We took an eight hour train ride to Yogyakarta (pronounced "Jojakarta"). We booked a ticket in "Eksekutif" class and it was our best train experience to date. Although the train was old, it was very comfortable and the service was great.... it made our ride go quickly and before we knew it we had arrived in "Yogya"
Getting off the train in Yogya felt like entering back into a familiar world. Gone was the glitz and glam of Jakarta and Singapore, and back was the South East Asia we know and love. We checked into a cute guest house that had a swimming pool, it was an unexpected treat and we took full advantage of it for the four days we spent there (Andrew performed water running in the 5" deep pool).
Getting off the train in Yogya felt like entering back into a familiar world. Gone was the glitz and glam of Jakarta and Singapore, and back was the South East Asia we know and love. We checked into a cute guest house that had a swimming pool, it was an unexpected treat and we took full advantage of it for the four days we spent there (Andrew performed water running in the 5" deep pool).
Borobudur
On our second day in the city we had an early start to the day. We were picked up at 4:45am to drive to Borobudur for a sunrise tour of the temple. It is located outside Yogya and is a Mahayana Buddhist temple that was built around 800 AD, (even before the famous Ankor Wat in Cambodia.) Unlike other temples, there is no place to enter inside to worship so it is debated if it is a temple or a monument.
On our second day in the city we had an early start to the day. We were picked up at 4:45am to drive to Borobudur for a sunrise tour of the temple. It is located outside Yogya and is a Mahayana Buddhist temple that was built around 800 AD, (even before the famous Ankor Wat in Cambodia.) Unlike other temples, there is no place to enter inside to worship so it is debated if it is a temple or a monument.
Currently only a very small percentage of Indonesia's population is Buddhist, but this monument was built in a time before Islam swept across Indonesia when Buddhism and Hinduism were the main religions of the country/ region. Presently at certain times of the year, many Buddhists make a pilgrimage to the sight to meditate and worship.
In the last few months we have been to a variety of different temples and ruins in both South America and South East Asia. Obviously some are more memorable and impressive than others, but we love visiting them all. Something that we have noticed during our visits is the quality of the restorations. Before coming on this trip, both Andrew and I were a little too optimistic in our thinking that the temples would be close to there original states. We were sadly wrong, of course to keep them from falling apart repairs must be made to preserve them. For example if a structure was made without mortar originally, the restorations always put the stones or bricks back with mortar... sometimes neatly or other times quite messy. Sometimes the carvings need to be restored so that the scenes can be clearly seen. Unfortunately we have seen some restorations that have been done so poorly and carelessly that it stands out from the original structure like a sore thumb. On one of the most extreme cases in South America, we were shocked to see that the walls were stabilized by pouring some mixture of ugly cement right on top of it. But in the case of Borobudur we thought it was preserved very well especially since it has been a target to bombings and earthquakes. When we visit temples or other ancient structures we have come to realize not to feel disappointed by renovations, but to feel happy that they have been preserved for us to safely experience them.
In the last few months we have been to a variety of different temples and ruins in both South America and South East Asia. Obviously some are more memorable and impressive than others, but we love visiting them all. Something that we have noticed during our visits is the quality of the restorations. Before coming on this trip, both Andrew and I were a little too optimistic in our thinking that the temples would be close to there original states. We were sadly wrong, of course to keep them from falling apart repairs must be made to preserve them. For example if a structure was made without mortar originally, the restorations always put the stones or bricks back with mortar... sometimes neatly or other times quite messy. Sometimes the carvings need to be restored so that the scenes can be clearly seen. Unfortunately we have seen some restorations that have been done so poorly and carelessly that it stands out from the original structure like a sore thumb. On one of the most extreme cases in South America, we were shocked to see that the walls were stabilized by pouring some mixture of ugly cement right on top of it. But in the case of Borobudur we thought it was preserved very well especially since it has been a target to bombings and earthquakes. When we visit temples or other ancient structures we have come to realize not to feel disappointed by renovations, but to feel happy that they have been preserved for us to safely experience them.
A night out at the... Ballet?
We went to a temple called Prambanan, which is a Hindu temple outside Yogyakarta to watch a performance of a famous Hindu epic called the "Ramayana". The stage and seating was outside and in the background was a huge Hindu temple. Since it was night time, the temple in the background was illuminated by bright lights. The dancing was done in traditional Javanese style ballet, which is not your typical "ballet". The cast consisted of close to 100 dancers and was primarily men. Even though we weren't familiar with the story, the costumes were amazing and colourful and combined with the beautiful background it made for a memorable evening.
Oh oh... the South American curse part II:
Oh how soon I forgot the feeling of the "South-American belly sickness". It had been a glorious three months without a hint of problems. I was starting to feel "invincible", like it was light years away from the hospital visit back in Bogota. Unfortunately for me... a trip away wouldn't be complete without a healthy dose of antibiotics. Being such a pro in that matter... I wasted no time in diagnosing myself and started medicine immediately. No doctor needed.... in a day I was healthy again!
~Nicola
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| Yogyakarta, Indonesia |
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