Yogyakarta Art, Sunrises, and SCAMMING?? (INDONESIA 2017, Part 1 of 3)

Selamat hari!

I am back in Singapore after a long, hot week in Indonesia. Before I begin this post, I have to say.. a lot of things went very wrong on this trip. Nonetheless, it has been one of the most surreal and culturally exciting trips thus far in my life, but I will include my Series of Unfortunate Events in here for comedic relief. Even then, a lot of really good things happened too, and those things outrun everything else.

This recess week was spent with Amy, Suwen, Kelly and our favourite "Instagram boyfriend" Victor in three areas called Yogyakarta, Ubud and Kuta. We began our journey early last Saturday morning and landed later that night, with a flight stopover in Jakarta then Yogyakarta. Singapore may be hot, but Indonesia is hotter… A lot hotter.

DAY 1

Our first destination: Yogakarta, East Java.

Sunday morning after arriving, we visited Taman Sari Water Castle, a garden area owned by the former Sultanate of Yogyakarta. The gardens and pools were built in the mid to late 1700s by the Portuguese, allegedly as a gift to the wives of Sultan Hamengku Buwono I.

Unfortunately I didn’t get any shots without a bunch of people in them, so here’s a photo from Google. This is the bathing area for the concubines that stayed with the sultan. 
Source

While walking to the Water Castle, my backpack of seven years decided to break and I was forced to carry my backpack like a baby for that afternoon. (RIP Backpack 2010 – 2017. You’ve been through tricolour paint splatters, harsh winters and muggy Asian summers, you will be missed). Fortunately we were heading to a nearby shopping area where I found a new backpack and on our way there… where we made a new friend!

MVP goes to Pima

A local named Pima was walking along with us and struck up a conversation with us. At first we were scared that he was going to try and con us into buying something from us, but as we continued to talk we saw his sincerity. He taught us common Bahasa Indonesian phrases to use when partaking in price negotiation at the market stalls including words such as:

-        Sangat Mahal = Very expensive

-        Berapa Ini = How much is this

-        Jalan-Jalan = Walking, in context used as ‘walking away’.

-        Enak = Delicious (for food) and Sedap = Delicious (for smelling food)

Pima taught us that using “Sangat Mahal” in combination with “Jalan-Jalan” can be a negotiating tactic that will make shop keepers think you’re leaving, and in response they will offer a price negotiation if they haven’t already. I think I’ve already mentioned this in my blog, but negotiating prices is a very competitive game for me. It’s so fulfilling and I wish this was a culture present in North America!

A man filled with lies (left). Photo by SL

Pima walked with us and also told us about an Art Institute where he taught classical music. We told him about the Palace that we were unable to enter because it was 'closed' which surprised him. He told us that it was always open to the public and that people will tell us that to scam us into visiting their Batik shops. We all screamed because this is EXACTLY what happened to us..

Fortunately, the Batik art we bought from the first shop was indeed authentic, just severely overpriced (RIP Amy’s wallet). Pima brought us to another Batik shop with local artists from his institute, where the prices were much better. We met an artist in school named “Three” (asked him three times if that was indeed his name because I wasn’t two sure) and he helped us find more wonderful art. If you walk down the streets of Java and Bali, you will see many people wearing colour printed patterns on their shirts, skirts, sarongs and headpieces, very similar to what you will find on authentic Indonesian batik cloths.

Batik shop. Photo by SL

Canting [chan-ting]
 Source

Batik art from Indonesia involves the wax dyeing of cloth, and uses many patterns with different cultural influences, and is a very well developed sector of art in Java. The cloth, which can be later used as wall art, sheets for tables, clothing, etc... is first washed then soaked in water and beaten. The artist begins by lining the cloth with patterns in pencil, which they will line over with beeswax or plant resin, using a canting tool. After it has dried, the wax is boiled off in water. The wax leaves patterns and these steps can be repeated many times to create different patterns and images. This work of art can be easily transported, hung, and used in many different decorative ways and I have a lot of respect for people who put the time and care into making these!

After this, we made our way to the night market where we practiced our bargaining and I finally bought a new bag. I also broke my slippers and had to walk around barefoot for a while. But it was raining so it was kind of fun!

DAY 2

This day started very early, but it was well worth it. Our awesome driver Virgi brought us to Punthuk Setumbu, where we walked up a hill to watch the famous Nirwana Sunrise.

No words or camera that can capture this beauty. Photos by SL

After the sun came up, we made our way to Borobudur Temple, the largest Buddhist Temple in the world, completed in 825 AD. Is has been named one of the “7 New Wonders of the World”. The temple had four main entrances with many flights of stairs leading up to different levels. We made our way to the first few levels, where the walls had stone carvings telling the stories of Buddha’s birth, his past lives and his enlightenment. The stories started at the East entrance and worked clockwise across the walls. However, the true views came from the Stupas on the top level of the temple, where bell-shaped structures dominated with an incredible grassy view surrounding. Each bell had a statue of Buddha inside, praying.

Squad. Photo credits to our Instagram boyfriend VT

After our tour of the Borobudur Temple, our really awesome driver Virgi brought us to a Kopi Luwak shop, where we got to drink real Arabica Luwak Tea, and got to meet some AWESOME WEASELS THAT HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN!!! Sorry if that makes no sense.. you’ll have to read my FOOD BLOG (link TBA) to get answers.

Overall, Yogyakarta was wonderful and I wish we could have stayed longer, as there’s always something else to see. I’ll be back one day :)

Our next destination was Ubud, Bali which was personally my favourite part of the trip. Sneak peak:

Views from Mount Batur. Photo by SL

Stay Tuned!

- Arlene