10/2: Jogja, Indonesia: Temples & Tofu

Yesterday afternoon we flew from serene and idyllic Labuan Bajo to the huge overwhelmingly Muslim city of Yogykarta, the tourist mecca on the island of Java, and our next ‘home’ for 6 nights. The city is referred to as Jogja pronounced as djogja or as near as dammit as my mum said. The city is still headed by its sultan whose kraton or palace remains the hub of traditional life. The city of 1.8 million is famous for its batik factories and shops and is a jumping off point for nearby world famous temples.

Arriving at the busy airport just as many Muslims were returning from the Haj or pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia where so many people we later learned had been killed in the horrific accident, it was a relief to find a driver with our name on a sign ready to take us to our hotel away from the scrum.

We stayed at a wonderful 4 room guesthouse called Bamboo Bamboo located very close to the kraton with delightful staff and delicious breakfasts daily for only about $25 a night.

Normally when we get to a new city, we spend time discovering it and seeing some of the sights right away. We couldn’t do that this time as we had already reserved an afternoon and evening tour of Prambanan Temple and a sunset performance of Ramanyana Ballet for tomorrow afternoon and evening. That meant we needed to visit Borobudur Temple (Boro from now on) and the area today in order to use the combined ticket only available for 2 successive days. 

We had planned to take a train or bus to Boro but soon discounted that because of the difficulty getting to and from the bus or train stations, etc. We hired the same driver, Jundi, who had picked us up the night before which turned out to be a smart choice in terms of time and money. We were able to negotiate a fair price for the 7 or so hour day trip to Boro plus two more day trips outside of Jogja.

 Photos en route to Boro:

Man carrying toys to sell on the street or in the market.

Jundi explained that most cars in Indonesia are Japanese with Toyotas being the top seller. I was amazed seeing so many Toyota brands we never see in the US and Jundi said that many models are made exclusively for the Indonesian market. He rented or leased his Avanza, the most popular Toyota brand, from a friend, he said.

He explained that each province in the country has its own language and that there are over 500 languages and dialects spoken in Indonesia. The main language is Bahasa Indonesian which  President Obama spoke when he lived for many years here in Indonesia with his father.

Horse and buggy mode of transportation was not uncommon.

Saw lots of tobacco fields once we finally got out of the city itself in about an hour or so. Jundi said there had been no rain here for 4 months, much longer than normal, and he couldn’t wait til the end of the dry season.

Tobacco drying on side of the road.

Banana Tree. Only my brothers know our father used to call me Anna Banana,

Photos from Candi Borobodor:

 The Javanese word for temple, he told us, is Candi, pronounced Chandi.

 After getting away from the pollution and wall to wall traffic in the city and for 10 miles beyond, it was great to arrive at the east gate of UNESCO World Heritage-listed site of Candi Borobudur. 

 As the tourbook says, like Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Bagan in Myanmar, Java’s Borobudur makes the rest of Southeast Asia’s spectacular sights look almost incidental. This colossal Buddhist monument, dating back more than 1200 years, has survived terrorist bombs but suffered extensive damage in the 2006 earthquake. The word Boro is derived from Sanskrit and means ‘Buddhist Monastery on the Hill.’

Boro was abandoned soon after its completion with the decline of Buddhism and the shift of power to East Java and was forgotten for centuries. It was only in 1815 when Sir Thomas Raffles (remember that name for later!) governed Java, that the site was cleared and the sheer magnitude of the builders’ imagination and technical skill was revealed.

The Dutch, who had ruled Indonesia, and the US spent millions of dollars to stabilize and restore the monument. That involved taking most of the 2 million stone blocks apart stone by stone, adding new concrete foundations, inserting PVC and a lead drainage system and then putting the whole thing back together again! 

Climbed many steps and walked around each of the levels to see each of the stupas or small shrines that are part of Boro. At least the narrow, steep steps had railings.

The sculptors carved a virtual textbook of Buddhist doctrines and many aspects of Javanese life 1000 years ago – a continued procession of ships and elephants, musicians and dancing girls, warriors and kings.

We were very surprised how few people there were at Boro as we’d read we needed to be there at 7:30 am to avoid the massive crowds. Sure didn't see anything like that today.

View of the very hazy surroundings.

Some of the bell shaped stupas had diamond shapes while others had square shapes.

Young adults with ‘Say No to Drugs’ campaign.

Bet we saw many of the 432 serene-faced Buddha images although we sure weren't counting them!

Taking a break before facing more steps to the top.

Boro is in the shape of a massive symmetrical stupa, literally wrapped around a small hill. Its 6 square terraces are topped by 3 circular ones with 4 stairways leading up through carved doorways to the top.

Chatted with this German woman who was measuring the amount of water in the stones as part of a German funded project through UNESCO. This was her seventh time at Boro and she always measures the same stones to detect the water’s migration paths and to figure out where it’s coming from. An internal drainage system was installed in 1975, she told us. That method would not be done now because the only way to get at it to make repairs would be to take apart Boro stone by stone. 

First carving we saw with an animal on it. I just wonder whom we thought of!

Surprised there were only security guards at the stairwells 

considering what an incredible religious monument it is.

I wonder how many of the 1460 narrative panels and 1212 decorative panels
on the different levels we ended up seeing.

Walking around the first level here as we had climbed all the stairs to the top initially, then walked around each level going down. Possibly a bit backwards but it worked. We always started walking to the left at each level , i.e. the normal practice at Buddhist temples.

All the way down after 90 minutes walking up all the stairs and around each level - possibly a 5km walk in pretty blistering heat and high humidity. Steven and I agreed we would still take that weather over the bone chilling cold we had back in Canberra though, Paul!

