Prambanan: A Step into the Past

The surreal Prambanan

The temple area was drenched wet at the time of our visit to Prambanan. We entered after our guide bought us a ticket each. I thought usually the guide comes in and show us around but this is not the case in Prambanan or Borobodur. We decided not to take the guide because it seemed expensive. I was sure about the price exactly but there were so many zeros in Indonesian price tags it scared me off. Furthermore, I just wanted to have a look at this heritage that has been talked about for as long as I have studied Asean Art History. 

The walkway leading to the temple

There were rows of jasmine plants along the walkway leading to the temples. You don't actually see the temple once you come from the entrance. One needs to walk about 5 minutes and take a right turn and there stood the breathtaking Prambanan. It was majestically standing with a few pagoda shapes structure at the end of the walkway.

This was one of the pagoda shaped structure or one of the temple

After climbing a few stairs, I entered the complex of the temple. The ground was not paved as you can see in the picture above. There were several pagoda structure but I only went into one. I guess that is the main temple because Shiva's statue was at the top inside a shallow room. What I found interesting is the staircase were large and it would a take great effort to climb up. I was imagining how the devotees would make their way up and down. Where did they get such rocks from?

Shiva's statue was up in the room. 

I came here mainly because of the motifs found on Prambanan. Although I have seen kala on temples in Bali and Cambodia, I needed to see it here in Jogja. It never occurred to me to study the stylistic difference between the kala but I think I will make some effort in the future. 

Although kala seemed very gory, it is actually a symbol of protection. It is placed at the entrance of houses, temples and even I found one at the entrance of the Kraton at Jogja. People believed that it protects the place from evil spirit.

Makara from side view

Makara from frontal view

Another motif that I wished to see was the makara. Makara was believed to be the mythical sea animal with the truck of an elephant. One can see makara on boats in Kelantan, Terengganu and Southern Thai. Since it is a sea animal, people believed it protects the boats from evil spirit when fishermen leaves for the sea. I believed it was also the transport of Shiva, but not entirely sure of it.

Kala

The pagoda shaped structure resembles the temples in Angkor Wat 

We had to walk a long way to get out of the complex. We came across a museum which housed some gamelan instruments and other historical documents which I didn't get to read. It was raining again by the time we finished going around the temples.

The museum

The entrance to the museum

We had to past through a huge field before going out

The Prambanan was looked after well. It was clean, even the toilets were clean. I am very particular about toilets when I travel, so I am happy. However, when I visited Borobodur, I started to think that maybe Prambanan was not as important because the treatment of tourist at the former was even special. Wait for my next blog post.

Taman Sari, Jogja: A Peek Into the Royal Villa

Taman Sari is a place where the Ruler of Jogja used to rest and relax with his family. The villa is prepared with fragrance from flowers and incense. Fruits will be brought over before the king and his family arrives. 

The entrance to Taman Sari

The second entrance where kala is portrayed on the wall

The entrance leads to the main pool

The main pool is where the wives of the ruler and his children take a bath. The king would look at them from a tower that is situated on the left. From there he will pick one of his wives to spend the night with. According to the guide, he chooses the wife by throwing a flower to her. 

The rest of the family members will then get dressed and leave the king and queen for the night. 

The pool at far is for the king's children while the pool at foreground is for the wives. The building at the background is where the wives and children get dressed after the bath.

This is the private pool where the king will spend time with his chosen wife.

The king and his wife would spend the night at the villa. In between the public (main) pool and private pool, there is a building where the couple spends their night together.

On our way out there was a batik painting area

As we walked out of Taman Sari compound, we came across a few crafters making puppet shadow (wayang kulit)

Taman Sari is situated around a compound where the palace (kraton) and some houses for palace workers. This area is built with high white walls and is very crammed when there are a lot of tourists. The weather during our July trip was hot so you might want to bring a hat along.

Movie Premiere: Rudy Habibie

I was fortunate enough to be offered a ticket to watch Rudy Habibie. Antenna Entertainment did a contest over Instagram and I won one of the five free tickets offer. Each winner gets two tickets and so I thought I would bring my sister for the experience.

