8.00am -- After witnessing the magnificent sunrise at Borobudur, we proceeded to visit Mendut Temple which is situated 3 km from Borobudur.
A 3 meter tall Buddha Cakyamuni statue in the cella of the Mendut Temple. He is sitting on his Prabha Cakyamuni, with the hand position of Dharma Cakra Pravartana, seen teaching the religion of Buddha.
This is a relief depicting goddess Jambala, also called goddess Kuwera. She is seen surrounded by her children and many sacks filled with riches. The goddess symbolizes wealth or prosperity.
Entrance steps before reaching the door of the room, on the wall of the short corridor shows interesting relief.
8.50 am -- Leaving for Jogyakarta.
Seen this beautiful scenery along the highway. The cloud capped the mountain in an interesting shape. We can see clear reflection of this on the lake too.
We parked our car somewhere along the street and took this type of trishaw to our second main itinerary of today - Jogya Kraton , the Sultan's palace.
Say " cheese ! " A new experience. Only cost us Rp2000 per head.
Entrance to the palace. Favorite place for group photos.
Our guide to the palace.
Ceiling.
A small museum of the late sultan, father to the present one.
This is the lounge for official function, entertaining foreign political visitors etc.
The elf-like ear is clipped-on. It's a symbol of ' bijaksana' meaning 'smart'.
According to our guide, this sultan is well- loved by his people because he is ' tahta untuk rakyat' meaning ' all for his people'. He is a sultan of every rakya irrespective of their religion and race. I think I like him too !
A skilled worker drawing beautiful batik motif on plain white cloth.
Close- up.
The finished products.
This work place is within the palace compound and the finished products are for royalties. The sultan uses mainly brown colour.
Traditional music at the lounge entertaining visitors.
This lounge is still been used currently.
Hahaha, I never know e-cosway expanded to Indonesia.
A visit to Kota Gede silver factory.
Deco at the entrance of the factory.
1.00pm -- It's lunch time! We went around town to look for Ayam Goreng Surhati, a popular home-grown food chain and .....there it is !
We were lucky to find a carpark at lunch peak hour.
Local musicians at the restaurant. In Indonesia, it's so common to find this type of small band singing everywhere. They survive on tips , I think.
Took us about 15mins I think, to finally get a table.
And this is Ibu Surhati, the founder of this business.
The chicken is special because of the crumbs. Just realized that Indonesians like fried stuff.
This is a plate of very funny things. All I can tell is there is an egg, the rest of stuff I really couldn't figure out what they were. You won't missed anything if you do not try it. It might be a very popular local dish but honestly, if you are not adventurous, forget it. Throughout my whole 10 days journey in Indonesia, this is the only 'no no' .
2.30pm -- After lunch, proceed to visit another World Heritage site - Taman Wisata Candi Prambanan,The National Archaeological Park which has the tallest and the most beautiful Hindu temple in the world. During a terrifying earthquake in the 16th century, most of the temples collapsed. In 1930, restoration works began and it is still being condusted today.
In Prambanan and its surrounding areas, there are many temple complexes. The interesting thing about them is there are both Hindu as well as Buddhist complexes.
Of all the temples surrounding Prambanan, the most famous one is the Siva, also know as Royo Jonggrang Temple. Most people know Siva as the Prambanan temple. It was built at the end of 7th cnetury till the beginning of 8th century, presumably built during the reign of King Balitung, from the Sanjaya dynasty who was followers of Hindu.
It was too hot then that we decided to rent a tandem to cycle round the park visiting other Candi first before we come back for this biggest one which is nearer to the main entrance.
This one is under restoration.Candi Lumbung, if I am not mistaken.
Another temple, Candi Bubrah .Lots of repair works being carried out.
This is Candi Sewu at the far end of the park. It consists of a mother temple and 250 Perwara temples that stand around it, now mostly in ruins. All the temples are made of andesit stones and surrounded by a stone wall. The Sewu temple is a Buddhist temple built by Hindu King Rakai Pikatan who was married to a buddhist princess.
The statue of Dwarapala (always armed with a club ) guarding the gate of Sewu Temple Complex.
Waiting to be restored. (like doing a big puzzle)
The Perwara temples are topped with small stupas, indicating they are buddhist temples. ( where is his head?)
A cleaner sweeping the corridor to the center chamber which can be reach by flight of stairs behind him. He offerred me to do meditation in this chamber ! Yeeee...... It's dark in there!
Imagine how beautiful these can be if they were still intact.
Corridor that went round the outer part of the main temple.
This is the tandem we rented. We have to return it here and walk to Siva temple which can be seen behind us. Rp20,000 for an hour. ( which is about Rm7.00) As I said before, services like this is easily available in most big parks for the convenience for visitors. Our Ministry of tourism should take note of this.
Here we are at the Royo Jonggrang Temple.
There are three temples on the main grounds dominate the complex. However the impressive one is a huge building in the middle of the complex which rises up to 47 meters tall: Royo Jonggrang Temple. Experts said that Royo Jonggrang Temple was dedicated to Siva while the two smaller temples were for Vishnu and Brahma.
( Brahma is the God of creator, Vishnu is God of reconstruction while Siva is the God of destruction. Believe it I only learnt this during my visit to the National Museum at Siam Reap, Cambodia after this Indonesia trip? This shows all the stories crafted on the walls of temples around South-East Asia are quite similar. Also made me wonder if there was, or has been, any such temple in Malaysia before. )
The reliefs in Royo Jonggrang Temple describe the stories of Hinduism which have aesthetical values. The panels describing the epic story of the Ramayana can be found at the lower balcony of Siva and Brahma temples.
This was the day I got sun-burned.
Market full of handicrafts and food near the exit. I bought a bag made of batik for my i-Pad and cost me only Rp25,000. ( less than RM10)
Olek-olek.
Weighing machine of the old times.
After visited Prambanan, we headed to Solo and reach there by 6.00pm. Checked-into a heritage hotel named Roemahkoe. Sounds like 'rumah-ku' meaning 'my house'.
Wow! Everyone exclaimed as we entered the hotel. Really impressive! Rp300,000 per night.
At the reception.
Love this. 很有怀旧的 feel. 今晚必定好梦留人睡。
Antique brass basin. 超爱水打在铜盆上那叮叮当当的声音。
Welcome drink and yummy kueh.
Door with tinted glass.
Tools used for batik painting, now as deco.
Corridor outside our room. A bit like our Melaka's Nyoya Baba style.
Dinner at the hotel's restaurant before we called it a day for a very hectic but yet satisfying day! Had a good sleep in this beautiful place. Will explore more about it tomorrow.
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