Jogjakarta - Day 2

4 September 2016

The alarm went off at 3.15 a.m.!!! I was so confident in waking up early and taking a shower before heading out to Borobudur, but I was so sleepy that I slept for another 15 minutes, drank coffee made by the lovely Silvia, and then just washed up and rushed downstairs to meet our driver who had arranged to pick us up at 4.00 a.m. to go to Borobudur to watch the sunrise.

Needless to say, I fell asleep in the car. I can sleep anywhere. We arrived at the temple grounds at about 4.45 a.m. Tickets, torchlight and we were off! Couldn’t really see very clearly as it was dark and I’m a blind bat, but we reached the top alright and found a suitable enough spot to watch the sunrise.  

Borobudur is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple built probably during the period between 760 and 830 CE, during the peak of the Sailendra dynasty rule of the Mataram kingdom in central Java, when it was under the influence of the Srivijayan Empire. The construction has been estimated to have taken 75 years and was completed during the reign of Samaratungga in 825.

The design of the Borobudur temple is a mix of Javanese Buddhist architecture and Gupta art. The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The temple is in the shape of a traditional Buddhist mandala (basically a square with 4 entry points, and a circular centre point). Borobudur consists of nine stacked platforms, 6 square and 3 circular, topped by a central dome. The temple is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated within a bell shaped structure called a stupa. It is the world's largest Buddhist temple.

From the exterior to the interior, 3 zones of consciousness are represented. According to Buddhist cosmology, the universe is divided into 3 major zones, and the Borobudur temple represents these zones in its rising layers. The first layer which is the foundation section is called “Kamadhatu” (the world of desire), followed by “Rupadhatu” (the world of forms) and finally “Arupadhatu” (the world of formlessness, nirvana, sunyata – described by 3 terraces in the form of circles).

Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year, Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Wesak at the monument.

There is confusion between Hindu and Buddhist rulers in Java around that time. The Sailendras were thought to be ardent followers of Buddhism, but some stone inscriptions found nearby suggest they may have been Hindus. This has led some archaeologists to believe that there was never serious conflict concerning religion in Java at that time. However, it is likely that there were two rival royal dynasties in Java at the time - the Buddhist Sailendra and the Saivite Sanjaya—in which the latter triumphed over their rival, leading to the construction of the Prambanan complex, which some people say was erected as the Sanjaya dynasty's reply to Borobudur. Not sure which is which, war or peace. I’m inclined towards peace.

We finished at about 8.30 a.m. and had complimentary coffee at the complex area, at a restaurant that over looked the Borobudur temple.

Then the driver took us to another temple, much smaller and just a single structure. This temple is known as Pawon, and is also a Buddhist temple. This temple, together with Borobudur and Mendut, are all built in a straight line, suggesting there was a symbolic meaning that binds these temples. Most probably, this temple served to purify the mind prior to ascending Borobudur. The Pawon and Mendut temples were also built during the Sailendra dynasty.

Nearby the Pawon temple was a place to taste and buy luwak coffee. Apparently it is the most expensive coffee in the world. The coffee seeds are obtained from the excrement of civet cats that have digested coffee beans. There were 6 civet cats kept on the premises for show, and one was extra friendly so I patted it. Matted and unbathed fur, yucks. But fat and cute. Silvia tasted a cup and bought 100g of coffee powder.

Then off to the last temple for the day, Mendut. There was a monastery beside the temple, with remnants of artefacts found around the Bobobudur complex area. One statue that entranced me was (I guess) of the Buddha looking emaciated, with pronounced bones protruding, depicting that he was almost at the point of starvation when seeking enlightenment. It just spoke to me. This should be the extent of one’s sacrifice in search of the truth.

Then the Mendut temple. This temple is the oldest of the three temples. Although the oldest, there were a lot of beautiful inscriptions around the outer walls of the temple. Reminded me a bit of Angkor Wat. The main room has three carved large stone statues of the Buddha. The 3 metres tall statue in the middle was meant to liberate the devotees from bodily karma, the statue on the left is to liberate from the karma of speech, and the statue on the right is to liberate from karma of thought. We lit incense here because the atmosphere was a bit magnetic.

