Iconic Indonesia

A short note on Indonesia

Indonesia is the largest country in South-East Asia and world’s 4th populous country next to China, India and US. It is also the largest archipelago in the world with more than 17,000 islands – only  6000 are inhabited. The landscape of Indonesia is fascinating, as it extends along a latitudinal direction starting from Sumatra island in the west and ending with Irian Jaya (New Guinea) in the east, thus falling on almost one-eighth of earth’s circumference.

The 5 major islands of Indonesia are Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan (Bornea), Sulawesi and West Papua aka Irian Jeya.

• Java is the happening island in Indonesia with 60% of the population residing here.
• Jakarta, the capital city is in eastern shores of Java.
• Kalimantan (Bornea) is the least populated island and lies to the north of Java. Kalimantan shares its eastern boundary with Sabah of Malaysia – interestingly, the tiny rich nation of Brunei is carved out from the eastern side of Kalimantan island.
• Irian Jeya (West Papua) is the western part of New Guinea bordering the country of Papua New Guinea (aka PNG).
• Nusa Tenggara and Molluccas are two major group of islands along with many other smaller group of islands.
• Bali, the world’s top tourist destination lies east of Java and is a special island for many reasons.

Owing to its landscape extending along the equator, Indonesia has 3 time zones – 1.5 hrs ahead of IST(Indian standard time) in the west (Sumatra and Jakarta), 2.5 hrs ahead of IST in the central part(Bali) and 3.5 hrs ahead of IST in the east.

The official language is Bahasa Indonesia (similar to Malay) but with more than 300 ethnic groups, many regional languages are spoken here, the most popular being Javanese, Sundanese and Balinese.

The currency is ‘Indonesian Rupiah’ (symbol is Rp) – a highly depreciated currency due to escalating inflation, especially after the infamous 1997 Asian financial crisis. You may have to pay 1000 or 2000 Indonesian Rupiah just to use a washroom!!!….

The topography of Indonesia is so diverse with mountains, volcanos (many active even today) and large mountain lakes – the notable being Lake Toba in Sumatra, formed after the historical eruption of Mount Toba, 77,000 years ago and believed to have initiated a historic global climate-changing event.

Indonesia boasts a rich bio-diversity with different floras and faunas, insects, birds and animals that do not grow/live elsewhere. Komado dragon, world’s largest lizard finds its home in Komado island in Indonesia.

March 6th 2018 (Day 1)

We took Malindo Air from Chennai and reached Denpasar via KualaLumpur. Denpasar is the capital of Bali province and has an international airport. Recently, read in news that Malindo Air plans to operate direct flights to Denpasar from many Indian cities including Chennai. This shows the growing demand for Bali as a favorite holiday destination among Indian tourists too.

We were received by Mr.Ari, our Balinese guide Mr.Ari and were given a solemn traditional Balinese welcome with customary tilaks and flower garlands.

March 7th-10th 2018 (Day 2,3,4 & 5)

A short note on Bali

Indonesia is world’s most populous Muslim-majority country with 87% of its population being Muslims, followed by 10% Christians and 2% Hindus.  Bali has an interesting demographical statistics – it is a predominantly Hindu island in Indonesia with more than 85% of Balinese embracing Hinduism. It is widely believed that sea traders from South India had brought Hinduism to parts of Indonesia, starting from 1st century AD.

Hinduism in Bali is very different from what is practiced  in our country, especially in South India. First and foremost, the temples do not have majestic and grandeur structures but instead they are a cluster of smaller shrines(may be 3 or 4 shrines) spread in a large area. The historical references (inscriptions) claims the temples to be 1000 years old, but they weren’t  actually looking that old. The temples are mostly found in valleys, mountain tops, lakefronts and seashores. Even in famous temples such as Ulu Watu, we could not easily recognize the main shrine.

Almost all the shrines in Bali have a signboard at the entrance, ‘Do not enter – only for prayers’. It seems people visit temples and offer prayers only on special occasions. Surprisingly, we did not find any kind of ritual activities within the temples in contrast to the grand ceremonial activities that happen in temples back in India.

Let us understand more about Bali’s Hinduism as we read further.

Pura Tirtha Empul (Holy water Temple)

Pura Tirta Empul (Holy water temple) is believed to be built in the 10th century and is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. The significance of this temple is its holy spring water. A dip in the sacred pond is believed to drive away negative forces. 

There are many statues around the temple complex depicting Dvarapalas, demons, demiGods and Guardian Gods mostly from Balinese mythology.

