Indo-endo : Jogjakarta - Part 1

This trip was booked way back last November (yes, it was that long ago) during an Air Asia sale as it was ridiculously cheap then. So I bought the flight tickets then and left the trip to sit on the shelf until recently.

At first I thought twice about going, what with recent incidents as well as the calamities, thankfully all is well and no one even bothered with any 'sweeping'.

Jogja's main attraction is undoubtedly Candi Borobudur, the world's largest Buddhist temple. It's also Indonesia's third main tourist destination after Bali and Jakarta, and I can understand why.

Commemorative stone, with the temple in the background.

I read this before I ascended the steps.

Enter east, exit north.

View towards park entrance.

Before going up.

Simple information on the relief panels.

The East steps.

Pradaksina : a Hindu rite that here basically means going round the temple in clockwise direction.

No climbing allowed. Very tempting though to catch views from certain angles.

This was on the middle level of stupas, if I'm not mistaken.

A Buddha statue, without its stupa?

Looking down from the upper levels.

There were a number of headless Buddhas, stolen by relic hunters.

Playing with shadows.

Serenity.

The quiet, serene setting is perfect for meditating - this lady had a little candle and flower with her; I hope I didn't intrude her privacy.

These are called 'reliefs'.

Information board describing the relief panels on the Rupadhatu level, numbering 1300 in total.

Taken by a fellow traveller from Holland.

I was trying to study some of the reliefs.

This was a study in expressions when a small moth flew by.

You can still see misty mountains in the horizon.

The unfinished Buddha, that was thought to originate from the main stupa.

After two hours of roaming around the complex, we had our breakfast at a stall within the park - it was really getting very very hot at this hour and it was only just 8 am!

We then proceeded to Mendut temple, a 15 minutes drive. This was a smaller temple, with a huge banyan tree in the compound.

A single temple.

The huge banyan tree, with men continuously sweeping its surroundings.

One of the three statues inside dark Mendut.

Would take years to grow one.

Prambanan was next - oh what a sight! I was told to magnify that feeling 100 times more for Angkor Wat :)

Awestruck at Prambanan.

Scaffolded temples.

Prambanan, about 30 minutes from Jogja, is a Hindu temple complex, and was quite badly affected by the quake in May 2006. The three main temples of Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma, are off limits and undergoing repair works.

The intact shrine, surrounded by ruins of the rest.

Originally, altogether there were 224 small shrines in the temple complex, now almost all are in ruins. I saw only one that looked complete. Apparently, a temple or shrine will only be rebuilt if it had at least 75% of its original stones.

View from the front, just before my camera gave up on me :(, I had to rely on Masami's camera for the rest of the pictures. Hopefully she'll be able to email them to me soon as she gets back to Tokyo.

Accommodation-wise, I stayed in Hotel Merbabu on Jln. Sosrowijayan, and then moved to Hotel Mataram along Jln. Pasar Kembang, near the Tugu Train Station. Both hotels include breakfast in their rates.

Hotel Merbabu.

Hotel Mataram.

On the second night, I decided to catch the Ramayana Ballet at Puriwisata since I won't be able to make it to the one the next evening at Prambanan itself. I was pleasantly surprised that it was performed nightly without fail since 1976, in an ampitheatre located near the Sultan's Palace. I went with a new friend from Tokyo, Masami, whom I met at Borobudur.

At the Puriwisata, entrance to the ampitheatre.

Main cast taking a bow - poor quality pic :( Need to practice my night shots.

With the stage behind me.

p.s. Pictures to come later hopefully, blogger is slow to upload. Updated.

"There Are Places I Remember ..."

Just fell in love with Jason's rendition of the old Beatles fav, In My Life.

Performed Oct 11, 2009 in Chula Vista, CA.

Credit:Thanks to SharkReefMini

My perfect theme song for those long reflective moments.

Mo' Money?

For those bitten by the travel bug, I think the ultimate dream would be to travel the world.

Preferably with all the time and all the money that is needed.

For most people, the dream gets a rude awakening when reality sets in, we have doubts ranging from 'I don't have the time' to 'I don't have the money' to may be even 'I don't think I can do it'.

I know I am one of them. Especially the $$$$ part.

It is timely then that I stumbled upon this wonderful article by Christine Gilbert, from Almost Fearless.com.

The best bits? She writes:

The problem is, as far as goals go, it’s almost impossible to achieve unless you’re willing to compromise something else. First, let me quickly tell you why more money and travel don’t necessarily go hand in hand

More Money = Less Time = No Travel

Don’t believe me? Ask anyone with a lot of money how much they travel. Then ask anyone who travels how much money they have. Retirees don’t count. Neither do lottery winners. How many hours per week do the people who make double your annual salary work?

And this:

Don’t spend as much. I know spending feels like a reward for all that hard work, but unless you get control of it, you’ll outspend your earnings, no matter what you make. Cut your spending in half and you just gave yourself a 50% raise.

She closes with this gem:

Make more money if you want, but don’t let it become more than it is – a means of exchange so you can buy back your life.

