It was an early take-off at 0700 from KL so it was good that I only had to walk across the carpark from the airport hotel to the terminal. It was a pleasant 2h15 flight. Once again, AirAsia delivers me safely to my destination way ahead of the scheduled arrival of 0835!
It was way too early for the hotel to check me in, so I walked to the kraton (Sultan’s palace) … or so I tried. The heat got to me a little and when this man on a motorbike offered me a lift (for about USD0.50), I accepted … somewhat knowing that it would be a bit of a con.
In Yogya, the royal family is like a normal “happy” (dysfunctional) family … due to a schism, the palace is divided. It is common for people to be taken to the “other” side of the palace as there are batik shops nearby and the driver gets commission.
My case was no exception! Anyway, I didn’t even go into a batik shop but gathered my directions and made it to the palace. As if to compensate for getting ripped-off, I stumbled on the back entrance and made it into the palace without buying a ticket or paying a camera fee!
The palace is located within a white-wall … a walled city that includes a village populated by many locals. The palace-proper consists of some buildings but plenty of pavilions for meetings, audiences, music concerts etc. The current Sultan still lives here … in fact he is the Governor of the special region, making Yogya the only province in the republic to be headed by a pre-colonial monarchy.
The rest of the day was spent planning and considering excursions for the days to come.
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- Coming into land in Yogya, one sees the hills and mountains including Gunung Merapi … Fire Mountain.
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- Pavilions at the kraton (palace).
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- Inside of one of the pavilions.
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- The sultan (can’t remember the present or previous one) is/was a good cook. Some of his seasonings are on display … and includes two cans of MSG!
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- Javanese script.
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- Gamelan in action.
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- Boy in Javanese costume … wait till he turns around.
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- He is wearing a kris (dagger) behind him.
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- Javanese seem to wear their kris behind while Malays on the front. Gotta have flexible shoulders if you want to unsheath it quickly.
