Editor-in-Chief Closing Entry

By: Siti Nur Farhanah

17 July 2009

Visits to 'DD Net', the cybercafe that is a short walk away from our hotel, Hotel Puspo Nugroho, has been a routine activity of all the travelers present on this trip. Of course, this was facilitated by the fact that each traveler had receive a certain amount of allowance fund our trips to the cybercafe. Ensuring that the blog was kept updated became the responsibility not only of the editorial team but involved the active participation of every traveler as well. Where one might expect lots of dramatic inquisitions as 19 different individuals, including our pathfinder, Dr Yeoh Seng Guan and chaperon, Melanie Chalil, set out in a foreign land, it is safe to say that quite the reverse happened. Quoting from the words of fellow editor, Rachel Lai, “You don't even have to bug people to get their work done”. The responsible and self-motivated nature of the team on this study trip has certainly made the lives of the editorial board members much easier.

Prior to the trip, a schedule of deadlines had been drawn up for fellow travelers and it is certainly a relief to see that minimal changes needed to be made to this schedule once we were at our destination to maintain the up keeping of the blog. Also, there were several travelers who contributed additional articles on top of the topics that they have been assigned to in the trip. It was just great to see so much enthusiasm and responsibility exercised by the fellow travelers. Travelers adhered to the editorial guidelines provided and obeyed the instructions and tasks meted out by the editorial team. To keep readers on par with the activities that the travelers were involved whilst in Yogyakarta, Kemi and Paulista ensured that the 'Twitter' section of our blog was constantly updated, informing readers about our current whereabouts.

twittering our journey

According to another fellow editor, Shazwan, it was also interesting to read the various blog articles given the many different styles of writing adopted by the writers. It was a great experience to have read the views of each writer after attending a particular session and how the writers worked closely with the photographers, Dominique and Natasha, to get great shots of certain places, people or activities relevant to their individual topics.

Joanna Molloy, a member of the video team admitted that she has learnt a lot from being a part of this study trip. Despite the long hours of editing that the video team had to endure under the leadership of Jane Barraclough, it was time well-spent. She described their work process as being one that was “intense but fun”, putting together various clips for us to remember this trip by.

Where the process of maintaining the progress of the blog is not one devoid of errors as another fellow editor, Marina Tan mentioned, everyone managed to work together in order to ensure that any difficulties faced would be eliminated quickly. As the editor-in-chief, I would say that feedback from our pathfinder and fellow travelers have been tended to rather promptly. Our blog web mistresses, Kemi and Abeer were quick to attend to any changes that needed to be made to improve the quality of the blog when informed by the editorial team.

The constant communication between all members of the editorial team has helped to facilitate this learning experience in the city of Jogjakarta. The delegation of tasks has helped to ensure that almost every area of the blog is tended to with great effort and attention. We also appreciate the articles contributed by our student guides, Nana, Adi, Ambar, Ike and Arum. Working with a pool of creative and responsible individuals has been a BLAST and certainly a pleasure. I guess it is safe to say that the balance between work and play has been adequately maintained by the entire team of travelers here.

On behalf of all the travelers of this study trip to Yogyakarta, Indonesia, I thank all readers who have been following us on our journey in search of Yogyakarta through the articles. Also, I can't help but stress the integral role each traveler has played in order to ensure that deadlines are met and how much pride they have taken in their work. All in all, the experience of being the editor-in-chief has been filled with great pleasure, anxiety and urgency, putting together schedules and praying that everything gets done on time. It has been fabulous race course filled with memorable moments within and outside of our work stations within the world of our warnet (cybercafe) 'DD Net'.

Yours truly,

Editor-In-Chief

insearchofyogyakarta.blogspot.com

xoxoxo

Farhanah Bagharib

WRITER'S PROFILE: Farhanah Bagharib aka Nana is currently doing her Honours in Monash University Malaysia. She graduated the previous year with a degree in Bachelor of Communcations. Nana is a citizen of Singapore with immediate ancestry from Yemen in the state of Hadramawt. Being extremely interested in the workings of the feminist theory, Nana's Honours thesis revolves around the concept of feminism in Iranian cinema. Nana is SUPER picky with food but as long as there's fast food, she's all good.

The Importance of Numbers - A Reflection of Our Journey in Yogyakarta.

By Melanie A. Chalil

17 July 2009

It started with 17...

My experience here in Yogya centers around numbers, literally. Prior to the trip, my duties involved calling up our 17 wonderful participants (it was then 18) and recording their dates of birth and emergency contacts. When I got here, however, it started with daily head-counts, making sure that no one was left behind for our informative sessions and amazing sightseeing trips. Having participated in last year's study trip to Siem Reap, the group this time had a fair share of relatively new faces and in getting to know the city, I ended up getting to know these individuals.

Then plus 5....

Our wonderful student guides are more than just guides. I have to say, they became our eyes and ears to exploring this city. Whenever I had a question, one of them were always there to provide an explanation regarding the customs, culture and language of the Javanese people. At
tonight's farewell dinner, I realized how much I'm going to miss hearing them sing from across my room. I still remember listening to their voices the first time they practiced – I dropped by their room and said, “You guys can make money out of this”. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Nana, Adi, Arum, Ambar and Ike – Terima kasih for being such great guides and most importantly, friends.

When you have too many zeros...

we've all become millionaires in indonesia!

