Vancouver Banshee: water

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Monday, January 09, 2012

Indonesia -- Day 8 Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta and the Water Palace

After we left the Sultan's Palace, we headed over to the Taman Sari or the Water Palace. This place was so beautiful. I just loved it all. The colors, the wear, the chippy paint , everything. Please bear with me, I took a ton of photos.

Water Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

From Wikipedia:

Taman Sari also known as Taman Sari Water Castle is a site of a former royal garden of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta. It is located about 2 km south within the grounds of the Kraton, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Built in mid 18th century, the Taman Sari had multiple functions, such as a resting area, a workshop, a meditation area, a defense area, and a hiding place.

Taman Sari consisted of four distinct areas: a large artificial lake with islands and pavilions located in the west, a bathing complex in the centre, a complex of pavilions and pools in the south, and a smaller lake in the east. Today only the central bathing complex is well preserved, while the other areas have been largely occupied by the Kampung Taman settlement.

Since 1995 the Yogyakarta Palace Complex including Taman Sari is listed as a tentative World Heritage Site

Water Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

If you would like to get see Jogjalarta / Yogyakarta or the Water Palace

then contact Adventures Abroad at 1 800 665 3998

Quote code AANK for a special discount

Water Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Indonesia -- Day 8 Yogyakarta / Jogyakarta Sultan's Palace

Our first Garuda flight yesterday from Medan to Jakarta was lovely. The plane was new, done in two tone brown. There was in flight, in seat entertainment and a lovely food service. The staff were gorgeous and efficient. The 2 hour flight flew by.

Yogyakarta / Jogjakarta, Java, Indonesia

Food Stall -- Yogyakarta / Jogjakarta, Java, Indonesia

Upon landing in Jakarta we exited onto the tarmac and took a bus to the terminal. It is a new terminal with lots of choices to eat and drink at, including Krispy Kreme and Starbucks. I found a little cafe/bar and asked the lady if I could use her wall plug and wifi as my iPhone was about to die.

I had an hour to kill so decided to have a beer. I ended up having two and chatting with a kiwi guy who had been an attendant with Emirates Airlines. When I finally went through to the gate for our flight from Jakarta to Jogjakarta, I learned we had to wait two hours as the plane was late. Once we were cleared to take off we learned we were also 17th in line to take off. We finally arrived in Jogjakarta and were picked up by oy local tour guide Marcelle and our driver.

We got to the Novotel Jogjakarta Hotel at 1030pm. We had missed the dinner buffet so they had a dinner delivered to my room. That was a fantastic treat. Showered and refreshed with a Steak and prawn dinner in bed followed by dessert. Yummy !!!

I made another great impression hereon Indonesian men, speciffically with the hotel porter. He was a nice young Indonesian man, and when he dropped my bags and I off to my room he said that he thought I was beautiful. I was surprised and of course flattered. Then he made an Incredible Hulk Pose, with his body hunched over and his fists coming together and an "" arrgghh" like tone and said I was well built. Wonderful !! so much for flattery ;) I know my breasts could apparently feed a village but now I also looked like the Incredible Hulk. Fantastic to the self esteem ;)

Photograph License -- Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia
I love this hutch -- the color and the wear are fantastic !!

The Sultan's Guard -- Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia
Impressive bunch, aren't they??

Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Face Mask -- Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

The Adventures Abroad itinerary for today stated:

Today we visit the most extensive Hindu temple site in Indonesia -- Prambanan.

Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia, located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the largest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia. It is characterised by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the 47m (154 ft) high central building inside a large complex of individual temples. It was built around AD 850 by either Rakai Pikatan, king of the second Mataram dynasty, or Balitung Maha Sambu, during the Sanjaya Dynasty. Not long after its construction, the temple was abandoned and began to deteriorate.

After our comprehensive guided tour, we return to Yogyakarta. This afternoon's sightseeing includes the Sultan's palace, the Kraton, a vast complex of courtyards, halls and pavilions in Javanese traditional style. The most important structure is the Golden Pavillion; ornately carved, and heavily gilded, its graceful roof is supported by finely carved wooden beams. Here the Sultan used to receive royal guests and hold balls and banquets.

We also visit the nearby Taman Sari (Water Castle), the ruins, pools, arches and underground passages of the former pleasure gardens. It was built in 1758 by Sultan Hamengkubuwono I as a rest house and pleasure park for the Royal Family.

At some point during our stay in Yogyakarta we hope to attend a performance of the Ramayana ballet, a dance based on ancient Hindu folklore.

Overnight in Yogyakarta. Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Another name for the Sultan's Palace is Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. The palace is where the king of Yogyakarta, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono lives.

The palace was not traditional "palace/castle" style as you would think of as a westerner. It did have some very ornate detail and wonderful traditional tilework and woodwork.

Tile Floor -- Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Tile Border -- Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Painted detail --Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

From Wikipedia:

Yogyakarta's centre is the kraton, or Sultan's palace. Surrounding the kraton is a densely populated residential neighbourhood that occupies land that was formerly the Sultan's sole domain. Evidence of this former use remains in the form of old walls and the ruined Taman Sari, (or Water Palace) built in 1758 as a pleasure garden. No longer used by the sultan, the garden had been largely abandoned. For a time, it was used for housing by palace employees and descendants. Reconstruction efforts began in 2004, and an effort to renew the neighbourhood around the kraton has begun. The site is a developing tourist attraction.

painted wood detail -- Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

According to Marcelle, our local guide:

Jogjakarta is an educational town with 40 private universities and 3 public ones. There are over 40 000 students in Jogja. It is one of the cheapest towns in Indonesia and therefore great for students. For example, people can get breakfast for IDR3000. A room can be had for 350 000 IDR for a month within a 1km of town. Of course, the further out you go the cheaper the ropoms. If you went to approx 4km of downtown then you could get a room for 100 000 IDR or approx $10CAD/USD.

