On the third day of our stay in Yogya, we scheduled a visit to the Prambanan temple and the hometown village of my father-in-law.
It was cloudy and overcast the whole day, with some drizzles every now and then. It certainly was not a good weather to shoot photos, and I was kind of disappointed. There goes my chance to get good photos of the famous temple, but we must stick to the plan so off we went ahead with it.
The mysterious temple from a distance |
The cool weather affected our
mood. The group was pretty quiet after a short while, lost in their train of
thoughts during our journey to the temple. However, as soon as we saw the tall
tower of Prambanan, everyone went alive! How magnificent the Prambanan temple
was seen from a far. The cool misty weather created a mysterious ambiance
surrounding the temple. I imagined hundred of years ago, the King from SanjayaDynasty performed Hindu religious rites there, what a humbling feeling it must
have been to witness the ritual.
Once we reach the temple
complex, we could see some renovation works in progress. The temple is
undergoing renovation as it was quite damaged when Mt. Merapi expelled its hot
lava and hot clouds in 2010. Most parts of the temple was still accessible
however some main chambers were closed to public for safety reason. We also
needed to wear helmet during our visit.
Reconstruction and renovation works is underway |
I learned during my
conversation with my in-laws that my husband’s paternal granddad was one of the
supervisors during the first reconstruction of Prambanan temple back in 1950s.
Sadly, he died from a fall when he was on duty! May he rest in peace.
Look at these pictures, you
can see how majestic the temple is!
With the majestic temple in the background |
Errr...it is a steep climb! |
Such happy faces. You have never seen this kind of marvel, have you boy? |
What a beautiful background! |
Donning a helmet for safety |
Yours truly :) |
After spending about one and
a half hour around the temple, we left the the compound to pay our respect and
say our prayers to my husband’s grandparents in the village cemetery located
not far from the temple.
On our way to there, guess
what we saw! A cow carriage! It was a carriage pulled by two cows, how
wonderful to come across this traditional mode of transportation! Its bell
jingled when the cows moved, what a unique sound it produced. This type of carriage was a rare sight
nowadays, even for village standard.
Oh dear...such a commotion when the carriage is making a U-turn! |
Feels like a farmer boy? hehe |
There were many of them in the open field! |
We were able to overtake the
carriage as it moved quite slowly on the road. We then stopped our car by the
roadside so we could take pictures of this vehicle. And then it hit me.
Suddenly there were many oncoming motorcycles also overtaking the carriage
after us. And the last one in the row was a while mpv-like vehicle, that
surprisingly pulled over by the roadside too. Out came a western tourist with
his camera. Apparently, he wanted to shoot the cow-carriage too! Hahaha.
Uh oh…the cow-carriage was
then making a U-turn into an open field nearby. It was kind of hilarious scene
as the cows were reluctant to go back but the driver and his assistant were
trying hard to make them turn around! LOL! And once we turned our gaze to the
open field…look and behold, in there, were so many other carriages, apparently
waiting for some local government dignitaries to come and attend a function. We
could not believe our luck! What did we do? Follow the carriage to the field of
course !
One of the owner of the
carriages told me that there were going to be a big gathering / carnival called
Yogya Art Festival on 16 June (or today!!) and there would be hundreds of
cow-carriages from across central and east Java joining the event. This time
they would be in Yogyakarta town! How
exciting! And here is what I found from the internet about the festival (link
and photos)
Done taking pictures of the
cow carriages, we continued our plan to pay our respect to my husband’s
grandparents. The cemetery was tucked away from the village, in an open area
next to a cluster of cows’ pens, among paddy fields. The fun part began after
the prayers. Sombre mood was replaced with cheerfulness.
We were greeted by ‘moo’ and
‘eeeeeek’ from the cows and the goats housed in the pens. My son was so excited as it was his first
time seeing these animals with his own eyes! He grinned so wide when we took
pictures of him with the cows in the background. He pointed to the smelly cow
dungs and shouted excitedly of his discovery! Aiyaiyaai!
We met a farmer named pak
Wagiman who had two cows, a female cow and its calf in there. He said the calf
would be sold for its meat once its big enough.
Not far for where Pak Wagiman
cows were kept, there was a working well waiting to be explored. My husband
taught our little boy how to get water from the well, explaining to him in the
process that there are still many people in the village get their clean water in
this way.
After we had enough of
mingling with the cows we went straight to the rice fields that lie vast in
front of eyes. The paddy fields were gorgeous green. Harvest time was still
several months away, I think. We walked through the rice fields, along the grid
embankments that divided the rice fields into smaller segments. My husband
caught a grasshopper and showed the insect to our son, before it jumped off
from my husband palm and disappeared into the paddy. The kiddo then tried to
catch one himself, to no avail, but it was still so much fun
What a wonderful and precious
experience we had that morning. It was an eye opener for my son and a way to
rekindle and reconnect to our younger days for us. I hope my son will remember
what he experienced today for a long time to come.
The fun did not stop there though. After exploring the rice fields we realised that we were all hungry and cold as it was drizzling still. My parents-in-law suggested us to make a stop by and fill up our fuel at Pondok Sate and Tongseng Bu Darmo, just slightly outside the village. The Pondok Sate was a simple and descent eating house selling Mutton Tongseng (stew with dark soy sauce), Satay and Gulai (Curry-like). The food was simple, prepared on the spot based on order yet heavenly. My son was addicted to its hot kampong tea that was sweetened with rock sugar! It was comforting in a cool afternoon like that day.
We headed back to Yogya after refuelling, feeling happy and contented.
More images of Yogya will be posted soon.
The fun did not stop there though. After exploring the rice fields we realised that we were all hungry and cold as it was drizzling still. My parents-in-law suggested us to make a stop by and fill up our fuel at Pondok Sate and Tongseng Bu Darmo, just slightly outside the village. The Pondok Sate was a simple and descent eating house selling Mutton Tongseng (stew with dark soy sauce), Satay and Gulai (Curry-like). The food was simple, prepared on the spot based on order yet heavenly. My son was addicted to its hot kampong tea that was sweetened with rock sugar! It was comforting in a cool afternoon like that day.
Hot tea with rock sugar. Sedapnyaaa! |
Hot lime drink |
We headed back to Yogya after refuelling, feeling happy and contented.
More images of Yogya will be posted soon.
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