I'll be the first to admit that I cannot count to save my life. I'm always the last person at the table who offers to count the check simply because I just dislike doing it. I was never a whiz at math in school and safe to say, that was one of the main reasons why I chose to study Arts. I was definitely out of my element on a daily basis whenever I had to count the cash that was given to me. Trust me, it took a really long time (especially the first few days) to get used to what is now the familiar rupiah. During the first few days of counting cash, I thought I was going crazy. All I saw were numbers. I think I even dreamt that I was counting money. So anyways, all this venting has a point to it (I am getting there). The truth is, as much as I disliked doing it, I got used to it. And now, I definitely get what Dr. Yeoh was saying about our accommodation here – making the unfamiliar familiar. So yes, I'm much better at counting money now. Of course, I have my little piece of technology to thank but I definitely get how much work goes into planning for a trip like this just by the amount of zeros I had to count.

my duty in this trip includes counting, counting and counting money

9 days and 999 statues...

The highlight of this trip for me was definitely visiting both Candi Borobudur and Prambanan. I knew very little about these temples and I desperately wanted to know about the history behind its architecture. I loved listening to the legend of Loro Jonggrang because its heartbreakingly beautiful. Also, watching the Ramayana Ballet was a refreshing change from the usual hyper-dramatic/expressive operas I love so dearly. I enjoyed every deliberate movement and although I personally think gamelan music is freaky, it doesn't fail to enchant me.

I count myself very lucky to be able to learn so much about this city in such a short span of time. Although we live near a certain tourist infested street called Malioboro, it was the sessions we attended that truly taught me about the people who live here. It is the lives of such individuals that truly inspire us and teach us to not take things for granted.


WRITER'S PROFILE: Melanie is currently writing her Honours thesis on vampire literature
and masochism. She is a mixed bag of different cultures and loves writing short stories during her free time. Melanie is also fascinated by ancient monuments and civilization. This is her first time in Indonesia and is hooked on Javanese Lulur.

Diary Entry: Day 9 (Time to Say Goodbye)

By: Marina Tan

17 July 2009

"We need a holiday to recover from this 'holiday' " was the common phrase uttered by us Monash travellers, a few days after the In Search Of Yogyakarta expedition began. It seems just yesterday when we were at the LCCT, checking in and competing among each other to be the Winner of the Lightest Luggage Competition. The honour went to Miss Ultimate Light Traveler, Joanna Molloy with just 6kg of luggage, while Dr Yeoh was inagurated in the Heaviest Luggage Owner Hall of Shame with 20kg of luggage. To be fair, Dr Yeoh did have to bring along the camera equipment and appreciation souvenirs for our host organisations.

all the bulky luggage that the travelers brought

boarding airasia to yogyakarta

But here we are, the final day of the In Search of Yogyakarta Expedition. Nine days together in a strange hotel will inevitably create a bond among us travelers, a strange bond perhaps, which enables us all to chat about everything and nothing under the sun. A few days into the trip, it is no surprise to see groups of people previously unfamiliar to each other in each other's rooms laughing or moaning about the amount of walking done on that day, or to hear snippets of conversations among the Monash travelers in the bus ranging from the academically related 'I'm going to Italy next semester to study' to the completely irreverent 'I seriously need to take a dump right now...but our room toilet is too dodgy...'

Other than creating a bond among us Malaysians, Indonesians, Indian, mainland Chinese, Australians and Singaporean Monash students, this trip was invaluable due to the people and organisations we have met. The travelers unanimously agree that it would have been impossible for us to have the sessions with the various organisations such as INSIST and Taring Padi, without Dr Yeoh's wide range of networking. Personally, I found that the sessions deepened my understanding of the topics and theories I learn in the Monash classroom. In Monash University, we learn International Studies theories as merely theories, but in this trip we have met people who live out these theories in their daily lives. Our speaker at Pusat Studi Sosial Asia Tenggara is proudly socialist in leaning, while INSIST showed us the alternatives to the free market capitalist economy. These sessions enabled me to better understand the political theories I have learnt in my INT major, to see the political theories from the ground level.

For those whose majors involve journalism, or communications, this trip enabled them to practise the skills they have learnt in the classroom; the blog is a product of fine journalism, Taring Padi and the murals around Yogya shows the influence of the media and the
'text' in the political and social context of Yogyakarta, while the nightly video editing must have worked to enhance our video editing skills. Through all this, we also learn to meet deadlines, and that in the real world outside of Monash University our bosses would not accept excuses for missing deadlines. It was a 'deal with it' attitude when bumps appeared along the way to meeting deadlines. And we thought assignments were hard! But you can't keep a good student/alumni/guide/tourist down, and we finished all the required work.

Yogyakarta is a very musical and open city, where buskers roam the streets making music and alternative expression is openly aired through street murals and posters found along Malioboro street. We were fortunate enough to have this trip just as the Indonesian election results were announced. The political posters promoting political parties were rampant on the streets, but what was more surprising was the open presence of posters critiquing Indonesian politics or other social issues or posters reminding the politicians that Indonesians deserve more than just lip service. This method of holding the government accountable to their promises and keeping the government on their toes through these posters, is I'm sure good for the Indonesian people and democracy. Perhaps Malaysia could learn a thing or two from Yogya where the artists at Taring Padi had shown us, one does not have to wait to be old or have a political science degree to take an interest in national politics and subsequently try to change the negative aspects of local politics.

