JOGJA_Sendratari Ramayana Prambanan

This is a beautiful and magnificent performance that unites various Javanese arts such as dance, drama and music on one stage. The show invites to enjoy a marvellous visualization of legendary epic "Ramayana" by Valmiki, written in Sanskrit. In it there is no spoken dialogue of the dancers, only the Song of Songs in the Java language to describe the sound of Sinden course of the story. In addition, there is also an attraction fireball game and acrobatic agility dancers in some tense scenes. Motion dancers were stunning with graceful agility at the same time ballet dancer tub. The stage and lights will also dissolve you in the atmosphere of the ballet performances. The story is interesting and lengths are summarized in four rounds, namely: kidnapping Sinta, Anoman mission to Lanka, Ravana's death, and the reunion between Rama and Sinta.
Enjoy the story in a series of dance movements accompanied by Javanese gamelan music into a memorable thing. Ramayana Ballet Prambanan was watched by national and international figures from various countries.

Been waiting for this moment in ages! Finally got the opportunity of watch it!
It was beyond Amazing!

Your trip to Yogyakarta will not complete without see the magnificent dance performance of Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan Temple. In this show you will see groups of professional dancer will dance and act about the Famous Ramayana Story in an outdoor theatre (during dry season, May to October) and indoor theatre (during rainy season, November to April).

Ramayana Ballet Yogyakarta will perform on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday start from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. Within these 2 hours you will see the glorious performance combining within dance, music, lighting effect, and fabulous acting of the dancer that you never see before.

There are 4 (four) kind of Ramayana Ballet Tickets or admission type that you can choose, all the differentiation are about the seating.

(Outdoor Theatre)

(Indoor Theatre)

·         VIP: IDR 375.000 (available only in open theater)

·         Special: IDR. 250.000

·         1st class: IDR. 175.000

·         2nd class: IDR. 100.000

·         return shuttle to go to Prambanan Temple: IDR 50.000,-

JOGJA_Ngobaran Beach

 Yogyakarta is a huuuge city!

Since my family and I always visit Yogyakarta every year for Eid celebration, we take our Eyang (grandma) jalan-jalan (travelling).

This time, we visited “Pantai Ngobaran!”

From the city, the journey took around 1.5 hours by car (approx. 65 km from the city of Yogyakarta.)

As soon as we stepped on Ngobaran Beach, we were greeted with an amazing sight of an unspoiled beach from the top of the hills! Its uniqueness at low tide you can see the expanse of seaweeds both green and brown that live together on rocks and coral reefs at the beach.

  

Have you ever heard of Ngobaran Beach? It is located at GunungKidul. People say it is Bali Van Java!

If you don’t have time to explore Bali yet, Yogyakarta’s south coast range would make you feel like you’re at Bali!

Ngobaran Beach history is quite interesting.

The name “Ngobaran” comes from the history of Prabu Brawijaya V, who was the last king of Majapahit Kingdom, which coincides with the Kingdom of Islam that was growing rapidly with the establishment of Islamic Kingdoms in the North Coast of the Island of Java in the mid-15^th Century AD.

One of the king’s Brawijaya V son, Raden Patah was the ruler of the Kingdom of Demak I, the government stands on the North Coast. The spread of Islam in Java was very fast, up until it hits the centre of the Kingdom of Majapahit where it was untenable. King Brawijaya V along with one of his son Bondan Kejawan left Majapahit Kingdom and travelled towards the West and arrived at a very peaceful place where he and his son stayed.

According to a source, the King took a step which was to undertake the Muksa ceremony because he did not want to fight his son Raden Patah (the first King of Demak). But this story about Brawijaya V has been doubted by many historians. They believed the King undertook the Muksa Ceremony by burning themselves. The flames of the Muksa Ceremony is what makes the name Ngobaran Beach.

There are cultural relics in this Ngobaran beach, like a relic of Hindu-Buddhist, because there are temples where the cult of the temple is not to be entered just anyone.

According to the story of these buildings was founded in 2003 by people who claim to be descendants of King Brawijaya V to commenmorate the birth of Brawijaya V, one of the descendants of the king of Majapahit, in Ngobaran.

There are also statues of gods clearly illustrates that this Hindu-Buddhist relic, where many people make a statue as a tribute to their ancestors. It’s exactly like Bali isn’t it!?

On the beach, you will be able to see Ngobaran Joglo buildings where the people of Kejawan (note: not Kajawen) worship; Mosque where the Muslims worship; and a Hindu temple which is located on a hill to the west.

Uniquely, the mosque measuring approximately 3x4 meters is quite simple because the floor is covered with sand, as if it fused with its beach. Interestingly, majority of mosques in Indonesia face towards the West, but this mosque face towards the South. At the front, where the Imam usually stands (a person leading the prayer) is open directly seeing the ocean. Not many locals know the reason why it is like this. But for those who would like to pray in this mosque there is a sign on the wall with a red pencil of the actual direction of the Kiblah.

