After a party at Joel's and Nic's, followed by a late night coffee session at Kedai Kopi, I found myself at home at about 3:30am - just in time for Sahur (the first meal during Ramadan before the sunrise) meaning that the gate was open! I did feel sort of dodgy for wandering in just as some of the girls in my kos were waking up but it didn't keep me up so to speak.
After a snooze, Alex, Steph and I headed to Jalan Malioboro, most likely the famous street in Jogyakarta. Our mission was simple: to buy Batik, Shoes and presents for my family in Jakarta and for Ina's family in Sumatra. It is a lot of fun wandering down the long street since it is filled with street vendors, andong (traditional horse and carts; form of transportation) and Becak's (A bike with a passenger cart). Of course by wandering, it is more like being heckled down the street but it's something you just need to laugh off.
Our first stop was Mirota Batik - This giant store that has the first floor dedicated to Batik and the second floor dedicated to souvenir-like things. Another welcomed aspect of this store is that prices are fixed, unlike it's counterparts on the street where you can bargain for a better price. Perhaps we were cheating the Indonesian culture but the weather was so hot and it was crowded. These conditions meant that we were happy to pay a little more only for the comfort of staying sane. Spending the day shopping with Alex and Steph was probably the first girl-only day that we've had in a while. We enjoyed being able to try different batik shirts, look at touristy souvenirs without worrying about someone becoming bored. We all settled on a few batik shirts and moo-moo's (oversized batik dresses) and a secret stash of Monggo chocolate (it is a Belgium-style chocolate that is heavenly and made in Indonesia). You may notice that batik appears to be a motif within the blog but Jogyakarta is famous for it's batik and it's a tradition to wear it on Fridays, sort of like our casual Friday, as well as in formal situations. It's a must in every Jogykartan wardrobe!
We then had a mission to find both Steph and Alex shoes which we find in no other place like Bata (A staple Indonesian shoe store). We also found out that we all have the same feet size - uncanny! After a successful shoe hunt, Steph had a brilliant idea to get frozen yoghurt so we headed our way back to the shopping mall and indulged in fro-yo with the healthy option of fruit toppings and then the bad yoghurt, with oreos', chocolate caviar and lychee jelly. Both were excellent choices. The photo above is of Steph and Alex with our delicious frozen yoghurt. We bid farewell to Alex for she was leaving for Sumatra the next morning and was unfortunately unable to join us, along with the other ACICIS students, to the Ramayana Ballet at Candi Prambanan.
Steph and I decided that we would catch the TransJogya bus, Jogya equivalent of STA back in NSW but a fraction of the price - It is only 3000 IDR for wherever you want to go on the bus route! We piled on to a crowded bus but thankfully it was air-conditioned! After a few stops, Steph and I managed to get seats and were able to enjoy the passing scenery of Jogya or in my case, have a little power nap. We arrived at Prambanan and met up with our other ACICIS friends. They had taken refuge at some seats next to a Martabak vendor (kind of like an Indonesian egg filo pastry, v. tasty!) and were munching on freshly made martabak. Steph and I eagerly joined them, it's something that you can't get at home unless my mum makes it occasionally :P
With filled tummies, we crossed the road to Prambanan, just in time for the last tour. The best part about being a student here is the discounts to what is mainly tourist sites. Instead of paying 120 000 IDR for a ticket, we only paid 20 000 IDR = awesome! a lovely man showed us around the temple grounds and explained the history of the temples. I asked whether women were allowed to enter the temple after they built it but the answer to my question began more a story. Legend has it, there was a Princess that this King wanted to marry but she wasn't too crash hot on him so she told him that he would have to build 1000 temples before dawn in order to marry her. The King managed to get to 999 temples just before day-break but the Princess said the challenge was over since there was no way he could have finished the temples. So in return for her insolance, he changed her into the main temple that still exists today, as the temple for Siwa, as well as marking the 1000 temple. Story has it that if a young couple enters that temple, their time together will be cursed since the King and Princess could not be together, so neither should they.
Pretty cray huh?
It soon became sunset and we bid goodbye to the beautiful temples and our lovely tour guide. He showed us how to get to the Open Air Theatre for the performance of the Ramayana Ballet that evening. We paid for our tickets, although no student prices and decided to eat some dinner at the Buffet Restaurant conveniently next door. Dear Yasmin thought she heard that the dinner was 20 000 IDR (about $3) but when we received the bill, it was actually 70 000 IDR (About $10). Yasmin was shattered as she was so excited for a cheap dinner but it became more of a reminder to practice her numbers. It made for a good laugh and for the food we ate, there was no way a meal like that would be cheap back home!
We then went in search of our seats and we were positioned towards the left of the stage but in the slightly elevated section which made for a great viewing of the show. The story of the ballet is the love story between Rama and Sinta, as well as the perils that occur because of the rival King, Rahwana who kidnaps Sinta because he wants to marry her. The costumes of the ballet were all so intricate and so vivid in colour. The ballet had a live Javanese gamelan playing which really helped the story come to life! I wish I could have taken some photos but I only had my iPhone on me, which was useless in the dark.
If you are interested in the story, I'd recommend looking it up as it is quite a famous story in both Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. Though I'm sure with the migration of the story between the countries, there are bound to be different interpretations.
All 10 of us were lucky to find cabs on the main street, with the help of a nice man who helped us usher them, though, I think the taxi drivers gave him some money for helping us. In the taxi on the way home, I couldn't help but think I'd like to learn more about Hinduism because of the history of the temples, the Ramayana Ballet, as well as a personal interest with being half-Balinese.
Today was most definitely a culture-packed day and I'm hoping for a few more days like these. I think the next culture trip is to visit Affandi Museum, followed by an episode of the Ramayana Ballet but in Wayang Kulit form (Javanese shadow puppets).
:)
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