Nonetheless, the trip was not all work. While it was eye opening to have the sessions with the various organisations, we also had a lot of fun and light hearted moments when we did the touristy thing like visiting the Kraton,Borobudur,and Prambanan, watching the graceful Ramayana Ballet or playing with the children of HUMANA who steamrollers us in basketball. As summed up by Paulista, we students 'realised that we were growing old' when we were all begging for a time out after the basketball session while the kids and Dr Yeoh were still raring for another go.

Marina moderating for the HUMANA session

So this is the closing diary entry after 9 days. After the fantastic farewell dinner yesterday, the performance by both the Monash travelers and the student guides brought tears to some of our eyes at the thought of parting, What have we found In Search of Yogyakarta? We found a vibrant place, where alternative expression was the norm. We found helpful, gentle student guides, always obliging but having their own spark of mischief in teasing us. We found out how fortunate we all were, with our water heaters and air conditioning while the people of Kali Code relied on the river and weather. Now we find it is time to say goodbye.

the student guides' performance

last night in yogyakarta

abeer couldn't help to shed a few tears

As sung by the student guides at the farewell dinner

Mengapa adek menangis aje
Kalo memang jodo ngga kemana, hei hei

Until we meet again, hei hei!


WRITER'S PROFILE: Marina is a final year student at Monash University Malaysia, doing a double in the Bachelor of Arts in Writing and International Studies. Marina is from Malacca and was particularly impressed by INSIST which opened her eyes to the alternatives to capitalist free market. She finds INSIST fascinating as it is a real-life example of the theories she has learnt in her International Studies unit.

Diary Entry: Day 8

By: Kemi Harahap

16 July 2009

I woke up with a heavy burden on my chest. It was not only the fact that I was enduring a terrible cough (one that I acquired ever since the post-exams holiday) but also because I was waking up to our second to last day in Yogyakarta.

After getting ready, my phone rang, and as I peered to the screen of my phone I saw a message from an old high-school friend, who is studying at UGM. We decided to meet for lunch, and as she picked me up from Malioboro Mall, we exchanged stories over mie-ayam. It was ironic, yet somehow funny at the same time, to find out that throughout the 4 years she has been living in Yogyakarta as a student, she has never visited any tourist sites as we have in the past 8 days. In fact, her knowledge about the city, was limited to the UGM area and several shopping malls.

I do not wish to condescend or intimidate my friend, yet I have come to the understanding that if only I had rejected or pulled out from this trip, I would probably be like my friend. Being Indonesian, but the only knowledge of my country will be what is good to eat or where is good to chill. Living only under the confined, air-conditioned rooms in Jakarta, and not having my eyes open to what there was available for me outside of my little box. I have always lived under this generalized idea that cities outside of Jakarta are somewhat underdeveloped, they do not have the kind of shopping malls or developed districts as we do. Yet this visit to Yogyakarta was an eye-opener. I found out that the gems of this country are not the grand and boastful shopping malls that host a number of luxury brands or franchised chains. What allures people, especially people of different cultures and nationalities, to Indonesia is our culture and our scenery.

As I looked back to the past 8 days of our trip, I couldn't help but agree that however bad our hotel/motel rooms were, it was balanced by all the beauty we saw around us. From Mount Merapi, Borobudur, Prambanan, and even the paddy fields behind INSIST headquarters, I now understand what the commotion about Indonesia being a beautiful country is all about!! By looking at my other traveling mates, I sense that they see it too.

Yet this honeymoon period that we've experienced is coming to an end. We decided that our last night in Yogyakarta must be a memorable one. And yes, memorable it was.

We started the night with our farewell dinner at Bale Raos, a restaurant within the Kraton complex (rumoured to be owned by the Sultan's family members). As our honoured guests arrived, we all queued to get our food at the buffet area. White and Brown rice, sate-ayam, and a new favorite of mine, Timlo Soup (also the Sultan's favorite!), we digged in while chatting and mingling with our guests, which included Pak Roni from Rifka Annisa and Ariebowo.

Arriving at Bale Raos with a parade of Andungs (Horse Carriages)

However, the night was not just for gulping down royal menus. Our student guides, Nana, Adi, Ike and Ambar, wowed us with a performance of them singing a medley of Indonesian traditional songs, including the classic oldie from Benyamin S, "Hujan Gerimis", in full Indonesian traditional costumes! Their friends Ika and Marsela also performed a traditional Javanese dance, the Saung Asmara. As a tradition (which started off two years ago), we also had to prepare a little performance to entertain and show our gratitude to our guides and guests. Our remixed rendition of Oasis' "Wonderwall" echoed the Kraton walls, as we sung,

"We've seen so much our bright new eyes are yearning,
For all we've done, we'll spread the word concerning,
There are many things that we would like to say to you but we don't know how..

Hey maybe,
We say Terima Kasih....
and after all.... you're so Wonderful..."

Saung Asmara dance

Performance by the Student guides

Our Performance at Bale Raos

The dinner ended in tears, as several of the girls hugged and exchanged email addresses. However, for the others, the night had only started.

Leading the pack, Dr. Yeoh, Shazwan and Rashaad lead the way to what was suppose to be the first option for our hotel near Jalan Sosrowijayan. After taking a peek, we embarked on a journey to the darker side of Yogyakarta- the red light district area of Jalan Pasar Kembang.