Reading this made me think a bit, and may be my food for thought for the next few days. I certainly do not wish to end up with more money but no life.

Will be away from tomorrow onwards to somewhere I had second thoughts of going to due to recent incidents.

*Fingers crossed* and God-willing, everything will be alright.

Mission Accomplished : Borneo International Marathon 2009

Another to-do struck off my list :)

I ran (and walked) the 10K in the BIM and even got a finisher's medal! Way heyyy :)

Borneo International Marathon has lived up to its name - The Beautiful Run. A lovely morning, perfect weather with a light cool breeze from the sea. Last year when I was a volunteer, it was scorching hot.

The runner's kit - all packed inside the lovely eco-bag sponsored by Sabah Tourism.

Proud or not? Oh yes :P

Before flag-off at 6 am.

I stopped a few seconds to snap this pic of Mount Kinabalu.

Next year, I may try the half; will add it in my 2010 list that's fast taking shape now that we're already in the last quarter of 2009.

Out Of Place, In My Mind

This may seem out of place (not being travel related at all), but never mind.

Hydrangeas are simply lovely, don't you think? I hardly see it around anymore; many many moons ago they were blooming beautifully in my grandparents' garden.

I am not sure what suddenly brought about this memory of things past.

Elephants : Gentle Giants of the Animal Kingdom

I think elephants are such graceful, elegant creatures despite their size. Jim Thompson must've had them as his inspiration.

My elephant encounters so far have been limited to the circus and the zoo, and the various ones 'working' in captivity. Yet to see an elephant in the wild, in its natural habitat; and am keeping my fingers crossed I'll get to see some soon.

And I didn't know September 22 is Elephant Appreciation Day!

Things That Make It Go 'Beep'

I know now which items I shouldn't wear when I'm travelling by flight.

With that I mean avoiding things that make the alarm beep as you walk through the detector. I don't like being patted down for the body search, so I avoid it as best as I can. Maybe I'm just a little paranoid on being searched, not that I have anything to hide :P

Based on past experiences, I found out that the buckles on my red and green belts trigger the beep, hence no more travelling for these two. As for footwear, I have yet to be asked to remove them as most of the time I am wearing my selipar. A friend who wore heels had to remove them when we went through scanning at Ngurah Rai airport in Bali as it made the scanner beep.

When going through the security screening, except for the boarding pass and ID, I chuck everything else into my hand carry or backpack, including the camera and handphone as I prefer to have everything scanned in one go. There was one time I forgot to take out my pedometer from my pocket, which raised a little bit of curiosity and a few questions, but after I explained its functions they let me go. Phew.

Heavy jewellery and body piercings can also cause the alarm to go off. Oh, and for the ladies, some underwire bras can trigger it too. However, TSA's website mentions that gel-filled bras are permitted through security clearance and aboard the aircraft.

I wonder how they detect those : the gel-filled bras?

Two Heads are Better Than One ? : Single Supplement Charge

I've started planning for the itinerary for a coming trip and am feeling a bit rankled by the extra charge for single occupancy.

Single supplement charge usually costs at least 50% more than a twin-sharing/double basis. So, the package I was quoted for costs RM200 per person if there were two persons, as I am travelling alone I'd have to pay an additional RM100.

Why oh why oh why? Despite being in the industry before, as a consumer I still can't get over this single supplement charge. I know how it works; it boils down to the costing per package or room, not per person.

I am not totally against this charge, however I think it should not be 50% extra. Hmmph. I'm just ranting; it won't go away, so I've got to grin and bear it.

I wish they could be more 'solo-traveller friendly'.

Movie : My Life In Ruins

Watched this on DVD recently, which stars Nia Vardalos from My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

She plays Georgia, a professor of classical history forced to take up a job as a tour guide in Greece, with frustrating outcomes.

It's a light rom-com, nothing heavy and definitely not Oscar material. MLIR opened a few months back in the US to average reviews, and I read that for the UK release on October 2nd (this Friday) it's been retitled to Driving Aphrodite.

MLIR however can boast the accolade of being the first movie in decades to obtain the approval to shoot on location at the Parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens, amongst other ancient sites like the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and the ancient Olympic games site at Olympia.

I think the sights of the ancient sites (hey it rhymes!) are the highlight of this movie. Expect some old slapstick humour plus some genuinely funny moments.

Anyway, it's a short fun movie which doesn't over promise and under deliver. Nice for a light entertainment on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Sole Vacation

Brown selipar is taking a breather from travelling, at least for the next two weeks.

Happy weekend!

No Sharp Objects, Please

What else can one do while waiting in the departure hall?

Why, immerse oneself in minute scrutiny of confiscated objects, of course.


I can understand why people hand-carry most of these eventually confiscated items : all types of scissors, pen knives, cutters, razor blades. These I don't quite get : forks, butter knives, nails, 4-inch gold nails (!).

But .. a vegetable peeler?

Why on earth would you carry a peeler in your hand luggage? To peel a potato mid-flight? Huh?