A sharing by Alan Ho Chok Chan
If you have a 3 to 4 day break it would be ideal to hop on a 2 hour flight to Yogyakarta ( or Jogja, you may call it ), and discover another facade of Indonesia distinct from the smog-filled metropolis of Jakarta, or the sun-soaked, waves-booze-party lifestyle on a Balinese beach.
Jogja is a central Java city of half a million people living in a rich plain surrounded by 7 volcanoes which seemed to follow a periodic eruption pattern that is not too devastating to scare inhabitants away permanently, rather, just to instil a proper measure of fear and reverence for Life and the Deities controlling it, and, as a measure of reward, enriches the plain with fertile, black volcanic soil : rendering it an ideal place to grow paddy, fruits and vegetables, and livestock. The good earth as Pearl S Buck would call it.
Unesco World Heritage Sites
It also is world – famous for being in the vicinity of two UNESCO World Heritage sites : Borobudur and its lesser known peer , Prabanan, a Hindu shrine complex.
There are other cultural attractions that will attract the discerning tourist : the Kesongan pottery village in Bantul making all manner of porcelain and unglazed clay products, both utilitarian and for aesthetic display , it also turns out artisanal sculptures from volcanic boulders ; the Batik making centres, which can be visited in town ; teak and rattan furniture/making industries ; museum of Indonesian fine art : both classic and contemporary . Indonesia’s most famous artist–Affendi, has his family home and museum built on the bank of one of the city’s three rivers–Sungei Gajahwong. It is open to the public daily .The Dutch fortress , or Breteng Vredebrrg ; The Gedung agong, or Presidential palace; the Kratong or Sultan’s mosque, and the Water palace completes the must-see list for the intrepid traveller .
Ramayana Epic
For large scale performance art watch the Ramayana Epic , a ballet featuring a 200+ strong cast depicting the story of Prince Rama enrolling a troop of monkeys to rescue his beloved Sita from the clutches of an evil king Ravanna. It is enacted on an open stage against the backdrop of massive black and brooding Candi Prabanan ( Candi being the Indonesian word for temple ).
Arrival in Jogja
So it was on an overcast afternoon that our AirAsia flight landed at Adisucipto airport , a pleasant flight with smooth takeoff and landing without any mid-air heroics from the pilot , ha ha ! Or whew ! We were met by Mr. Danar, an amiable, competent driver recommended by my patient who runs a factory in Jogja. To drive in the streets of Jogja takes a lot of skill and patience : the streets are narrow, congested with street hawkers with their pushcarts, millions of scooters and motorcycles, horse-drawn carts, and pedestrians dashing across the streets at their own whims and fancy ( we shall soon adapt to the milieu and become supremely skilled at this Jogja jaywalking ourselves . More of this later! )
Prabanan
Having loaded our bags into the boot of his Honda SUV, we headed in a northeasterly direction to Prabanan.
A 45 minute car ride brought us to the lesser known , but equally illustrious historic temple-complex built in the 8th -9th century ( slightly after the time when Borobudur was born ). Very little was known of its builders but it is thought to be built during the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty , which succeeded the Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty.
All that is known was , like Borobudur, it sank into oblivion around the 15th century, lost to Mankind under layers of volcanic ash and the teeming jungle.
(This trip was undertaken in 2015)
Dr Alan Ho Chok Chan is a Paediatrician in private Family Practice. he also spends his time golfing, swimming, playing tennis, wine tasting, playing guitar and singing. He is also a bibliophile and a voracious reader.