Jalan Pasar Kembang does not have the bright lights or the laid-back atmosphere as Amsterdam's red light district, De Wallen. As opposed to De Wallen, Pasar Kembang was a long but narrow alley, relatively dark in lighting, but bustling with people and loud dangdut music. There was rooms on each side of the lane, the walls painted green and empty with only a matress, and a girl as the decoration. As our large group walked quietly through the alley, we received calls and pokes from several of the bystanders, both men and women.

At Lucifer's at the end of Pasar Kembang

Throughout our trip, we have always seen the bright side of Yogyakarta- the green fields, the beautiful volcanic scenery, and the majestic pre-historic sites. For some of us it was hard to believe that there was a dark side to all of this, but for others, this is the real, uncensored Yogyakarta, the things we don't see in tourist brochures or advertisements. This is reality.

Talking about reality, it is time for us to get back to our reality. Our reality could be the new semester that starts on Monday, or the fact that graduation leads us to the world of job-searching...whatever it is, Yogyakarta has been a great detour from our reality.

*View more pictures of the day from our photo album


WRITER'S PROFILE: Kemi is pursuing her last semester as a Communication major and International Studies minor. She is among one of the Indonesian students in this trip and is of Javanese descendant (as well as Bataknese, Sundanese and Bugis) which justifies her fondness for sweets. She is in charge of the management of the In Search of Yogyakarta blog as well as the resident tweeter.

Reflections (Diary Entry)

By: Cheah Wui Jia

15 July 2009

You learn things about yourself that you never knew during a Monash study trip to Yogyakarta.

One thing is certain: when I sleep at night, I need a blanket. To myself. Waging a tug of war with someone else over a piece of cloth does not come across as particularly appealing to me. Nor does immobilising myself in my sleep like a specimen in solution; I had to inhibit the overwhelming tendency to encroach into someone else's sleeping territory when sharing a bed (“Oh my God Wui Jia. You sleep all over the place, I don't have space anymore,”)

Different bed times are tantamount to disaster. Roommates of light sleepers are to be pitied. Twitch a muscle and the light sleeper arouses with a start. With bated breath you would have to inch across the room on tiptoe, stealing a glance at your snoozing roommate whose wrath you just might incur if you ever wake her up with your noise. Feeling as sneaky as a thief would when breaking into a house, you realise that turning on the tap would be a no no; you wince at the fact that your roommate might just stir at the sound of running water.

I used to think that wearing socks to sleep at night was for ninnies, until I came to Yogyakarta. The nights were so cold, that I curled into excruciating positions that I never knew I was ever capable of achieving (“There's something I need to tell you Wui Jia. You sleep in the weirdest positions ever.”). I began having bizarre dreams; one night I dreamt that an army of ants started viciously attacking the stash of food supplies that I had kept in the hotel room. Drenching myself in icy water during a bath in the evening did not help the situation. I developed such phobic tendencies for bath time, such that I was horrified at how I increasingly resembled under aged rascals who refused to obey Mom's orders to take baths. I had to weigh the consequences of smelling like my dog, against the painful repercussions of sending jolts of shock through myself while taking an icy shower.

Menstrual cramps. My poor roommate. Feeling like a cantankerous old woman, I swung like a pendulum from being a talkative ball of joy to becoming a sullen sour prune. During my moody times having meals with eighteen other fellow travelers became like a fight to preserve my sanity in a noisy fish market. The buzzing flies that I encountered at restaurants had the potential to trigger an eruption of stress hormones, and my roommate kept me at arm's length during my moments of silence to prevent a disruption in the qi that had been so harmoniously established between the both of us.

Playing with the children at HUMANA not only released a good rush of endorphins, it made me realise that the simplest pleasures in life could consist of a Freudian memory retreat to childhood. However, I was reminded of how my agility and speed paled in comparison to that of children; during a game of captain's ball, they darted from one end of the court to the other before I could bat an eyelid. After a few rounds of games, I already felt like all the air had been knocked out of me. It was heartening to watch the children dive into the candy that we had brought for them. A simple but nonetheless often taken for granted experience: having a piece of candy to suck on. Those children burst into peals of laughter at almost anything that had the vaguest resemblance to humour.

I am definitely looking forward to the shopping experience tomorrow with my beloved roommate Abeer. I hear she's a bargain queen.

WRITER'S PROFILE: Cheah Wui Jia is doing a double major in Psychology and Writing at Monash University in Malaysia. Hailing from the state of Penang, she has developed a love-and-hate relationship for tasty but unhealthy food. She found the Kali Code experience particularly enlightening as she discovered a profound irony in the joy of a people whose lives are also ridden with poverty. She is immensely grateful for the opportunity to participate in this study trip to Yogyakarta; the people she met whilst touring and the fellow travelers whom she stayed with, have instilled within her the desire to continually live life to the fullest.

Diary Entry: Day 7

By: Feeza Ashruff

15 July 2009

At the break of dawn on day 7, it was a sure thing to find everyone still covered in their blankets embracing every last bit of their dreams from the night before. On day 7 we knew that there were no early sessions in the morning to wake up for and everyone just slept in except the travelers who had stories due in the morning at 10.00 a.m. Everyone had been reminded the night before that the whole afternoon was free for those who had to pursue their still unwritten stories due in the following days. Hence, in the morning all the travelers were scattered doing their own things; Joanna who had a soft story to write on Batik headed off with our student guide Ike and a few other fellow travellers who were personally interested in Batik to Kampung Kauman, where they were scheduled to learn the art of Batik from Batik master Lukman Jamali. While they were off to their Batik session, the other students were once again out on the streets bargaining their hearts out to buy souvenirs for their folks back home. Occasionally the shoppers would convene and compare prices of the goods bought, to get the best deals.