As for the access, there are two alternative ways that you could reach Ngobaran Beach from the centre of Yogyakarta:

• ·         Yogyakarta - Landasan Udara Gading - Pertigaan Gading ke kanan - Playen - Paliyan - Trawono - Saptosari - Pantai Ngobaran
• Yogyakarta - Kota Wonosari - Paliyan - Trawono - Pantai Ngobaran

The entrance fee is only Rp. 3.000,-/person with parking fee of Rp. 2.000,- for motorcycle or Rp. 5.000,- for 4-wheel vehicles.

JOGJA_Beautiful Borobudur

The beautiful Borobudur is one place you should defiantly stop by when you’re in Yogyakarta!  This magnificent 9^th-century Buddhist monument is located near Magelang, on the Indonesian island of Java, 40km northwest of Yogyakarta.  It is the largest Buddhist monument in the world built in the 750 A.D. 

 

  

This monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. Its building structure is approximately 55,000 cubic meters and the view from the top is breath-taking!

The stories of the Buddhist cosmologies are carved in stone and Borobudur has many statues of various Buddha’s.

The original Buddha statues has 504 in total; over 300 are damaged (mostly headless) and 43 are missing (since the monument's discovery, heads have been stolen as collector's items, mostly by Western museums)

 Sadly, in October and November 2010, Borobudur was heavily affected by the eruption of Mount Merapi. Volcanic ash (up to 2.5 centimetres) from Merapi fell on the temple complex, which is approximately 28 kilometres west-southwest of the crater. (I had the chance to visit Mount Merapi before the eruption. It will be on the next post.)

Fortunately, UNESCO donated US$3 million as a part of Borobudur’s rehabilitation costs. More than 55,000 stone blocks comprising the temple's structure had to be dismantled to restore drainage system, which had been clogged by slurry after the rain. 

 

  
Did You Know?:
   The name Bore-Budur, and thus BoroBudur, is thought to have been written by Raffles in English grammar to mean the nearby village of Bore; most candi are named after a nearby village. If it followed Javanese language, the monument should have been named 'BudurBoro'. Raffles also suggested that 'Budur' might correspond to the modern Javanese word Buda ("ancient") – i.e., "ancient Boro". However, another archaeologist suggests the second component of the name (Budur) comes from Javanese term bhudhara (mountain).

 

 

To see Borobudur Route Map:  

http://wikitravel.org/upload/shared//3/30/Borobudur_route_map.png

To see Yogyakarta City Map:  

http://www.wikitravel.org/upload/en/a/aa/Yogyakarta_city_map.png

.:How to get there:. (from Wikipedia.)

 1. By bus

• The public buses to Borobudur from Yogyakarta are aimed mostly at Indonesian visitors, and only a few tourists venture aboard. If you are adventurous, the Trans-Jogya service runs from central Yogyakarta to Jombor bus terminal in northern Yogyakarta (Rp 3,000), where you can change to another bus to get to Borobudur. It takes about 60-90 minutes, and should cost around Rp 10,000-15,000 one way, but bargain with the bus staff to get a good price.

• Buses run regularly from Magelang to Borobudur via Muntilan and are widely advertised there. The journey time is about 1 hour. 

• To get from or to the Hindu temples at Prambanan, take a Yogyakarta bus and get down at Jombor Terminal (90 min, Rp 15,000 for visitors, Rp 7,000 for Indonesians). From Jombor take TransJogya route 2B to Prambanan (45-60 min, Rp 3,000). It will require 3 bus changes: 2B from Jombor to Terminal Condong, 3B from Terminal Condong to Maguuro (Jl. Solo) and 1A/B from Maguuro to Prambanan.

2. By minibus

Travel agents in Yogyakarta sell minibus tour packagesfor around Rp 75,000. This is a good deal and a straightforward way to reach the monument, although some operators may stop off at batik and silver factories along the route. 

3. By car

Borobudur is about 40 minutes north of Yogyakarta by car. Most of the route is on a well-maintained (for Indonesia) four-lane (in many places) highway. A taxi from central Yogyakarta to Borobudur costs around Rp 200,000, and from Yogyakarta airport about Rp 225,000. 

.:Entrance Fee:.

• Rp 135,000 for adult non-Indonesians.

• Rp 72,000 for non-Indonesian registered students (proof, e.g. ISIC, is required).

• Rp 15,000 on weekdays and Rp 17,500 at weekends for Indonesian adults or foreign holders of an Indonesian work permit.

The site is open to public entrance from 6AM-5PM.

The Manohara Hotel runs a daily Borobudur Sunrise Tour for Rp 320,000 for foreigners and Rp 220,000 for Indonesians, which gets you a flashlight and a lift up to the temple gate at 4:30AM. This is in time to see the sunrise, and to explore for an hour and a half before the hordes arrive.

 

Hiring a guide who can explain the reliefs in some detail costs Rp 75,000 per hour, with a minimum time of two hours. You should ask for a guide in the evening before going to tour in the morning. It is also perfectly possible to roll up and find a guide available, it all depends on how busy the site is. 

Visitors are required to wear a sarong whilst visiting the temple. If you do not bring your own, then one is provided free with the entrance ticket. These are available at a post located at the bottom of the temple entrance stairs, and should be returned before leaving at an exit post.

Borobudur is truly a spectacular Buddhist monument you will regret not seeing!