Once I knew I got it, I called the person in charge to confirm my attendance. I was told the event would start at 9 pm at TGV, One Utama. Great! There is time to perform Maghrib there, eat dinner and then go for the movie.

The date was 30th July 2016.

We collected the ticket and was informed there was buffet dinner at 8pm. So, I quickly prayed and went for the buffet.

My sister and I at the event.

There we met a few fans of Reza Rahadian and what else could we do but take a group picture.

At about 9 past the cast arrived and they were seated for press conference.

There was a representative from Antenna Entertainment, Chelsea Islan (leading woman in Rudy Habibie), Manoj Punjabi (producer of Rudy Habibie), Reza Rahadian (leading man in Rudy Habibie), Indah and not seen in the pic is Pak Didi ( representative from MOX Digital).

There was questions from the floor and answered by the cast. About 10 we were ushered to the theatres and watched the movie. Before that, all the cast came in and there was a surprise selfie by Reza Rahadian. Movie ended at 12 am. The movie ended with all the audience clapping in satisfaction. It was a first and great experience. What more a chance to meet one of my favourite actor: Reza Rahadian.

All thanks to Antenna Enetertainment.

Eagle Ranch Resort: A New Experience

This family day brought us back to Port Dickson. This time around it was very relaxing, no particular games planned by the organizer. The resort itself has a few games that we could pay and play there. Among the games are archery, shooting, paint ball, horse riding and go kart. It was my very first experience at horse riding and go kart. Our resort is also very unique.

Our resort was shaped like the Red Indian tent. It is known as teepee.

This is the key to our resort. Our teepee was at the far end and we found some ants inside. The staff was helpful in clearing it up.

There is an area where you can go for extreme sports to test your strength and focus.

There is a basketball court near the teepee area.

There are several eating spots. Each time when we dine, we were directed to different spots. This is where we had lunch when we arrive.

Horse riding ranch. This one was just two laps but a more expensive ride will take you around the resort.

This is the view of the swimming pool at night, just opposite the teepee area.

The pathway leading to the game area and dining halls.

This view of colourful pots could be spotted in front of the receptionist.

The highlight of the Family Day was the introduction of our nieces and nephews.

The teepees could be seen from the main road of the resort.

Eagle Ranch Resort is at Port Dickson. Once you exit Port Dickson, go straight onto highway that leads to Pasir Panjang. You will never miss it.  

A Brush with Stardom

Little did I realize a trip to Rumah Gadang at Padang is going to contribute to the rich experience I had yesterday while watching Cindua Mato. It is a Minangkabau tale spun around a few characters; Cindua Mato, Dang Tuanku, Bundi Kanduang, the court dignitaries; Basa Ampek Balai, Raja Mudo, Puti Bungsu, Raja Imbang Jayo and his father, Rajo Tiang Bungkuk.

I am not sure whether the story is a historical account or mythical tale but I want to share the experience I had after the show. Coincidentally we got down from the third floor at Istana Budaya and saw the performers were ushered into a room. Later we found that Dr Rais Yatim and his wife were inside.

So, we waited and managed to get glimpses of the performers. Some were very down to earth and took photos with us who were waiting.

Dato' Jalaluddin Hassan was amazing in his character as Rajo Tiang Bungkuk. 

Azhan Rani who played Dang Tuanku.

Dato' Ahmad Tamimi Siregar who was one of the Basa Ampek Balai.

Ashraf Muslim as Raja Mudo.

The beautiful Vanida Imran as Bundo Kanduang. 

The performers were obviously exhausted yet they were kind enough to entertain the crowd and gave an experience that many could not have gotten. At some moment I thought we were being selfish because the audience wanted the experience with their favourite celebrity but I am sure the performers just wanted to retire for the day (it ended really late).

Well, this musical and other cultural performance are great moves to preserve the tradition and culture of Malaysia. Thank you for all the effort.