The results of the Batik session at Kauman

By 2.00pm everyone began heading back to the hotel from wherever they were to meet up with Dr.Yeoh at the lobby before heading off together for the final session in this trip; meeting the children of HUMANA, a kind of day care centre for underprivileged children. However on the way to HUMANA we lost our way and was rescued by Mbak Adis a representative from the shelter. Despite getting lost, we still arrived 15 minutes before the scheduled time of 3pm and thus had plenty of time convening in the HUMANA house and getting to know the adorable kids before heading off to a schoolyard nearby to play some pre-planned games. After lots of translations and miscommunication with the children we managed to play 3 games which were 'wolf and sheep', 'ular dan naga' and also basketball. Everyone including the travelers played along, laughing and running together with the children. A few injuries occurred to the travelers- Shazwan was accidentally hit in the face and I had my foot stomped on. Painful, but I am sure that for both Shazwan and I, these injuries only made the day more memorable, as sometimes memories are made from injuries. At the end of the session we took the compulsory sedate group photograph and Dr Yeoh's favourite 'jumping shot'. We also distributed the candies, toys and books that were brought for the children in the centre. We then slowly walked back to the hotel feeling really exhausted and old.

Playing 'Ular Naga Panjang' (Long Dragon) a traditional Indonesian game with the children

The children laughing and playing with the students

When we arrived, we gathered at the lobby for tomorrow's briefing and right after the briefing everyone was once again free to do their own activities; some headed off for dinner, some to the cyber cafe writing up their blog entries while the rest went shopping.Melanie and i went for a wonderful massage and spa at a hotel near by with Farhanah as our escort. I must say that today was one of the most laidback day on the entire trip to Yogyakarta.


WRITER'S PROFILE: Feeza is currently a third year student (hopefully graduating in 2 days time) majoring in International Studies and minoring in Communication. She is an absolute crazy one. Laughing is her middle name and she is always in love with children. One of the most veteran travelers in the IN SEARCH series organized by Dr.Yeoh and Monash University Sunway Campus, Feeza is also a person with a very complex heart and mind. She hides her feelings a lot (seriously) but adores her family and friends to bits. =)

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.

Diary Entry: Day 5

By: Chong Jinn Wei

13 July 2009

The day started at 9am. We the students of Monash University, Sunway Campus comprising of 19 students from 5 different countries (Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and China) began Day 5 of our study trip In Search of Yogyakarta 2009. Our first session for today was the women's group Rifka Annisa.

Rifka Annisa is an action group catered for Indonesian women who've had encountered social problems like domestic violence and discrimination. The Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) was formed on 26 August 1993 in the name of Rifka Annisa Women's Crisis Center. It became the very first Women Crisis Center (WCC) to be formed in Indonesia to cater the needs of women that were facing all sorts of trouble pertaining to their rights. The NGO had compounded a list of ecological factors that dictate the ways in which women's rights abuse are perpetuated.

Rifka Annisa WCC

Rifka Annisa is concerned about how the strong patriarchal culture in Indonesia that place women at a disadvantage position accentuate many abuses like domestic violence, rape and sexual harassment. The NGO holds activities such as counseling sessions,support groups as well as provide shelter for abused women. Rifka Annisa seem to present themselves as an open NGO that is willing to help women in trouble.

After leaving Rifka Annisa we set out again for lunch at Jambon Resto. The restaurant had a very unique setting as the 'gubungs' (huts) we were sitting on were on stilts over a small pond in which fishes were swimming around. Our pre-arranged menu had served us the spicy 'nila' fish, 'tempe' (fried soya beans), fried tofu,oily kangkung, some sweet 'trancan' (diced vegetables with santan) and lastly, fried 'gurumeh' (fried pieces of golden fish meat) . Also, the sambal that was served along with the dishes was extremely spicy, which made the food extremely rich in flavour.

Lunch at Jambon Restaurant

Interestingly, it was amusing to see how the food was disposed off as it was literally thrown into the very pond we were sitting on for the fishes to eat. It was a very ecological and environmental-friendly way of disposing food as it was used to feed the fishes.

Later, everyone went to our last session for the day at Taring Padi, whereby we were privilege enough to meet artists that produce creative works that delve into political issues. A group of artists gathered together to make art that criticized Suharto's regime until 1998. After Suharto had stepped down, these group of artists felt that they needed to continue producing art on political and social issues because they had expected new problems to arise.

Today, they explore issues like the recent 2009 presidential elections by producing 22 pieces of socio-political works to spread messages. They believe that people are free to vote only if they wanted to, as there were some criticisms on the candidates involved during the elections. Some of the other activities that they do include participating in rallies and drawing murals in public spaces to voice out opinions.

Session at Taring Padi

The members of Taring Padi make it a point to take no sides in their surreal and beautiful works of art. The pieces that were shown to us were delving into issues fighting for an uncorrupted government and providing a balanced view as well as fighting for the rights of farmers.

In their works of art there's always a big picture about the primary issue concerned, and along the sides and everywhere else will be filled with smaller details that correlates with the highlighted issues. Hence, the end product is this picture with many minute details that truly goes to show that a picture can paint a thousand words.

