Carnival Time!

22.10.11

This evening we had heard there was a carnival to celebrate Jogja. So we bargained the

nearest cycle rickshaw driver down to 5000 rupiah (35p) to take us to the centre of

town. He was very amusing to talk to, kept telling us about his 'helicopter' which

we presumed was his cycle rickshaw! Before we could get to the Kraton/Palace the road was

blocked, presumably for the procession, so we hopped out and walked the rest. As

we walked towards the Kraton the streets became busier with families excitedly chatting

and trying to find themselves a good viewpoint. We realised it was going to be really

difficult to find a place where we could actually see the procession go by. However

there was a big screen set up so we headed towards there. There were lots of street

vendors hawking tasty snacks under lamp light and people selling toys, in particular

some really cool helicopters that spun really high and were lit various colours. We

became a bit of an attraction ourselves as we watched the various dancing acts and

floats come towards the main arena for the end of the processions. As people walked past

us they waved and smiled, it was a fantastic atmosphere. We then realised that the floats

were all ending up near where we were stood and were all coming to park up. So we went

over to 'greet' the first float as it arrived. All the floats were respresenting

an aspect of Yogykarta. The floats included: an large ornate batik lantern; a Borubudur

float; a large horse carrying a DJ (no idea what that was representing!); a large robot

(again no idea!) and a float that looked like the Great Wall of China?! The crowds were

very excited at the arrival of each float and rushed forward to photograph each float.

When the floats came to a halt, people took it in turns to clamber on to the float

and pose for photographs and this continued for the next hour and a half until we left.

We walked through the dark but bustling streets back to our hotel, very happy that we

had had this experience!

Buddhist Borobudur

We're beginning to get used to early starts but this morning we had to be up at 4am to be picked up at 4.45am so we could get to Borobudur early. Of course none of these places actually open before sunrise (unless you want to be pay a huge amount more!) so we witnessed sunrise on the 40 minute drive out of Jogja to the monument.

Now we had read that Borobudur is supposed to rival Angkor Wat and from looking at photos we were really excited. I have to say when we first got there we were a little underwhelmed! I think mainly because it was a lot smaller than we expected and having seen Angkor, very few places compare. It looks like a 9 tiered mountain,however and the reliefs that are carved in to the walls of the middle galleries are extremely impressive and tell the story of the historic Buddhas life. Borobudar is supposed to symbolise the Buddhist journey from reality, through 10 psychological states to nirvana or spiritual enlightenment. It took 75 years to build starting in the middle of the 8th century. It is built from volcanic rock that was taken from river beds and it is thought the carvings were done in situ. The Kings of the era enforced a 'labour tax' so each farmer or landowner in the area owed the King a certain numbers of days work from his labour force which were used to build the monument.

The top levels have 72 stupas, that get smaller as you go up the levels. Inside each stupa is a statue of a Buddha that is partially seen through holes cut in to the stupas. On each level apart from the lowest 2 there are statues of Buddha, there are 504 Buddha images in total! The first 2 terraces are square and plain, it is thought the bottom tier hides other reliefs, which were excavated and then built back to preserve the structure.

Overall, it was well worth seeing for the reliefs, especially at first light when it is comparatively quiet.