BOROBUDUR TEMPLE

Who does not know Borobudur? This Buddhist temple has 1460 relief panels and 504 Buddha effigies in its complex. Millions of people are eager to visit this building as one of the World Wonder Heritages. It is not surprising since architecturally and functionally, as the place for Buddhists to say their prayer, Borobudur is attractive.

Borobudur was built by King Samaratungga, one of the kings of Old Mataram Kingdom, the descendant of Sailendra dynasty. Based on Kayumwungan inscription, an Indonesian named Hudaya Kandahjaya revealed that Borobudur was a place for praying that was completed to be built on 26 May 824, almost one hundred years from the time the construction was begun. The name of Borobudur, as some people say, means a mountain having terraces (budhara), while other says that Borobudur means monastery on the high place.

orobudur is constructed as a ten-terraces building. The height before being renovated was 42 meters and 34.5 meters after the renovation because the lowest level was used as supporting base. The first six terraces are in square form, two upper terraces are in circular form, and on top of them is the terrace where Buddha statue is located facing westward. Each terrace symbolizes the stage of human life. In line with of Buddha Mahayana, anyone who intends to reach the level of Buddha's must go through each of those life stages.

The base of Borobudur, called Kamadhatu, symbolizes human being that are still bound by lust. The upper four stories are called Rupadhatu symbolizing human beings that have set themselves free from lust but are still bound to appearance and shape. On this terrace, Buddha effigies are placed in open space; while the other upper three terraces where Buddha effigies are confined in domes with wholes are called Arupadhatu, symbolizing human beings that have been free from lust, appearance and shape. The top part that is calledArupa symbolizes nirvana, where Buddha is residing.

Each terrace has beautiful relief panels showing how skillful the sculptors were. In order to understand the sequence of the stories on the relief panels, you have to walk clockwise from the entrance of the temple. The relief panels tell the legendary story of Ramayana. Besides, there are relief panels describing the condition of the society by that time; for example, relief of farmers' activity reflecting the advance of agriculture system and relief of sailing boat representing the advance of navigation in Bergotta (Semarang).

All relief panels in Borobudur temple reflect Buddha's teachings. For the reason, this temple functions as educating medium for those who want to learn Buddhism. YogYES suggests that you walk through each narrow passage in Borobudur in order for you to know the philosophy of Buddhism. Atisha, a Buddhist from India in the tenth century once visited this temple that was built 3 centuries before Angkor Wat in Cambodia and 4 centuries before the Grand Cathedrals in Europe.

Thanks to visiting Borobudur and having supply of Buddha teaching script from Serlingpa (King of Sriwijaya), Atisha was able to improve Buddha's teachings after his return to India and he built a religion institution, Vikramasila Buddhism. Later he became the leader of Vikramasila monastery and taught Tibetans of practicing Dharma. Six scripts from Serlingpa were then summarized as the core of the teaching called "The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment" or well known as Bodhipathapradipa.

A question about Borobudur that is still unanswered by far is how the condition around the temple was at the beginning of its foundation and why at the time of it's finding the temple was buried. Some hypotheses claim that Borobudur in its initial foundation was surrounded by swamps and it was buried because of Merapi explosion. It was based on Kalkutta inscription with the writing 'Amawa' that means sea of milk. The Sanskrit word was used to describe the occurrence of disaster. The sea of milk was then translated into Merapi lava. Some others say that Borobudur was buried by cold lava of Merapi Mountain.

With the existing greatness and mystery, it makes sense if many people put Borobudur in their agenda as a place worth visiting in their lives. Besides enjoying the temple, you may take a walk around the surrounding villages such as Karanganyar and Wanurejo. You can also get to the top of Kendil stone where you can enjoy Borobudur and the surrounding scenery. Please visit Borobudur temple right away.

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KERATON JOGJA

Kyai Brajanala bell chimes several times, its voice not only filled but heard up to Siti Hinggil and Bangsal Pagelaran Yogyakarta Palace. While in Sri Manganti, the chanting in Javanese ancient language is heard being sung by a palace servant. An old book, offerings, lanterns, and gamelan lay in front of him. Some foreign tourists seem to listen to macapat song solemnly, and sometimes they are looked pressing the shutter button to take pictures. Although did not know the meaning of the song, I also sat in the front row. Javanese song sound that floated slowly mixed with fragrance of flowers and incense smoke, created a magical atmosphere that created a complacent. On the right side appeared 4 other palace servants who took turn preparing to sing. Outside the pavilion, the birds chirped noisily while flew from the sapodilla tree tops which usually grow in Yogyakarta Palace complex and then landed on the grass.