After that session has ended we all went back to our hotel to write our stories and rest up for the remainder of our study trip. This marks the end of day 5 of our trip In Search of Yogyakarta 2009.

*View more pictures of the day from our photo album


WRITER'S PROFILE: Jinn Wei is a Writing & Communication major from Malaysia. Intrigued when he read books and saw videos of the various street murals in Yogyakarta, Jinn Wei wondered whether there was a deeper meaning behind those murals other than being colourful and fancily designed. The fact that these murals which would have been labelled 'graffiti' in other places served the positive purpose of creating a colourful street atmosphere unique in Yogyakarta drew him to investigate more about them.

Diary Entry: Day 4

By: Dominique Staindl

12 July 2009

For those of you frequenting our blog, I have the pleasure of informing you that the header for In Search of Yogyakarta 2009 is from one of the places we visited today. Phew! What a day. A lot of the pathfinders here may remember today as the one with the walking. That, we did.

Admittedly, I started off the day in a pretty low mood. It has come to that point of the trip where you're tired physically and mentally but you haven't quite pushed through it yet (I suspect that will come tomorrow). After my exhilarating horse ride on the beach at sunset yesterday, I woke to aching muscles, ligaments and (I'm pretty sure) bones as well. My camera has decided to die mysteriously (helpful, since I'm in charge of photography) and my favourite yellow scarf which had been a popular accessory to many of yesterday's beach photos had gone missing. Yes, the day started out gloomy despite the hot sun. The one solace was that we were allowed to sleep in, and I didn’t even do that!

So, today was all about getting out of our comfort zones and learning about other people's daily ways-of-life. This involved a short walk to the house and studio of a young man Ariebowo who lives with his parents in the Kauman neighbourhood. Besides being architecturally unique with the houses in the neighbourhood being mostly old houses built several generations ago, the Kauman village is also unique in the sense that it is a very close knit community; extended families generally live in houses nearby each other.

Colorfully painted houses in Kauman

Walking along the Kauman neighbourhood, we saw painted shutters, stone houses, pet birds greeting us with their sing-song whistle as well as large, warm smiles from the community locals. When we entered Ariebowo’s father’s studio, we sat in the front room of the house which was used to greet guests while the the inner section of the house was reserved for family. Ariebowo then explained about his father, Lukman's, batik painting work and how it is very well received in Europe particularly Germany where he predominantly sells. I discover that this is where a few of us students will return on Wednesday to try our hand at batik painting with Lukman, the master himself. Ariebowo explained how his mother wakes up early every morning, sometimes at 1am, to prepare local kues which are bought by the vendors who collect them from Ariebowo’s mother and 6am before being resold on the street by vendors. We were lucky enough that Dr Yeoh ordered a box of the delicacies for each of us. Each box contained 3 kues, one of which I liken to a quiche, a vegetable filled doughnut and a soft flat bun. Yum, yum, yum. Especially delicious to those who hadn’t had their breakfast yet.

We learned about the importance of this community to its residents. It's a Muslim sector, lived in by many members of an extended family (Ariebowo's auntie's house faces his and his grandparents live nearby) and it is rare for the house to be sold if one of the extended family decide to live elsewhere for a while. They usually rent it out or allow other family members to live in it, eventually returning because it is ultimately where they want to spend the twilight of their years in due to the familiarity and slow paced environment.

Kauman residents who have just finished their afternoon prayers

As we walked around, some of us stopping-off to pray and some to buy fruit and chat with the locals, it was pretty obvious just how happy people there are. In those tiny streets there is a policy against motorbikes so the safety and tranquility is preserved, and there seemed to be a lot of thought and dedication put in to the lay-out and maintenance of residences.

We eventually made a move, saying thank-you and goodbye loaded with new boxes of kuihs we purchased for the next community we were visiting- the river based community of Kali Code ( pronounced as cho-day).

View of Kali Code from a bridge

We spent a long couple of hours winding along the esplanade - an elevated walkway between residencies and the water - and past the brightly coloured, leafy front doors of the river locals. Kids would whoosh past us, sure-footed and full of sprite, to poke their tongues and pose for photos. I even saw spray-painted chicks (the poultry kind) in green, purple and orange. Mothers with babies would encourage them to wave to us, and gangs of teens would smirk and mutter jokes for the rest to enjoy.

Believe it or not- Colorful chicks!

Down below in the river men fished with bamboo traps and fed their noisy brace of ducks. Sadly, the people living by the river also used it as a dumping ground for rubbish and a site for defecation; I was glad to be walking up stream. Standing on a bridge across the river, I realised that this was where Dr Yeoh took the blog header photo from. So this is where the blog header-photo is from. As you could see from the photos on the blog, the walk was very scenic.

Kali Code

Once we reach our destination (an hour late) we are greeted by the community leader, Darsam, in the community hall. My first impressions were that the layout of the area was similar to that of European places based on steep embankments - full of steps and a mish-mash of levels for houses and walkways. Darsam explained his role as leader of the community in bringing the currently improved way of life to the peoples. He said it was an easy job to look after the community because the residents are dedicated to following his advice.

Walking around the whole day really helped me gain insight into Yogya and its people. I had been invited in to private spaces made by and lived in by people whose lives are so different from my own. I had been diverted from my sour attitude and engrossed in a lot that I saw. Now I'm lazing in the cyber cafe, absolutely wrecked but happy to have an appetite because of the exercise. I don't have a functioning camera, but there's a chance I'll get my scarf back and my aching body is healing. Thank you to the people who made today special and who made a grumpy foreigner smile again.