Hinduism in Bali  is being practiced with a traditional Vedic fervour – not influenced by Buddhism and Jainism as happened in India and elsewhere. This is possibly because Bali might not have had too much of trade links with the outside world after the initial advent of Hinduism in 1st century AD. We further substantiate our above statement with own observations and from what we heard from our guide, Mr.Ari

• Balinese realizes the limitation of  human minds in visualizing God(s). Hence, they have no form of idol worship in temples but instead believe more on symbols and offerings.
• The prime God is Trinity- Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. GOD is the Generator, Organiser and Destroyer. 
• Even today, the division in the Balinese society is based on the varna system as described in Dharmasastras – Brahmins (Knowledge seekers), Kshatriyas (Ruler class), Vaishyas (trader class) and Sudras (worker class).
• A Balinese name would reveal the class to which he/she belongs. Their complex naming system generally has three parts – title, order of birth in the family followed by the personal name. The 1st part of  Sudras and Vaishyas has the order of birth. It’s ‘Wayan’ for the 1st child in the family, ‘Made'(pronounced as ma-day) for the 2nd, ‘Nyoman’for the 3rd and ‘Ketut’ for the 4th child followed by the personal name. Kshatriyas have a title like ‘Gusti’ and Brahmans have title like ‘Ida Bagus’ for men and ‘Ida Ayu’ for women followed by the personal name.
• The Balinese people rely more on energy levels and mantric chantings. Every Hindu in Bali is expected to chant Gayathri mantra atleast thrice a day.

Clockwise:

1. Tanah Lot, a 15th century shore temple dedicated to Sea God. It is a picturesque and a photogenic destination.
2. Uluwatu is a 10th century temple, built on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Indian Ocean and dedicated to Lord Shiva Rudra (Confluence of Trinity)
3. Ulun Danu temple is built at the head of Beratan lake 1200metres above the sea level in Bedugul region. The temple is dedicated to the Trinity-Brahma,Vishnu and Shiva.
4. Saraswathi temple, Ubud dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi

Picture on the left: A private temple. People pray and offer flowers to such ‘family temples’ found in front of houses and commercial establishments.

Picture on the right: Small temples found in almost every street corner. The black and white checked-cloth wrapped around the stone stupa signifies light and darkness, good and bad in life. The bamboo sticks rise straight and bend at the top signifying birth, life and finally death. All these analogies symbolizes the philosophy of Hinduism in its true spirits.

Mt.Batur, Kintamani

Indonesia lies in the Pacific ring of fire and is packed with volcanos across the country. Mt.Batur is still an active volcano in the north-east of Bali. The last major eruption happened in 1994. Many minor volcanic/seismic activity continued until 2011, thankfully causing no big damages.

Mt.Agung, another active volcano is just 18kms from Mt.Batur. Recently, in Nov 2017, Mt.Agung was in news as it spewed ashes leading to closure of Bali airport for almost a month.

Green School & The Green Village, Bali

As we were preparing for our trip, a video on ‘Green School’ in Bali was making waves in social media. Our interest and curiosity grew multifold after watching the video. On special request,  our tour organizer included a visit to this school in our itinerary and we were so thrilled. But, on reaching the school, our excitement faded away as we could not be accommodated for the private tour for that day.

Just for your information – the vision of this school  is to educate young green leaders in contributing to the sustainability of world and environment. The school is situated amidst a green fertile forest around 20kms from city centre. To learn more about the school, please watch the following video

Fortunately for us, the tour guide informed about a ‘Green village’, an eco-friendly gated-community developed by the same school management. We were transferred to the Green village and it unexpectedly turned out to be an awesome experience.

All the houses here are built with 90% bamboos and a few houses had even 6 floors. They are mostly owned by rich expats, some live here and some had rented it out.  We had the pleasure of staying in these extravagant houses for 3 hours….yes…..Rs.1 lakh Indonesian Rupiah(INR500) that we paid as entrance fee could buy only that much time. We went around 2 houses that were luckily vacant on that day.

Have you heard about Kopi Luwak??

Kopi Luwak is produced exclusively in Indonesia and is regarded the most expensive coffee in the world. Average quality costs US$600 per kg and the best quality goes upto US$3000 per kg. As you start doing your math with conversions, let me narrate how this expensive coffee powder is made.

• Top Pic 1: Top grade coffee beans are grown in the farm
• Top Pic 2: The nocturnal civet (a cat like animal native to south-east asia) goes around the farm in the night, hunting for the ‘best of the best’ ripen coffee bean fruits.
• Top Pic 3:  The undigested coffee seeds is collected from the civet’s poo once it excretes.
• Bottom pic 1: The seeds are cleaned thoroughly (I repeat….thoroughly) and  dried naturally
• Bottom pic 2:  Roasted….
• Bottom pic 3: Pounded manually. And the world’s most expensive coffee is ready.

