The end of our temple run

It's the end of our Indonesian tour. In case you missed it, here are the previous articles about it.

Quickie in Bali - read about temples and beach

Visit at Borobudur Temple - travel 20 hours to visit this 7th century temple. Although I did feel like a millionaire there, the worth of items and services there are by the thousands so that million will be gone in an instant.

So now the end is here.

From our visit at Borobudur Temple, we then checked in to a hotel, more like a homestay near the Malioboro Street. We freshened up, rested and then out again to check out this shopping district.

These are colorful bicycle rickshaws called becak. It's a one man transport with the driver behind the seat giving you full access view to what lies ahead. We passed by these bikes on our way to Malioboro.

First order of business was to eat. We ate in one of the cafes there. When we were done, we walked the whole street and tried to find something interesting. I was able to buy some stuff to the kids back home.

There were also street vendors called pedagang kaki lima along the street and we tried some of the food. Because of language barrier, I couldn't communicate well with the vendor but what we ate were delicious. I remember it to be not as greasy as what I was expecting. It was seasoned just right as well and not that salty.

There are lots of things happening on the street and as much as we wanted to stay longer, we already felt weary so we rode a becak to take us to our hotel to rest.

We were up early the next day for our visit to Prambanan Temple. From our hotel to Prambanan is about an hour away.

Prambanan Temples are of Hindu structures. Borobudur on the other hand is a Buddhist one that's why they differ in how they were built. However, there are also Buddhist temples within the compound. This is a perfect example that we can live together as one even if we don't have the same beliefs. We just have to respect each other.

While both seem pyramidal, Borobudur has larger base while Prambanan temples are tower like that gradually shapes into a pyramid.

These temples are younger by a century as compared to Borobudur. It is said that there are around 500 temples within the compound.

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Although Candi Sewu is the largest second largest Buddhist compound in Indonesia (Borobudur being the first), this is the largest in Prambanan.

Just like in Borobudur, we were again asked to don sarongs while within the compound.

It is noticeable the destruction of both nature and human. Earthquakes and war, looting and stealing had left the compound almost totally destroyed. During our visit, lots of repairs and restorations were being done. We were not even allowed to enter one temple because of possible collapse.

After our visit, we then ate lunch in one of the nearby shops. Jasmine tea is served everywhere. That's why the aroma of Jasmine hangs in the air.

We then returned to our hotel after that and we explored the nearby places.

This fort was turned into a museum. It started as a wooden fort in the 1760s then a more permanent structure. It was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt in the 1800s. During the war, the Japanese took over and turned into their headquarters and prison. After renovations and repairs, it was until 1992 that the Indonesian government opened the museum to the public.

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Here you can see dioramas of how Indonesia struggled to gain their independence. There are also historical artifacts within the museum.

The photo on the right is an interesting structure that we saw outside the museum compound.

If there was a marker describing this art installation, I must have missed it.

I'm not sure if it was even an art installation. That is huge maybe about 20 feet tall.

I tried searching online about it but I came up with nothing.

Do we have Indonesian friends here who can tell us about this one?

I tried Googling it but unfortunately, on Google map, I don't see this anymore. In its place is a silver lion.

I don't even see these lamp posts anymore.

Next we went to Kraton Palace.

We continued walking on from the museum to the palace.

When I think of a palace it is how the palaces of the Europeans area with towers and turrets that's why it is interesting to see how the Javanese designed their palace. It's like a one big area covered with roof but no walls. The posts, pillars and ceiling were decorated though. There were other buildings where there are musical instruments and other artifacts. Without those it's almost bare. That is why there were no tour guides to take you around. Except for the personnel/guard at the gate who collects fees, we haven't encountered anyone else. In my mind I was questioning if this is just about it.

You can check out more about the palace here.

We headed on toward the street on the right side of the palace. We saw some shops there and bought more souvenirs. I couldn't find the kind of shirts that our dad would bring home back when he worked in Indonesia.

Anyway, with that, we headed back to our hotel and rested.

The next day before heading to the airport, we took a side trip to Goa Rancang Kencana and Sri Gethuk Waterfalls.

Goa Rancang Kencana is a cave said to have been home to prehistoric humans. It was also where the anti-Dutch movement held their secret meetings plotting. It was through this movement that paved the way to Indonesian independence.

Sri Gethuk on the other hand is a secluded place that one would have to write a raft or you can swim in the river to get to the waterfall. Because this was just a side trip for us and our flight back to Bali is going to be in a couple of hours, we didn't swim. After a few minutes spent there, we then headed back and then to Adisucipto International Airport to catch our plane going to Denpasar. It was probably an hour or two flight. When in Bali, it was already late so we tried to visit nearby shops after checking in a hotel. Our flight back to the Manila was early morning the next day.

Thus ends our Indonesia trip.

It was a wonderful experience that I surely will want to go back to again and probably stay longer.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and thank you for your support as always.

Cheers!