*View more pictures of the day from our photo album


WRITER'S PROFILE: Dominique or Dom as we all call her, has a mixture of English, Irish and Austro-Hungarian heritage. The Virgo who is pursuing a double major in French and Photography and minoring in Communication hails from Melbourne, Australia. Dom recalls poco-poco or line-dancing in Purawisata and walking blindfolded through the Banyan trees in Alun-alun Selatan as her favorite moments in Yogyakarta.

Diary Entry: Day 3

By: Wei Jia Xi

11 July 2009

The sunrise in Indonesia is earlier than in Malaysia. At six o’clock, people are getting ready for the day’s activities. We had an early journey today, leaving around 7:10am and proceeding to leave the hotel for higher ground known as Ketep Pass, to get a view of the volcano, Mount Merapi.

It took us about an hour and a half to reach our destination. At beginning of this trip, most of us were sleeping and resting in the bus. This was not only because we needed to get up early in the morning but we had a full day scheduled for us. The scenic landscape we witnessed on the journey towards Ketep Pass was breathtaking.

View of Mount Merapi from inside the bus

Snapping away on our cameras, the views, such as the one captured above made me wonder whether these farmers realize the dangers of living near an active volcano. Nana, our student guide gave me more information on the matter. According to her, Javanese people are aware that they will have to pay the price of reaping the benefits of volcanic soil and they understand the risks of being near an active volcano. They love the land deeply because the share a bond between the land and the volcano, connected by a person known as Mbah Maridjan, their ‘spiritual leader’. Nana told me that Javanese people rely on the information from him more than the government and they will not budge unless he commands them to do so.

Mount Merapi during an eruption

As the bus continued to ascend the dirt road, the temperature began to drop. When we reached Ketep Pass, everybody was shivering from the strong winds that were blowing. We took many photos given the picturesque landscape in the background.

After that, we made our way to the Ketep Volcano Centre, which exhibits educational materials on Mount Merapi. A model of the volcano at the center of the museum showed us the movement of volcanic activities, as did The Ketep Volcano Theatre which provided us a documentary of the volcano.

After the screening, we had a half hour of free sight-seeing time until we continued our journey to “one of the forgotten wonders “—Borobudur. Borobudur is a ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist Monument in Magelang, in Central Java. We had a guide to introduce us to the history background of the Borobudur. The tourists comprise primarily of locals who oddly enough, were very keen to take pictures with us. One begins to wonder whether we were as inconspicuous as we believed ourselves to be.

Candi Borobudur

Finally, we arrived at our last stop for the day—Parangtritis, the south beach. According to folklore, the queen of the South Sea loves the colour green and anyone found wearing it run the risk of being dragged into the ocean as her slave. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly at the beach, where Dominique took a horse ride along the beach side. Shazwan and Rashaad played the role of street musicians and managed to earn 14500RPs. We rounded it off with another group photo against the background of the sunset, our longest day but by far the best day yet.

Sunset at Parangtritis Beach

*View pictures of the day from our photo album


WRITER'S PROFILE: Wei Jia Xi or Cici, is studying Bachelor of Arts majoring in Communication. Coming from Chongqing, China, Cici loves to eat spicy food and has a particular interest in film and video recording. She is part of the video team, where she has learned new things, and feels thankful for having the opportunity to participate in this trip

Diary Entry: Day 2

By: Rashaad Ali

10 July 2009

Space is a matter of perspective. The Comfort Zone is relative to the individual, I thought, whilst squeezing onto my bed trying to find some sleep before the long day that awaited us. Space is relative, as porous as the walls, as thick as the mattresses, as loud as the aerobics lesson next door.

I woke an hour before I thought daylight would arrive in Yogyakarta. Skipping breakfast because of my tardiness, I bundled out of the shower and hurried into the bus with my fellow travellers, sleepy-eyed for the beginning of our journey.

Our first stop was Universiti Gajah Mada (UKM) where we attended a small session, elucidating the political situation of Indonesia in light of the recent general elections. Conducted by Dr. Aris Arif, we listened in as he described his general disdain for the candidates of the election. According to him, 40% of the country’s population abstained from voting, whether due to administrative problems or as a form of political dissent. Furthermore, in Indonesia there is no compulsion to vote, and Dr. Aris practised this by abstaining as each candidate came from a military background with plenty of skeletons in their respective closets. These include the repression of student activism with state violence and involvement in the East Timor turmoil in the late 90’s to name a few.

Session at Universitas Gadjah Mada

He continued to expound the flaws of the candidates from Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) to Megawati revealing their dark dealings to us in the comfort of the Centre for South East Asian Studies’ meeting room. One thing seemed clear however, political awareness in Indonesia was not merely reserved for the intelligentsia as politics appears to permeate through all levels of society. The general election seemed to morph into a battle between the lesser of evils with citizens voting for candidates they trusted more over others. When this option would not suffice, the choice of abstention was also on the table.