Borobudur certainly doesn't have the same stellar or can't miss reputation on the international travel circuit as Cambodia's Angkor Wat but, in my opinion, it certainly was on a par with the central temple at Angkor Wat. A big plus for us too was the absence of crowds at Boro compared to the madhouse at Angkor Wat although I understand weather and the tourist season may change that.

Walking back to meet our driver:

Blurry because I didn't have/take the time to focus as we walked quickly
in order to meet Jundi at the arranged time!

We could only exit Boro through a maze of alleys just lined with shops. I had known we needed to factor in the 30 minutes to walk, without stopping to browse or buy, through the maze but Steven scoffed at me when I told him about the length of time it would take. Guess who later ate humble pie!

Now, doesn't THAT sound like a tremendous cruise to take!

Some of the stones still needing to be put back up after the devastating earthquake 9 years ago.

Members of the gamelan orchestra cleaning their instruments.

Thought we were finally at the end when we saw light at the end 

of the tunnel but, no, just a breath of fresh air before entering another maze.

Rolex watch – isn’t it just what you always wanted?!

Finally met up with Jundi again.We told him we wanted to go next to a small village just 4kms from Boro called Karang that is known only for its tofu making. 

Jundi told us every village in the area has its own mosque.

Photos from Karang & Tofu Making:

Sign with 'Welcome to Tofu Home Industry'; tofu is known as tahu in Indonesia.

Each home kitchen in the village produces about 50kgs of tofu daily using the traditional methods of cooking in coconut oil over a wood fire. Jundi had been taking people for years to Boro but he had never heard of Karang.

He asked some locals who said we could stop at any of the houses and see if we could watch people making tofu then. Luckily one family welcomed us into their home where we watched the tofu being fried and then ready for sale in the market for a good 30 minutes. Alexander – obviously could only think of you here!

This woman mentioned that the soya beans are imported from the US, soaked in fresh water and made into white blocks. The 7 hour process from soya beans to the blocks starts at 4 each  morning. 

In the afternoons they fry each block in the sizzling oil for 5 minutes til a deep golden color and the it is dried for a few minutes before being placed in the white drum.

Trays of tofu awaiting frying.

Still more trays that needed cutting into blocks first before being fried.

The family talking with Jundi, our driver and, luckily, interpreter.

 Here Jundi showed us some tempe in a banana leaf before it is fried or baked. 

Indonesians eat the tempe with rice or just as a snack, he mentioned.

Photos of their home as we walked through.

 I can’t tell you what a moving time we had visiting their home and discovering first hand how the family worked and lived. There was no admission charge of course but we gave them money as a thank you for opening up their home and teaching us about tofu making.

Again, just a few kms away from Karang, we stopped at the small village of Ngilopoh, a ceramics center, where locals say claypots have been made for over 1000 years. 

Photos of nearby Nglipoh:

This potter was making ashtrays, small bowls, etc outside her front door for sale in the market. We only stayed a few minutes there.

Back in the car to see Candi Pawon, a very small temple with no other visitors or tourists.

En route to Candi Pawon: 

We had seen these same women as we entered Nglipoh.

Starting to look the same as some of the others, don't you think! 
There was only the one stupa at Candi Pawon.

I caught up with Steven who had wandered into a small shop where he was entranced by very old as well as new dolls in native costume from west Java. 

Photos of doll/souvenir shop:

(As I'm writing this in our hotel room in Saigon, we're listening to British jazz singer Zara McFarlane perform right across the street. It feels like we're having our our own private concert!  Lil, I think you'd love her music. Wonder if you've heard of her?)

The woman showed us pair after pair of different dolls that it soon became difficult to decide which pair to buy. We ended up choosing 2 male and female dolls that will look lovely at home.

Drove next to see Candi Menduk but we spent a long time at the stunning Menduk Buddhist Monastery first.

Photos of Mendut Buddhist Monastery:

The Sakyanuni Buddhist Statue, above and below, was a gift from Zenyogi Buddhist Temple in Nara, Japan 'to strengthen the brotherhood of Japanese and Indonesian Buddhists.'

Steven and I really found the Mendut Buddhist Monastery a place of incredible beauty and serenity. Didn't see any monks though.

Photos from Candi Mendut -the LAST temple of the day:

There were statues of Boddavistas to left and right of Buddha.

Don't recall the insides of the other temples looking anything like Candi Mendut.

What a shame this woman was burning leaves and other trash right beside Candi Mendut.

We both had had enough of temples (don't know why!) by then so it was back to the guesthouse. Our sustenance for the day was stopping at Mickey D’s for .30 ice cream cones in Jogja. 

Saw fish pond after fish pond on this stretch of road back to Jogja.

Then broom store after broom store.

Carrying sugar cane.

Roadside restaurants like this are typical; this one served the tahu and tempe, 
both of which we saw earlier in Karang.

On the way home, we discussed with Jundi his fees for 2 other day trips from Jogja we wanted to go on as we had not made any other plans yet. He had been a good driver and guide so we preferred to stick with what we knew instead of starting anew.

The left wheel on this cart was SO wobbly I kept expecting to come right off!

The sign told people not to support children who beg. Only wish the Cambodian government had something like that in effect too as there are child beggars everywhere.

Loved the way the traffic lights are all timed so you know exactly how much time you have before the light turns green. A good many of the red lights were on an 85 second timer whereas the green was MUCH shorter. Jundi joked that he knew how much time he had to eat or text!

Finally back to our street at long last!

Dinner at  a restaurant a few blocks from the hotel. Musicians moved from one restaurant to another after playing a few songs in each and collecting tips. They were playing John Denver’s 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' here. Think we'll decide to stay on the road a while longer though!

Posted on 10/11 from Saigon, Vietnam.