budget airlines are known for flight delays and today was no exception. we were worried because we had already planned that as we land we would go straight to taman sari as it closes at 3pm. the flight was delayed by 45 minutes, and so when we landed (and luckily without checked in baggage) we did not bother to check for taxi prices and went straight with transport services to take us there for 100.000idr (about 10sgd).
30 minutes later we arrived at taman sari water castle. this place used to be the royal garden of the Yogyakarta Sultanate. it is about 2km from the kraton or the sultanate palace. in the past it was in fact a big complex, but on recent years most areas have become a settlement for locals. only the open baths and tunnels exist and can be accessed by public.
some modest articles about taman sari would say that princesses bathe here to be hunted by the sultan, but perhaps the more appropriate word for them are concubines. it is no secret that polygamy was widely accepted (did people have a choice?) among royalty back then. it was actually nice to know that the incumbent sultan of yogyakarta is monogamous and has ended a very ugly tradition. most of his princess daughters are also very politically active and advocate for gender equality and education.
i love the architecture of taman sari, especially the gates. the notable lion guards that typically exist in most temples are embedded in the gates surrounding the bath complex. as per wiki though, the architecture has a european touch as the man in charge of the construction of the bath complex project traveled to europe to learn of european architecture. there was also mention of a portuguese man who apparently arrived in java from a shipwreck who was a builder and was tasked to construct a house. he did and it pleased the sultan and he was given a stature as demang or village headman. the claim that he was the architect of taman sari was being disputed by a research though, with evidences that it was all local javanese design. in any case, we will leave that argument to the experts :)
the next thing to explore are the tunnels. back in the day these tunnels used be underwater, as the complex rested on a man-made lake, which made the buildings to be separate islands. they were interconnected and so the royal family would take these underwater passages to get to the pools and other parts of the complex. of course the man-made lake is gone and the islands are now settlements. it's great that the tunnels remain and are now open to public.
walking between sites, we had a glimpse of the village and the locals. it was awesome that the locals plant a lot of trees, and we saw some fruit-bearing ones. oh i really wanted that rambutan and giant avocado! of course we didn't ask, but if we did, the locals would probably proudly let us have some. they were mostly friendly (except the batik-crafting woman who refused to let jasmine photograph her) and helpful with directions.
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| clockwise: rambutan, chiku, avocado, kerson |
the part of the complex we visited closes at 4pm, so we actually had enough time to see everything. we headed to water castle cafe afterwards as we have not had proper lunch. it was a nice home cafe just across taman sari, behind the plaza. the family-run cafe was very cozy and literally warm - so the lady let me help myself to a fan.
we had javanese dishes of course: special nasi campur and gado-gado. they were very healthy versions. nasi campur - which literally means mixed rice - was served with chicken, snow peas, tomatoes, corn that were stir fried and in a curry sauce, topped with fresh fruits like mango and strawberry and garnished with julienned turnips. wow! who knew that would work? the gado-gado is quite a typical dish, but this one was served with only veggies and a very thick paste than the usual gado-gado i have in singapore. both were delicious.
as we left we asked the cafe lady where to get a taxi and she told us to walk past the market to get one. we didn't know it was about a kilometer out! after working out a sweat a taxi magically appeared and we headed to our hotel. after just a bit of rest, we headed out for dinner.. in a castle!
we have read about this restaurant which has pretty good reviews, amazing structure and the best part was - it's only a 10 minute drive from our hotel.
we were not disappointed because food was yummy and reasonably priced, service was great and the place is a delight to the eyes.
but the birthday celebration was not over yet. we saved the best for last. jasmine insisted that we buy proper champagne (yes the expensive cuvee!) to pop at the end of the night. and why not, it's our birthday! so we hit the pool, took those iconic photographs and then had some cake (courtesy of the hotel) and bubbly.
and that's how we rolled on the first day. it was my birthday, so we did indulge ourselves, but the next day was meant to work a sweat. it was going to be temple day - and then an overnight hike!
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