People speak Javanese in Jogjakarta. There are three (3) levels of language. The highest is for addressing royality and for special occasions.  Most people speak ground level javanense.

Food wise people in Jogjakarta eat more sweet foods than elsewhere in Indonesia.  They use a lot of brown sugar and are rated #1 for Diabetes in Indonesian. Indonesia itself is rated #4 in world for Diabetes.

One of the major streets in Jogjakarta is Solo street. It is 65km long. Most of the street is owned by Chinese people but they aren't allowed to advertise in Chinese or use their Chinese name, only their local Javanese name. Chinese new year is the only time they can celebrate in Chinese. Solo street is fixed price area.

Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

green and yelloe ornate railing -- Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Ceiling -- Sultan's Palace, Jogjakarta / Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

If you would like to visit Jogjakarta and/or the Sultan's Palace

then contact Adventures Abroad at 1 800 665 3998

Quote code AANK for a special discount

Monday, January 02, 2012

Indonesia -- Day 4 Parapat to Samosir Island, Lake Toba

After a good 4 hours of driving plus our lunch and industry stops we finally made it to Parapat where we could catch the ferry to Samosir Island. Specifically we were going to a village called Tuk Tuk and Tabo Tabo Cottages.

Parapet -- not exactly a bustling destination.

Lake Toba

Typical passenger boats that bus people across the lake to different villages.

The trip across the lake is approx 40 minutes. Our boat had quite the mix of backpackers and tourists, both young and old. This area of Indonesia is off the regular travelers beat and therefore a much truer picture of the people and the area. The ferry runs every hour or two and the last one is 6p. We arrived with about a minute to spare.

Parapat Boat Landing or "Tiga Raja" harbour/jetty

Since I was traveling with a group and had a fantastic tour leader I didn't really worry about any of the logistics of where I was or how to get on or off the ferry. I know this doesn't sound daunting to a westerner but really when you there and almost no one speaks english and none of the signs are in english you begin to wonder what you should do.

A few little tips from Wikitravel regarding the ferry/boat service to Tuk Tuk:

Landing at the other end of the 1 hour ferry journey is daunting, but again, behave like everyone else in Indonesia and just push, ever so politely, but firmly and eventually you will get off the ferry and onto the main road. Alternatively use the boat service but watch out for the guys that ask for the fee before you embark — they do not work for the operators, you pay on the boat.

Please note: As of Feb 2011 here is only one cirrus/mastercard ATM on the island (at the white beach entrance), better to get enough cash at Parapat before crossing the lake to the island.

Some ferry's owner are tourist hunter and will overcharge you for Rp 20-30,000 for the same trip to Samosir Island. In my opinion try to observe the ferry with wooden bench inside and light green colored ferry. Those are the ferries that charge Rp 7,000 and the locals take to cross over. Self proclaimed 'Tourist Hunters' may befriend you on the boat but are harmless and often helpful. Tuk Tuk is the main town to stay on Samosir. Use the boat service not the large ferry, they will drop you directly at your Tuk Tuk resort.

Hotel/Cottages along Lake Toba

On the boat to Tuk Tuk on Lake Toba

Our boat

On our boat on Lake Toba

Dropping some passengers off at another hotel

idyllic setting

water sports along Lake Toba

Another hotel along Lake Toba

Lake Toba -- isn't that water super inviting???

Another hotel along Lake Toba -- this has a typical Batak Roof and build

Our ferry pulling away after dropping us off at Tabo Tabo Cottages

our ferry pulling away after dropping us off at Tabo Cottages

The landing at Tabo Tabo Cottages (on the left)

We arrived at Tabo Cottages at almost 7pm. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL !! Exquisite Really. The story behind the Tabo Cottages is quite nice as well. An excerpt from their website is here:

Tabo Hotel is run by Anto, a local batak from Samosir and german Annette, who came travelling to Lake Toba, loved it and stayed. There are three kids Marco, 15, Julia 13, and Hotto, 11, 4 dogs and several cats to entertain the guests.

TABO is situated on the shore of Lake Toba at Samosir surrounded by ricefields and plantations. It offers magnificent views over lake and mountains. The unique style of the restaurant and the rooms in the lush tropical garden make a great atmosphere to get rid of stress and weariness. Our free wifi spot gives you the opportunity for updating travel blogs or and catch up on business from our airy, laid back restaurant or Pavillion.

Tabo’s latest rooms are situated right by the lake overlooking the spacious lawn, the play ground and the picturesque mountains. We concentrated on natural furnishing and soft colours for the interiour design as well as putting in green foliage around them. The new section is perfect for outdoor events like games, meetings and parties, where everybody can stay near by the action.

The cottages and main lobby have WiFi, fully functional and beautiful rooms, water equipment, restaurant, bar and stunning views.

More pics and all about Tabo Cottages on the next post because there are just too many GORGEOUS pics to share !!!

If you would like to go to Indonesia and/or Lake Toba or Tabo Cottage,

then contact Adventures Abroad at 1 800 665 3998.

Quote code AANK for a special discount.