A group picture in front of the UGM Post-graduate building

We left the university with a better awareness of our surroundings and an appetite for lunch. While Shazwan, our student guide, Adi and I made a momentary diversion for the Friday prayers at a nearby mosque, the rest of the group settled themselves at the FoodFezt restaurant. Joining up with the rest half an hour later, I ordered a plate of nasi kebuli with chicken and a plate of Indonesian satay. Similar to its namesake in Malaysia, satay in Indonesia is served dipped in chili soy sauce, tasty despite the fiery sensation in my stomach.

Our next excursion took us away from the city to the grounds of a local NGO known as INSIST (Indonesian Society for Social Transformation), which focuses on micro supporting systems for the local populace for social sustenance while also conducting research programs to improve the self-determination of the individual, relieving them from market dependency. INSIST has many member offices and training grounds spread across Indonesia, providing agricultural training for the locals. The presentation was delivered by Mr. Roem, who himself has been active in the political scene for many years and his anti-establishment sentiments are reflected in his personal philosophy especially with respect to the running of his unit here in Yogyakarta. His leftist ideals were teeming with altruism, invoking my inner Guevara out from its dormant period into activity.

Walking to INSIST

Another bus ride home and we returned to the confines of our residence, only to embark outward once again in search of food. We took a long walk and stopped at the Alun-Alun Selatan which is part of the Sultan’s palace. Reluctant at first, I eventually succumbed to the romantic notion of eating sidewalk food to discover an amazing plate of soto ayam which I enjoyed on the grass alongside those who embraced the questionable hygiene of the food. Satisfied with our delicious and cheap meal, we tried our hand at walking blindfolded in a straight line between two banyan trees, a task proven to be a lot harder than it sounds. Bumping into strangers, bee-lining in the opposite direction whilst watching friends try their luck caused an eruption of laughter amongst friends and strangers alike. Walking back across the field to catch a cab home, a warmth of satisfaction began to diffuse in the air contrasting the cool of the breeze, at the enjoyment and satisfaction that the second day in Yogyakarta had provided for us. Dragging our tired feet across the cobbled pavement a slow sense of familiarity begins to transcend physical space, broadening the boundaries of comfort.

*View more pictures of the day from our photo album



WRITER'S PROFILE: Rashaad is a Malaysian doing a double major in Writing and International Studies under the Bachelor of Arts program at Monash University Malaysia. He loves reading, writing, eating and sleeping. He loves the nasi padang in Yogyakarta because there is nothing like good food to supplement a life-changing trip.

Diary Entry: Day 1

By: Natasha Tan

9 July 2009

The view of Mount Merapi seen from up above in the comforts of our cramped AirAsia seats signalled the end of a gruelling two hours and thirty-five minutes flight. We have finally arrived after months of planning and constant exchange of emails between the pathfinder, Dr. Yeoh Seng Guan, local student guides as well as the other 17 eager travellers.

View from the airplane

It became apparent that the adventure of our lifetime was about to begin; from the bumpy descent to the tasting of a local dish labelled as ‘gudeg’, a sweet dish eaten with rice and ‘krecek’ (bull’s skin), to the discovery of a 24-hour McDonalds (you can imagine the happy faces of our travellers!)

Arriving at Adi Sutjipto Airport

Tired and hungry, we started the festivities with a getting-to-know-you session where we each had to introduce ourselves, providing our names, course of study and giving an interesting fact about ourselves. Our team traveller’s had it easy as we’ve already known each other before the trip began but for the local student guides, it was a test of their memorising skills. Each of the five local student guides had to mention the names of 5 travellers! Granted that they only started to know us about 5 minutes ago, they managed pretty well getting our names and faces right.

After that, we began our hunt for dinner and at the same time, managed to have a tour of Malioboro Street, a shopping haven for any shopaholics out there. There were T-shirts, batiks, souvenirs and the likes going at low and affordable prices. Food stalls too were aplenty, all displaying their delicacies, making us even hungrier as we continued on our journey to the restaurant.

Road-crossing is certainly hazardous to one’s health! The zebra crossing is there but there are no proper indications to point out to pedestrians whether it’s an OK-go. Instead, we had to rely on the traffic and move according to them. If there’s a red light, we would literally have to speed across or risk being knocked down by the opposite traffic. Crossing the road is an experience itself here in Yogyakarta!

On the other hand, the food may require an acquired taste. It was sweet and slightly spicy but nonetheless, extremely good. Nothing was going to ruin a hungry appetite. Everyone finished their dinner and chatted with the local student guides, resting our tired legs before heading back to the hotel.

Gudeg at Jalan Wijilan

But before heading back to the hotel, there was a detour where we stopped by ‘Alun-Alun Utara’ and had a local dessert which consisted of ginger, bread and some local fruit thrown into the mix. An interesting fact about ‘Alun-Alun Utara’ is that it is located directly in front of Kraton (the Sultan's Palace) where the road leads directly to Mount Merapi. It is believed that the King receives his power from Mount Merapi. Interestingly enough, the King also receives his power from the South Sea, which is the opposite direction of ‘Alun-Alun Utara’.

'Pengamen' (Street Musicians) on our way to Alun Alun Utara

All in all, it was a promising first day where the sights and sounds of Yogyakarta are waiting to be discovered by us 17 travellers.

Here’s to 8 more days of adventure to go...

*View more pictures of the day from our photo album

WRITER'S PROFILE: Natasha is in her final year pursuing a degree in the Bachelor of Arts majoring in Communications and Writing. She is from Subang Jaya and in this trip, she will be seen lugging the unversity's camera being a part of the photography team, as we embark on a journey in search of Yogyakarta.