In and around Yogya
by prudence on 26-May-2010
Must go back for more of this...
Yogya is a real tonic after Jakarta. Cars and motorbikes share the streets with cyclos and pony carts. There's very little high rise. And although it's a busy enough city, the pace of life definitely feels slower. People are extraordinarily friendly, and strike up conversations at the drop of a hat.
We were acutely short of time, as usual, but the highlights were:
Borobodur. I've wanted to visit this place for ages, and I just loved it. The mountain setting is stunning, and the concept is simple and resonant (you wind your way up the different levels of the stone mountain from the passions and concerns of everyday life at the bottom to the cool, austere piety of the Buddhas and boddhisatvas at the top). Nice atmosphere -- lots of visitors who wanted to make friends. There are other atmospheric and lovely Buddhist temples nearby.
Mount Merapi was sulking that day, so at Kaliurang, we had to make do with flowers and monkeys.
Prambanan is a Hindu temple, more dispersed in theme and geography, but still beautiful. We went back another night to see a performance of the Ramayana, on an open-air stage with the temple as a backdrop. Awesome.
Visiting the Sultan's palace in Yogya and the old water palace is like stepping back in time to an era when the world was quiet and tranquil and cultured, and consisted of shady trees, airy pavilions, and cool pools. (I fully realize it was never like that in Javanese history, but that makes the impression created all the more striking.) There are performances of music, dance, or puppetry at the palace every day from 10 am to noon.
Yogya is a real tonic after Jakarta. Cars and motorbikes share the streets with cyclos and pony carts. There's very little high rise. And although it's a busy enough city, the pace of life definitely feels slower. People are extraordinarily friendly, and strike up conversations at the drop of a hat.
We were acutely short of time, as usual, but the highlights were:
Borobodur. I've wanted to visit this place for ages, and I just loved it. The mountain setting is stunning, and the concept is simple and resonant (you wind your way up the different levels of the stone mountain from the passions and concerns of everyday life at the bottom to the cool, austere piety of the Buddhas and boddhisatvas at the top). Nice atmosphere -- lots of visitors who wanted to make friends. There are other atmospheric and lovely Buddhist temples nearby.
Mount Merapi was sulking that day, so at Kaliurang, we had to make do with flowers and monkeys.
Prambanan is a Hindu temple, more dispersed in theme and geography, but still beautiful. We went back another night to see a performance of the Ramayana, on an open-air stage with the temple as a backdrop. Awesome.
Visiting the Sultan's palace in Yogya and the old water palace is like stepping back in time to an era when the world was quiet and tranquil and cultured, and consisted of shady trees, airy pavilions, and cool pools. (I fully realize it was never like that in Javanese history, but that makes the impression created all the more striking.) There are performances of music, dance, or puppetry at the palace every day from 10 am to noon.