This is my immediate post about my trip to Yogyakarta and Borobudor in Central Java, Indonesia. Pictures should be posted at facebook sooner or later, somehow I took toooo many shots, I don't know how to concise it into an hour of picture slideshow at BGF full moon / new moon puja night. What more there's bro Allan and Wfah's camera...
Like a massive photography spree for me, I've set the size to 'steps-medium' mode to fit in as many pictures I could for the 6days travel. The main agenda of the trip was the pilgrimage to Candi Borobudor, which started off from Candi Mendut, followed by Candi Pawat. Even during annual Wesak celebration in Borobudor, devotees will follow through a procession from these 3 Candi aligned in straight path.
Some said that if compared to Angkor Wat, although Angkor Kingdom is huge and more magnificent, but the 'energy' there at Borobudor is better :) Well I didn't agree to it until, I watched the breathtaking sunrise on the morning of 19June at 5.30am, from atop of the Borobudor grand stupa, with such a peaceful mind and heart full of aspiration! It was blissful.
Then as I potong-mega-metta-steam, by clicking my DLSR away... *its annoying you know to fellow meditators around* I think I had to choose between sitting down mindfully with eyes closed or open my eyes and snap pictures endlessly. Guess which I chose? Even after when its all over, they had to circumambulate the main stupa 7 times, mindfully obviously... guess what was I doing? Trying to make my mom pose like superman standing atop of volcano mountain over looking the stupas :P yeah yeah... so I though it wouldn't be complete if I didn't follow exactly what they did... when they were almost finishing they slow walk, I quickly dash around the stupa 7 times, using my fingers to help counting, momentarily stopped to shoot when I saw any amusing sight.
Also note worthy was on the Saga-dawa day of pilgrimage, which was 18June (Tibetan Vesak Day), we chanted and meditated at the East gate of Candi Borobudor with so many Indon visitors on-lookers. It was reallllllly uneasy for me, for people to keep walking infront of us and looking at us. We even made offerings placed on portable table. Yet, everybody just peacefully chanted and infact, I too sat quietly to meditate with eyes closed for that 5-10 mins! Like totally unmoved... *they say the energy there make it easy for you to meditate ah..*
So anyway, what I'm quite impressed is the many muslim visitors hiking up the Buddhist momument, some of them wearing the tudong. It was school holiday for Indonesia, so the kids were all brought to visit this world heritage Buddhist pilgrimage site! Ermm... so sad in Malaysia we won't see Muslim coming to visit temples for the sake of visiting. Infact they even tried to touch the 'lucky' Buddha... obviously for luck. They call it the lucky-Buddha because it was not destroyed when the terrorist put bomb at the 11 stupa at Borobudor. Actually Borobudor was not destroyed during the 2006 earthquake. But I know the logic is that because the foundation of the structure is strong, even more so after UN-backed-million-dollar-restoration effort.
Too bad Candi Prabanam did not get the funding from UN. It was quite hugely destroyed during the earthquake, so much so, we could not enter the candi to visit the interior, but only can view it from outside, that also only the rebuilt of the 6 main candi of the massively destroyed Prambanam temple complex. *imagine Angkor Wat*
I like it, the fact that the Javanese people follow a mix culture of Hinduism-Buddhism-Islam. Even in their Sultan palace showed elements of mix Hindu, Buddhist & Islamic design. *I wasn't paying much attention to what the palace guide was proudly explaining about her culture but I remembered what I liked to hear :P*
Batik! This one I must confess, ok nothing seriously, I love their Jogja geomatrical-flowery Batik floor-tiles-pattern design! So besides snapping pictures of nice floor tiles with pattern, it was impossible to snap pictures of all the pattern on the balik clothes. From shirt, skirt, pyjama, kimono, sandles, pants...etc.
And the price?! VERY CHEAP!!! Imagine coming out from a shop with 4 pieces of nice formal clothing at under RM45. If only I had more money, like Junie said, have to come back to buy their batik kebaya set! Sis. SiewEng did just that, the whole set she bought cost about RM180+, it's classic chic maroonish red made of silk cloth. So authentic. *admire*
Other than Batik, the J.Co doughnut was not cheap, maybe I didn't know the price of it in KL, eating 1/2 dozen J.CO can buy you a nice men batik shirt.
I sat on the 'becak' back to the hotel alone at the last day, at the end of my 'shopping-therapy'. It's like the Penang beca la, except this is more 'teruk', with the old man peddling looking so 'old' and me feeling 'paiseh' that pakcik have to peddle me back to the grand hotel that I stayed. I gave him 10,000 Rupiah for that 1km journey.
The hotel.... for MJ's life record, the most wonderful, nicest, yau-yeng hotel I've ever stayed before... what more for 4 nights -- the Grand Mercure Hotel. Too bad didn't try their buffet dinner at Rp150,000++ its not too expensive la! The hotel rates there are cheaper than the ones in the KL, but you really get 5-star service. I hope they maintain the excellent, friendly and warm service even if Jogja gets more commercialized.
From the bellboy, to the receptionist, to the waiter, to the swimming pool towel boy, housekeeping boy... they all smiled and greeted you with palms put together. I'm really not used to receiving such hospitality. Do they have such nice warm and friendly service in Malaysia?!! I really wonder....
Even the cashier lady said thankyou with such humility, I don't know where to knock my head after nodding my head so many times in the exchange of thankyou. Is it the whole Indonesian culture? Or is it the Javanese culture? Or is it because I really looked like a tourist being fairer than all the locals?
The hotel was so nice, the breakfast was nice, the toilet was nice, the room was cozy, the view outside my balcony was the Gunung Merapi (really with smoke coming out!)... probably the only sad thing was the bbcnews on tv that I tuned in to daily, with news of China flooding filling the air. I don't know what happened in Malaysia. There's no English newspaper to browse. Didn't catch any football matches.
Wait... I noticed MTV Asia Awards coming to "M" Malaysia? HELLO!?! When did that happened? Ok its coming soon in August? Sponsored by Tourism Malaysia? MALAYSIA?!?! I wanna go! I wanna go! *make aspiration*
The one thing I did or I took home from this amazing travel, was 'making aspiration' and be thankful for the people I have whom I love and love me. Sis. Julie said "if you dont make aspiration, you won't be able to make it!" *we were indulging in our 5-star-hotel morning breakfast as we contemplate on people couldn't be with us on this trip & how we managed to visit Europe at the certain age that you wanted to*
What you want to be, where you want to go... make aspiration. Well... for this 'pilgrimage trip', it was easy to make spiritual aspiration too.. like want to attain the state of "Enlightened Mind". *fuiyoh... since when I last aspired to want to reach Nirvana?!*
But I really did chanted the englishy mantra.... something something attain "Enlightened Mind"... as I read it, I really tried to mean it... like whoaah.... imagine if I attained the "Enlightened Mind".
That's all for now... you'll know where to see my pictures ;)
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