And then we were done! Back to the hotel for breakfast, but no rest because Silvia had thought about what fabrics she wanted to buy, so we went out to all the fabric stores again and Silvia bought lots of fabric for dresses and stuff. I have to admit, the fabrics were beautiful and pretty cheap; unfortunately I buy clothes that are ready made.

At about 12.30 p.m. we were back to the hotel, shower and check out. Then snacks, beer and wine. The best part of a holiday. Then off to the airport. End of holiday. How sad.

Jogjakarta - Day 1

3 September 2016

I am a sucker for all things old, ancient and historical. Things, not people. I’ve been wanting to visit Jogjakarta forever but somehow never got round to it, and now finally it is happening!

We arrived in Jogjakarta at about 11.15 a.m. local time (12.15 p.m. Malaysian time) and negotiated for a driver to drive us around for 2 days. The weather in Jogjakarta was really hot; I thought hotter than Malaysia but it may just be that in Malaysia I’m unfortunately indoors most of the time working!

First stop – the Sultan’s palace because the descendants of the Sultan and his palace officials still stay in the palace, so it’s only open to the public until 2.00 p.m. The palace is formally known as “Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat” or “Kraton” for short. The palace is the main seat of the Sultan of Jogjakarta, his family and other palace officials. It serves as a cultural centre for the Javanese people and contains a museum that displays the sultanate's artifacts.

Since Indonesia became a republic, the Sultan is no longer in power although according to our driver, he serves as a governor of the state. The palace was built by Prince Mangkubumi in 1755-1756, and has since been habited by a family known as Hamengkubuwono, the current being the 10^th. From the family portraits, the sultans wore a peculiar ornament on their ears which made them look a bit like elves or pixies.

Lunch! Was already starving. The next destination was Prambanan and we stopped mid way at a local restaurant for lunch. Satay, chicken cabbage soup and rice. And cili padi for me, of course! The satay is different from Malaysian satay, but tastes delicious all the same. No peanut sauce but their soy based sauce was lovely.

Then to Prambanan! Prambanan Temple or Rara Jonggrang Temple is the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia. It was built in the 9^th century. It has 240 temples consisting of 3 main temples for the 3 main Gods in Hinduism: Brahman on the left (under restoration when I was there), Siva in the middle (and right opposite and face to face with it, the Nandi temple) and Vishnu on the right. The Siva temple measures 47 metres tall and is the highest temple in Indonesia.

In the vicinity of the Prambanan Temple were 2 smaller temples – Bubrah Temple and Sewu Temple which were both Buddhist temples.

The Sewu Temple is the second largest Buddhist temple complex in Java after Borobudur. It has 249 buildings consisting of 1 main temple in the centre, 8 temples (candi penjuru) on each cardinal direction and 240 temples (candi perwara) surrounding the complex. The main temple comprises one main room with 4 small adjacent doorway. On top of the rooms are 9 stupa shaped roofs. At the entrance of the complex, the temple is guarded by 2 Dwarapala statues (a fierce warrior like statue with a moustache and a weapon).

I found it quite enlightening that Hindu and Buddhist structures could be built within the same vicinity. But then again, I’ve always thought that Buddhism is Hinduism without God. So there’s no reason why both these religions cannot harmonize. But that’s just me.

And then we were done for the day. We headed to our hotel to check in, and then walked around the hotel where Silvia went crazy over fabric. There were at least a dozen fabric stores around the hotel and we went into almost every one of them. She’s a girl this way but I don’t mind because I got to do my things, so it’s only fair that she gets to do her things. It’s her holiday too.

Dinner was at a road side stall; Silvia had fried rice and I had fried Indomie. Just like home. Spicy chilli. I like Indonesia.

By the time we got back to the hotel it was about 10.00 p.m.; we had a beer and wine and then shower and sleep at almost 11.30 p.m.