Yogyakarta

  Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Wednesday, September 10, 1997

Yogyakarta or yogya is the cultural heart of Java and it's a good base to explore numerous nearby attractions, including Indonesia's most important and inspiring archaeological sites, Borobudur and Prambanan.

10 September:I woke up at 5:30 to get the minibus that brings me to the Pangandgaran harbour. From there I took a boat to Cilicap. We arrived in Cilicap at 12:30 pm and took a minibus to Yogyakarta where we arrived at 17:30. The first room that was offered (Agung Star guesthouse)has good rooms for 15000 rp (incl. bath) however the Palupi hotel was recommended by my sister so I went there for a look. The room was much more expensive and not very comfortable so I took a room at Agung Star guesthouse. The only thing is that it's close to a mosque so I will wake up very early.

11 September:today I visited the Kraton in the heart of the old city. This Palace of Sultans of Yogya is a small walled-city within a city and over 25000 people live within the greater Kraton compound, which contains it's own market,shops, batik and silver cottage industries, schools and mosques. After a gamelan performance I walked to the Water Castle (Taman Sari), just west of the kraton. This was once a splendid pleasure park of palaces, pools and waterways for the sultan and his entourage. Imagined the life of the sultan surrounded by ladies of the harem I took a swim in the swimming pool of my own guesthouse. In the evening I went for a walk to get a ticket for the Ramayana ballet.
The Purawisata theatre on Jl Katamso was closed but I met a very old man, who lives there with 17 cats in a very small house, who wants to sell me a ticket for 10000 rp.

12 September: I took the bus to the Borobudur (42 km north-west of Yogya) and bought a ticket for 5000 rp (including a guide). This is one of the greatest Buddhist relics of South-East-Asia and is very impressive. After I walked there for several hours I visited the Mendut Temple which is two km east. This temple houses the most outstanding statue of a magnificent three-metre-high figure of Buddha, flanked by the Bodhisattvas Lokesvara on the left and Vaiparana on the right. After my dinner at Via Via I visited the Ramayana ballet at the Purawisata theatre. When I arrived a seat was marked with my name so the reservation with the old man was fine. The ballet was superb and after the show I drank some beers with a Spanish lady that I met during the ballet.

13 September: on the road to Solo, 17 km east of Yogya, the temple at Prambanan village are the cream of what's remains of Java's period of Hindu cultural development. Not only do these temples form the largest Hindu temple complex of Java, but the wealth of sculptural detail on the great Shiva Temple makes it easily the most outstanding example of Hindu art. After a few hours at the Prambanan complex I returned by bus and visited a Wayang Golek show.