Now, honestly let me know how many of you are ready to taste Kopi Luwak. Yes, we took up the challenge and tasted a cup (one cup of coffee cost INR 300). If you just ignore the process part, believe me, the coffee tasted awesome. And I swear this on the cup of Kopi Luwak I tasted!!!….

Kopi Luwak featured in a 2007 Hollywood movie -‘The Bucket List’ starring Jack Nicholsan and Morgan Freeman. Please click here to read the movie’s story line and know how tasting Kopi Luwak finds a place in the wish list of a terminally ill patient.

Bye Bye Bali

Being an island, there are many beautiful beaches along Bali’s shoreline. We visited Nusa Dua beach and enjoyed a day of regular fun as with any typical tourist beach with modern water sports, under water scuba diving and so on.

Bajra Sandhi monument is built in the city centre and is dedicated to the struggles of the Balinese people. Bali museum depicts the history and lifestyle of this unique ethnic group. Both the places are worth visiting.

Overall, Bali is certainly a serene, beautiful and surprisingly cheaper holiday destination. Bali was not a disappointment, but definitely not a place for people looking for something beyond just holidays.

March 11th 2018 (Day 6)

Today we packed our bags and reached Denpasar airport. We flew Lion airways (Indonesia’s low-cost airlines) to Yogyakarta, a city in central Java island. We were received by our guide and driver Mr.Cak Fa’i, an elderly, knowledgeable and awesome gentleman who remains in our hearts and minds.

A short note on Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia

Yogyakarta (more popularly known as Jogja among locals and frequent travelers) is in the southern part of central Java province.  Yogyakarta reflects Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage and architectural marvel with two UNESCO World heritage sites, the Prambanan temple (Hindu temple) and Borobudur (Buddhist temple) located here.  Yogyakarta was honoured with a ‘special status’ headed by a monarch from the Sultan’s family to recognize the contribution in halting the aggression of Dutch forces during Independence(1945-46). Even today, it’s referred as ‘Yogyakarta Special Region’ and enjoys a few special privileges compared to rest of Indonesian provinces

March 12th to 14th 2018 (Day 7, 8 and 9)

Mt.Merapi

Mt.Merapi literally means ‘Mountain of fire’ and truly stands by its name. It is the most active volcano in Indonesia – last erupted in 2006, just a few days before Yogyakarta’s devastating earthquake. Mt.Merapi volcanic eruption in 2010 created unprecedented havoc and destruction and whole of Indonesia was declared a no fly zone for a few days.

We took some time from our regular itinerary and and did a volcanic tour of Mt.Merapi.

• Pic1: Special 4 wheel drive jeeps go up near the crater of Mt.Merapi
• Pic2: Ridge formed by flowing lava.
• Pic3: The crater or mouth of the volcano.
• Pic4: A lava stone takes shape of an alien face.
• Pic5: The pitch dark lava sand.
• Pic6: Bunkers built recently for contingencies.

• Pic1: Model of a building before eruption
• Pic2: The same building after the devastation. Incidentally, this building serves as the museum now.
• Pic3,4,5,6: Damaged household items

Prambanan Archaeological Park

The Prambanan Archaeological park is identified in an area extending around 30sq kms between southern slopes of Mt Merapi  in Central Java and present day ‘Yogyakarta special region’. The kingdom of Mataram (Medang kingdom) existed in Central Java and was ruled by the  Shailendra dynasty in the early 8th century. The Shailendras were basically Mahayana Buddhists and their ardent passion for temples witnessed construction of many temples including Borobudur and Candi Sewu. When, Sanjaya, a Shaivaite dynasty took over the helms of Mataram kingdom, this period saw the return of Shaivite Hinduism and temples were built based on Hindu architecture and vastu sastras – the most prominent and magnificent among them being the Prambanan temple.

Some historians claim that Shailendra and Sanjaya were one dynasty and just their shift in faiths was the reason for many Hindu and Buddhist temples dotting the map of Prambanan Archeological site in a short span of a century.

The name of all the temples in Indonesia is prefixed with ‘Candi’  (pronounced as chandi as in ‘chat’). ‘Candi’ in the local language means a stone structure used for worship.

Candi Prambanan (A UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Prambanan  is the most prominent temple in the Prambanan temple compound. It is the biggest Hindu temple in Indonesia and a World Heritage monument dedicated to the Trinity- Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu.

Prambanan inherits its name from the neighbouring Prambanan village. It was built in 850AD by a  Sanjaya King- Rikai Pikatan, a strong Shaivite in contrast to his Buddhist predecessors. Please note that Prambanan was built 150 years before Chola’s Big temple in Thanjavur and Angkor Wat in Cambodia. I am stressing this historical fact primarily because many people have a wrong notion that temples in South-East Asia, especially the Angkor Wat and Prambanan were built by the Cholas.