Keraton Kasultanan Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat or now better known by the name of Yogyakarta Palace is the center of Javanese culture living museum that is in the Special Region Yogykarta (Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta). Not just becomes the place to live for the king and his family, the palace is also a main direction of cultural development of Java, as well as the flame guard of the culture. At this place tourists can learn and see directly on how the Javanese culture continues to live and be preserved. Yogyakarta Palace was built by Pangeran Mangkubumi (Prince Mangkubumi )in 1755, several months after the signing of the Perjanjian Giyanti (the Agreement Giyanti). Banyan forest (Hutan Beringin) was chosen as the place for building the palace because the land was between two rivers that were considered good and protected from possible flooding. Although already hundreds of years old and were damaged by the massive earthquake in 1867, Yogyakarta Palace buildings still stand firmly and well maintained.

isiting Yogyakarta Palace will provide both valuable and memorable experience. The palace that became the center of an imaginary line connecting Parangtritis Beach and Mount Merapi has 2 booth doors. The first in Tepas Keprajuritan (in front of Alun-Alun Utara), and in Tepas Tourism (Regol Keben). If entering from Tepas Keprajuritan, visitors can only enter Bangsal Pagelaran and Siti Hinggil and see a collection of some palace carriages, if entering from Tepas Pariwisata, then you can enter Sri Manganti complex and Kedhaton where there is Bangsal Kencono (Kencono Ward) that is the main hall of the kingdom. The distance between the first and second booth door was not far, just by walking down Jalan Rotowijayan, visitors can walk or ride a rickshaw.

There are many things that can be seen at Yogyakarta Palace, ranging from the activity of servants in the palace who are doing the job or to see properties collection of the palace. Collections are kept in glass boxes that are spread various rooms ranging from ceramics and glassware, weapons, photographs, miniatures and replicas, to various kinds of batik and its deorama of the making process. Furthermore, tourists can also enjoy the art performances with different schedules each day. The show starts from the human puppet, macapat, puppet show, shadow puppets, and dances. To enjoy art performances, tourists do not need to pay additional costs. If you come on Tuesday Wage, you can watch Jemparingan or archery competition in Mataraman style in Kemandhungan Kidul (South Kemandhungan). Jemparingan is conducted for the heritage of Sri Sultan HB X. The uniqueness of this jemparingan is that every participant must wear Javanese traditional clothing and archery in a sitting position.

After enjoying the show macapat, YogYES headed around the the palace complex and went into batik museum which was inaugurated by Sri Sultan HB X in 2005. The museum collection is quite diverse ranging from a variety of batik cloth up to the equipment to make batik from the HB VIII up to HB X. In addition, in the museum, several collections of gifts from a number of batik entrepreneurs in Yogyakarta and other areas were stored. While enjoying the museum's collection, YogYES’ sight was on one of the old wells that were built by Sultan Hamengkubuwono VIII. On top of a well that has been closed using aluminum netting, there are writings that prohibit visitors to put in money. Being curious with the intention of the sentence, YogYES moved closer and looked into the well, it turned out that at the bottom of the well there are coin and paper money were scattered.

Being satisfied walking around the palace, YogYES stepped out Regol with cheerful hearts. On the way to the parking lot, a sign that offers classes to learn nembang / macapat, write and read Javanese letters, classical dance, and to learn how to be a puppet master was appeared. Apparently, in Yogyakarta Palace complex, there are several Javanese culture and art course centers or learning centers. YogYES, then promised that someday would come back to learn how to spell and write hanacaraka letters and learn to dance.

Opening Hours: 08:00 - 14:00 p.m

Admission:

• Rp. 3,000 (Tepas Kaprajuritan)
• Rp. 5,000 (Tepas Pariwisata)

The camera/video permit: Rp. 1,000

Perfomances daily schedule in the Palaca

• Monday - Tuesday: Gamelan music (starting at 10:00 a.m)
• Wednesday: Golek Menak puppet (starting at 10:00 a.m)
• Thursday: Dance Perfomance (starting at 10:00 a.m)
• Friday: Macapat (starting at 09:00 a.m)
• Saturday: Leather puppet (starting at 09:30 a.m)
• Sunday: Wayang Orang (man puppet) and dance performance (starting at 09:30 a.m)

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PARANGTRITIS BEACH

Parangtritis is a popular tourist beach and village area on the southern coast of Java in the Bantul Regency within the province of the Yogyakarta Special Region. There is a good road to the area which is about 30 km south of the city of Yogyakarta, located just on the border between Bantul andGunung Kidul regencies.

Quite large crowds of mainly local tourists visit Parangtritis over weekends and at holidays. Larger tourist buses as well as various types of cheaper minibuses ply the route to the beach from Yogyakarta. There are local tourist facilities at Parangtritis including parking arrangements, modest hotels which provide visitors with places to change and shower, and small restaurants. Often small ponies or horse-drawn carts can be hired for rides along the beach. Tourists also visit some of the various caves and springs in the cliffs and hills near Parangtritis, such as the Gua Tapan cave and the Beji spring, which are quite close to the beach,^[1]

Parangtritis is sometimes said to be a place to meet the legendary Nyai Loro Kidul (also known as Ratu Kidul) or 'Queen of the South'.^[2] Local folklore warns visitors not to wear green clothes or the Ratu Kidul is likely to try to entice the wearer into the ocean to drown. The beach is not really a good swimming beach. Drownings are unfortunately not uncommon at Parangtritis,^[3] partly because many Indonesians have never had the opportunity to learn to swim and partly because channels, strong rips and sizable waves often occur off the beach.

