. KFC vs TFC vs CFC (california fried chicken). By indonesian standards it wasn't worth the $3 I paid for a drink, chicken and fries.
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