Diary Entry : Day 6

By: Paulista Bunga Surjadi

14 July 2009

After a nice walkabout the last two days, I was dreading the fact that we were going to ride on a bus for hours. Little did I know that the journey would be short, what we were about to see and experience was totally worth the ride and the energy.

Our journey started at about 9am as we made our way to our first destination, the Kraton,or the Sultan's Palace. The palace is just around the corner from our hotel. Passing by Alun- Alun Selatan, a part of the Kraton compound made me realize how the area looked so different during the day as compared to the previous time we saw it during the night. The area was generally quiet and not bustling with activity compared to the crowds and peddlars crowding the area during the nights.

As we entered the Kraton's main gate we were greeted by two Gupalas, two statues made from stone, the guardians of the palace. There are two Gupalas, both on the left and right side of the gate because the Javanese people believe that for there are always two sides to a story, the bad and the good. Hence, upon approaching the main gate, one can see the Gupala symbolizing goodness on the left and that which symbolizes evil is on the left . The Kraton has seven main areas,catered for different purposes, ranging from meeting places to warehouse . In the main complex of the Kraton, known as the Kedhaton there are quite a few major places including Gedung Kuning (The Yellow House), the place where the current Sultan Hamengku Buwono X resides and Proboyakso, the place with a wooden wall used as a warehouse to keep royal heirlooms and sacred weapons. Next, still within Kedhaton, we visited Bangsal Manis literally meaning 'Sweet Pavilion'. This is where the royal family serve their meals during a party or a function.

Kraton gate

We continued our exploration inside the Kraton with a visit to the museum dedicated to Sultan Hamengku Buwono IX. The museum houses a lot of his personal belongings, awards, and pictures to be used as a constant reminder of the Sultan's contribution to the people of Indonesia.

One thing about the Kraton that really grabbed my attention was the fact that all motifs and figures have some philosophical meaning attached to them. Where they may look simple physically, each one of them is significant. Even the name of the Sultan himself has significant connotations. The name 'Hamengku Buwono' comes from Javanese language where 'hamengku' means on the lap and 'buwono' means the world. Altogether, Sultan Hamengku Buwono suggests that the world is metaphorically on the Sultan's lap.

Our short visit to the Keraton ended with the mystical sounds of the Gamelan ensemble entertaining the palace's visitor in the pavilion on our way out.

It was around 11am when we were supposed to continue our journey to another area of the Keraton, known as the Taman Sari (Water Castle) but due to the fact that many of us were hungry, we decided to give this place a miss and head for lunch near the biggest shopping mall here in Yogyakarta, Ambarukmo Plaza.

After we had a nice lunch, we walked over to the mall for a quick exploration before embarking upon our next destination, the Prambanan Temple area for a tour of the area and also to watch the most-anticipated Ramayana Ballet performance. In the mall, some of us sat down and enjoyed the delights of Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts while the others roamed the mall and did a little shopping for snacks and other things.

We reached the Prambanan Temple compound by 3pm greeted by a nice weather. Although there were significantly less visitors to this temple as compared to Borobudur, it does not mean that Prambanan is any less magnificent in its architecture, history and breath-taking view. In fact, most of us were happy moving around in the spacious area with members of the video team and the alumni shooting short clips utilizing the vast amount of space.

The temple was damaged during the 2006 earthquake in Yogyakarta and restoration work was still in-progress within the inner zone. Three out of six shrines in the inner zone are dedicated to the Trimurti( 'three forms') Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu and the other three are dedicated to the vehicles of the respective gods, Nandi, Hamsa, and Garuda.

We did not hire a guide during this visit and explored the place individually reading the notes available in front of the various structures. The video and photography crew has a great time taking in the beautiful view and posing for different jumping shots at the vast amount of space available.

Our favorite jumping shot with Prambanan as the background

While waiting for the Ramayana Ballet to begin, we settled for dinner at the beautiful Prambanan Restaurant. Admittedly, I entered the restaurant with indifference about the location of our dinner venue but I was in complete awe, staring at the most breath-taking view ever, as we stared out at the Prambanan Temple filling the landscape of the foreground. The romantic scenery prompted one of the travelers to consider it as a potential venue for her future wedding ceremony. After the sun set, we found ourselves sitting under an open starry sky, enjoying dinner, sipping ginger tea, and found it hard to avert our gaze from the majestic view of the Prambanan Temple.

Delicious meal and beautiful background..

The majestic view of Prambanan at night

Soon after, it was time to head to the open-air theater for the Ramayana Ballet. We equipped ourselves with a bit of background information provided by the synopsis of the Ramayana epic provided at the entrance. Two of our lucky travelers, Rachel, who was doing a write-up exclusively for our visit to the Prambanan Temple and Jinn Wei, a member of the video team had an opportunity to interview some of the performers of the ballet before the show commenced. We were greeted with soothing music at the ballet's beginning and as the story unraveled, everyone was in awe of the splash of colors and costumes. The gentle dance movements continued to capture the audience's attention as they told the story of the great Ramayana epic in sequence.

Performers at the Ramayana Ballet

It was the last night in Yogyakarta for our 2 alumni travellers, Aron and Eunice. They managed to present a short speech in the bus on the way home, telling us about the good time they had. We truly enjoyed their company and contribution and wished them a safe flight back to Kuala Lumpur .

It is now 3 am as I write the conclusion to this diary entry. Aching muscles and droopy eyelids prove to have been worthy for a fact, documenting the great day that we had today. I will always remember today's sightseeing trip as one of the very best.