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PRAMBANAN TEMPLE

Candi Prambanan or Candi Rara Jonggrang is a 9th-century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The temple compound is located approximately 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of the city of Yogyakarta on the boundary between Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces.^[1]

The temple compound, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47-metre-high (154 ft) central building inside a large complex of individual temples.^[2] Prambanan attracts many visitors from across the world.

Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple of ancient Java, and the construction of this royal temple was probably started by Rakai Pikatan as the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty's answer to the Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty's Borobudur and Sewu temples nearby. Historians suggest that the construction of Prambanan probably was meant to mark the return of the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty to power in Central Java after almost a century of Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty domination. Nevertheless, the construction of this massive Hindu temple signifies that the Medang court had shifted the focus of its patronage from Mahayana Buddhism toShivaist Hinduism.

A temple was first built at the site around 850 CE by Rakai Pikatan and expanded extensively by King Lokapala and Balitung Maha Sambu the Sanjaya king of the Mataram Kingdom. According to the Shivagrha inscription of 856 CE, the temple was built to honor Lord Shiva and its original name was Shiva-grha (the House of Shiva) or Shiva-laya (the Realm of Shiva).^[4] According to Shivagrha inscription, a public water project to change the course of a river near Shivagrha Temple was conducted during the construction of the temple. The river, identified as the Opak River, now runs north to south on the western side of the Prambanan temple compound. Historians suggest that originally the river was curved further to east and was deemed too near to the main temple.^{[citation needed]}The project was done by cutting the river along a north to south axis along the outer wall of the Shivagrha Temple compound. The former river course was filled in and made level to create a wider space for the temple expansion, the space for rows of pervara (complementary) temples.

Some archaeologists propose that the statue of Shiva in the garbhagriha (central chamber) of the main temple was modelled after King Balitung, serving as a depiction of his deified self after death.^[5]

The temple compound was expanded by successive Mataram kings such as Daksa and Tulodong with the addition of hundreds of perwara temples around the chief temple. Prambanan served as the royal temple of the Kingdom of Mataram, with most of the state's religious ceremonies and sacrifices being conducted there. At the height of kingdom, scholars estimate that hundreds of brahmins with their disciples lived within the outer wall of the temple compound. The urban center and the court of Mataram were located nearby, somewhere in the Prambanan Plain.

In the 930s, the court was shifted to East Java by Mpu Sindok, who established the Isyana Dynasty. An eruption of Mount Merapi volcano, located north of Prambanan in central Java, or a power struggle probably caused the shift. That marked the beginning of the decline of the temple. It was soon abandoned and began to deteriorate.

The temples themselves collapsed during a major earthquake in the 16th century. Although the temple ceased to be an important center of worship, the ruins scattered around the area were still recognizable and known to the local Javanese people in later times. The statues and the ruins become the theme and the inspiration for the Loro Jonggrang folktale. After the division of Mataram Sultanate in 1755, the temple ruins and the Opak River were used to demarcate the boundary between Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Solo) Sultanates, which became the current border between Yogyakarta and the province of Central Java.

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MALIOBORO STREET

Jalan Malioboro (English: Malioboro Street) is a major shopping street in Yogyakarta, Indonesia; the name is also used more generally for the neighborhood around the street. It lies north-south axis in the line betweenYogyakarta Kraton and Mount Merapi. This is in itself is significant to many of the local population, the north south orientation between the palace and the volcano being of importance.

The street is the centre of Yogyakarta's largest tourist district surrounded with many hotels and restaurants nearby. Sidewalks on both sides of the street are crowded with small stalls selling a variety of goods. In the evening several open-air streetside restaurants, called lesehan, operate along the street. Less obvious to the tourist, but more for the local population, side streets, lanes and structures that lead on to Malioboro are as important as the street itself.

he street was for many years two-way, but by the 1980s had become one way only, from the railway line (where it starts) to the south - to Beringharjo markets, where it ends. The largest, oldest Dutch era hotel, Hotel Garuda, is located on the street's northern end, on the eastern side adjacent to the railway line. It has the former Dutch era Prime Minister's complex, the kepatihan, on the eastern side.

For many years in the 1980s and later, a cigarette advertisement was placed on the first building south of the railway line - or effectively the last building on Malioboro, which advertised Marlboro cigarettes, no doubt appealing to locals and foreigners who would see a pun with name of the street with a foreign product being advertised.

It does not reach the walls or grounds of the Yogyakarta palace, as Malioboro ceases in name adjacent to the very large market Beringharjo (on the eastern side as well). From this point the street changes name to Jalan Ahmad Yani (Ahmad Yani Street) and has the former Governors residence on the western side, and the old Dutch Fort Vredeburg on the eastern side.

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