Little trips round Yogya -- 8 -- the "Struggle" Museum
by prudence on 02-Jun-2013
In terms of New Things, yesterday actually brought plenty. Nigel has already learned to very efficiently pilot Rufus, via a network of scenic kampung roads, to my place of work. But yesterday we set off INTO TOWN... Different... Very busy. Lots of jostling. Lots of things to watch out for. And lots of people who don't appear to watch out for anything... Parking the bike at Galleria is easy enough providing you descend far enough into the bowels of the earth. But then I lost the parking ticket -- duhhh. Luckily they let us off. And on the way home, we got caught in another of these almighty downpours that are still regularly punctuating what is supposed to be the dry season. So it was all quite a baptism in more ways than one.
Today, our New Thing was a visit to the Museum Perjuangan. This is a museum that commemorates the "struggle" against the Dutch. Downstairs, for good measure, is the "Museum Sandi", which catalogues some of the history of codes and ciphers. This part is air-conditioned, and therefore the favoured venue for the small group of little girls who had taken advantage of our arrival to swarm in to practise dance routines to the music on their mobile telephones.
Upstairs, various bits of "struggling" memorabilia are on display, plus artworks and busts depicting heroes and key moments in the long, arduous fight against various colonial occupiers. Many of the streets in Kotabaru, apparently (which we have up to now known only as a place to pay Speedy bills and visit cafes), are named after those who fell in the fight against the Japanese. And Adisucipto, it turns out, is buried in a cemetery in Ngoto (a second burial, actually, the first having been in Solo). I wonder how we can find out which cemetery? Around the outside of the curiously designed circular building is a series of bas-reliefs representing important scenes in the journey to liberation.
Sandwiching our museum visit were the now habitual walk-to-breakfast-at-Prawirotaman (banana porridge and Java coffee at Viavia this time) and an expedition to Jogjatronik, where we bought Nigel a new mobile phone.
Which is sad in a way, as it replaces our gallant old Motorola. This trusty piece of equipment has been with us since the end of 2005, is the veteran of SIMs from five countries, and has been dropped and otherwise abused times without number. In the world of personal telecommunications equipment, it's quite a little struggler itself.
Today, our New Thing was a visit to the Museum Perjuangan. This is a museum that commemorates the "struggle" against the Dutch. Downstairs, for good measure, is the "Museum Sandi", which catalogues some of the history of codes and ciphers. This part is air-conditioned, and therefore the favoured venue for the small group of little girls who had taken advantage of our arrival to swarm in to practise dance routines to the music on their mobile telephones.
Upstairs, various bits of "struggling" memorabilia are on display, plus artworks and busts depicting heroes and key moments in the long, arduous fight against various colonial occupiers. Many of the streets in Kotabaru, apparently (which we have up to now known only as a place to pay Speedy bills and visit cafes), are named after those who fell in the fight against the Japanese. And Adisucipto, it turns out, is buried in a cemetery in Ngoto (a second burial, actually, the first having been in Solo). I wonder how we can find out which cemetery? Around the outside of the curiously designed circular building is a series of bas-reliefs representing important scenes in the journey to liberation.
Sandwiching our museum visit were the now habitual walk-to-breakfast-at-Prawirotaman (banana porridge and Java coffee at Viavia this time) and an expedition to Jogjatronik, where we bought Nigel a new mobile phone.
Which is sad in a way, as it replaces our gallant old Motorola. This trusty piece of equipment has been with us since the end of 2005, is the veteran of SIMs from five countries, and has been dropped and otherwise abused times without number. In the world of personal telecommunications equipment, it's quite a little struggler itself.