*View more pictures of the day from our photo album


WRITER'S PROFILE: Paulista is pursuing her final year in Bachelor of Arts. She transferred from Monash College, Jakarta last year and is among one of the Indonesian students in this trip. Although having been raised in Jakarta, Paulista has been exposed to the cultures of other regions of Indonesia, and admits that she would rather pick spicy or salty foods over sweet ones.

Sightseeing Prambanan... Storytelling Ramayana

By: Rachel Lai

14 July 2009

There's never a clear line between mythology and reasoning when it comes to basic human understandings. When we question the unknown, there seem to be this indefinite need to include some form of logic that circulates what we were taught to believe is real. The Prambanan Hindu Temple is precisely one of those mysteries of undefined history.

It was said to be constructed during the Sanjaya Dynasty around the 9th Century to represent the role of Hinduism within the Java Province. However, one can't help but question the possibilities to its construction given the preconception of mankind's primitiveness during that era. Hence, a folklore was passed down through generations to describe a love-tale between Bandung Bondowoso and Roro Jonggrang that had contributed to the temple's existence. It was believed that Bondowoso had used the force of spirits to build 999 temples for the princess within 24 hours upon request. Jonggrang's attempt of refusing his love had left her in a curse to be the 1,000th temple, whereby it is now believed to be within the highest temple, Shiva (Nandi).

Candi Prambanan by day

Candi Prambanan by night

Today, visitors will notice 6 main structures in the main yard consisting of the Brahma(Angsa), Shiva and Vishnu(Garuda) temples. Unfortunately, the present view of the temple has certainly changed from what it was 3 years ago due to the earthquake tragedy in 2006 that had shattered parts of the ancient temple.

The heavy chattering noises from the crowd was suddenly replaced by a sudden silence, with the echoes of the 'gamelan' (traditional Indonesian music) melody playing from a distance.It is absolutely heartbreaking as you enter the park, only to see stacked up stones everywhere that had been preserved from the destruction. Amidst the mixed feelings of amazement and disappointment, the Prambanan remained beautifully positioned in a serene ambient.

Only 2 of the temples were accessible, while the rest remain bounded behind barriers due to restoration processes. The visitors were not only intrigued by the monuments, but were also taking photographs of the working progress by the local workers. They were attending to the Vishnu Temple by carefully sliding the stones down through wood panels onto the rubber tires on the ground. Along the exit area comes another painful view of damaged but neatly piled up stones around, whereby it makes it hard to imagine how long it will take to reconstruct history.

While some people stood and sat in silence within the corners, staring away into the calmness of the space, others found a special interest in capturing the moment in different ways. It was interesting to note how most of the visitors became so engrossed in their photograph and video sessions. Perhaps it was the symmetrical beauty of the place that had resulted to desirable image shots.

students engrossed in their own photo sessions

The Monash crew took the opportunity to film short videos with Shazwan as the voluntary superstar, expressing some form of reminiscence to the Garuda Temple. The other directions showed some of the tourists posing away for photo shots in funny imitations of the Hindu Gods. It was evident that the undeniable beauty of the area had magically enticed these people to record the unforgettable experience of being there.

The Prambanan's architecture show carvings which depicts the tale of the legendary Ramayana. Thus, most of the temple visitors tend to take interest in the Ramayana Ballet performance, which is held in the Prambanan Temple Tourist Complex that overlooks the back view of the Prambanan. The spacious stage is designed with a mimic of the Hindu architecture as well as the Shiva temple as an almost perfect backdrop. The Ramayana tale has been a popular story-telling favourite that has been passed down from generations. The story revolves around the love between Dewi Shinta and Rama Wijaya that was conflicted with the evil forces of Rahwana who wanted to break the relationship. Rahwana's evil intentions brought upon a range of other misfortunes between various characthers like Jatayu, Hanoman and Subali. These chronological events are presented on stage by the performers through a collaboration of drama (role characterizations), dance (delicate and refined body movements) and music (gamelan) choreographies.

Ramayana Ballet stage with a view of the Prambanan temple

The Monash team was fortunate enough to gain a special access to the backstage which had allowed a preview to the preparation process by some of the performers. Entering the room filled with women who were busy putting on make-up was certainly intimidating for a non-formal interview session. Nevertheless, a few of them had managed to share their pride in being a part of the Ramayana performing crew. Apparently, most of the dancers are usually spotted for their talent from Sekolah Menengah Karawitan as well as the Institute Seni Indonesia (ISI) by the director. Some of them expressed that when they are on stage, they want to satisfy the audience by giving their best performance because it is a way of introducing their theatre culture to the people. This motivation perpetuates them to participate in workshops during the day, whereby they attempt to teach interested individuals the art of the Ramayana dance. What was interesting about these experienced performers was that they've reached a point where they don't necessarily need rehearsals. All they have to do is to come in and prepare themselves into their costumes before show time.

Performers in the first part of the ballet

It is no suprise that the Javanese culture takes honour in the beautiful Ramayana show. The grand performance has an unspoken effect on its audience, especially when the Prambanan Temple is visible from a distance. Though the show may be an elaborated and an expensive one, it is simply one of those investment that is worthwhile. The combination of the Prambanan sightseeing through the day and the Ramayana during the night provides a complete experience into the Javanese art and culture that mirrors the essence of Hinduism.

*View more pictures of the day from our photo album

WRITER'S PROFILE: Rachel Lai is a Malaysian currently pursuing her FINAL year in Bachelor of Arts (majoring in International Studies and Communications) in Monash University Malaysia. A passionate day-dreamer addicted to exploration, she believes that there is nothing in this world that should stop us from fulfilling our dreams.