Prambanan had 240 shrines, 16 big shrines in an elevated inner circle and 224 smaller shrines in the periphery. Shiva is the presiding deity in the largest central temple (tower height is 47metres) flanked by Vishnu and Brahma temples (33metres each).  Their respective vahanas have separate temples exactly opposite to the 3 main temples.

Saint Agastya has a separate shrine in the main Siva temple in Prambanan . We also saw a couple of Agastya statues in the archaeological museum and in Candi Sambisari too. Agasthya has been a ‘celebrated deity’ among the ancient shaivite Javanese people.

Prambanan was slowly abandoned when the later rulers shifted the kingdom toward East Java, probably due to a major eruption of Mt.Merapi. The local Javanese knew its existence but sadly ignored it probably because of a prevailing negativity and fear factor floating around that time. This also gave way for many folklore in the form of Javanese fairy tales. A major earthquake in the 16th century completely knocked down the temple into rubble. Thereafter, the ruins have even served as the demarcation points for the Sultanates ruling the area. Looting happened in a massive scale and scattered stones were used by locals for construction. Fortunately, the site was rediscovered in 1811 when the British ruled for a short time but the actual restoration was done by the Dutch in 1930.

The towers (vimanas) in Prambanan are built in the form of ‘Meru’ (mountain), typical to South-East Asia but the statues, bas reliefs and archways (thoranas) have close resemblances to South Indian style of architecture. Ironically, the iconography of Angkor Wat in Cambodia shows no such resemblances despite the close trade links that existed between the then Khmer rulers of Cambodia and the Cholas.

Only a few smaller shrines (parivaras) have been reconstructed and the major portion of the 224 shrines still remain as ruins – the rehabilitation work continues even today. What a breathtaking sight it would have been if only had all the 240 shrines remained intact today.

Candi Sewu

Candi Sewu is dedicated to Manjusri, a Bodhisattva of Mahayana Buddhism. It was built by Rakai Panangkaran of Sailendra dynasty in the 8th century and predates even Borobudur and Prambanan. Candi Sewu is the 2nd largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia and lies just less than a kilometre from the Prambanan temple within the temple compound. As per the inscriptions, Candi Sewu was a big complex with more than 200 structures in the form of a mandala. Candi Lumbung and Candi Bubrah, restored recently are part of this Sewu mandala.

For the convenience of the tourists, the park office runs battery carts that takes you on a tour to Candi Sewu and associated temples in the Prambanan temple compound.

There is a wonderful museum close to Prambanan temple with well displayed artifacts recovered from the site.

Other temples in the Prambanan Plains (out of Prambanan compound)

Candi Sari / Candi Kalasan (Buddhist temples)

Candi Sari and Candi Kalasan are both 8th century Buddist temples dedicated to Tara, a Bodhisattva. Both the temples are in close vicinity, 15kms away from the Prambaban compound.

Candi Plaosan (Buddhist temple)

Candi Plaosan is a twin temple, Plaosan Lor and Plaosan Kidul with 174 structures in the complex. It is believed that the temple was built by Rikai Pikatan (the Hindu king who built the Prambaban temple) as a gift to his Buddhist wife and a princess of the Sailendra dynasty. Such events contradict the claim of some historians quoting civil wars between the Sanjaya and Sailendra dynasties. The close presence of Buddhist and Hindu temples with no historical record of any desecration indicate the harmonious co-existence of both the faiths.

Candi Sambisari (Hindu temple)

Candi Sambisari is a 9th century Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and is located close to Yogyakarta’s airport. It was completely buried under the ashes of Mt.Merapi, 5 metres below the present ground level. It’s discovery in 1966 is an interesting coincidence when a farmer struck on some hard rock like structure while tilling his farm. On hearing about the bounty, the Archaeology office in Prambanan secured the area and continued excavating this marvelous hidden beauty.

We could observe the statue of saint Agastya in the prahara of this temple along with Mahishasuramardhini and Lord Ganesha. The discovery of Candi Sambasiri has lead to serious speculations that there could be many such temples still left buried and undiscovered.

Borobudur (A UNESCO World Heritage Site)

Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple/stupa in the world believed to be built between 8th and 9th century (well before Prambanan was built) by the Sailendra kings. The monument is located in the midst of a lush green vegetative farmland, 40kms north west of Yogyakarta. Borobudur was neglected like Prambanan and laid completely buried under the volcanic ashes of Mt.Merapi until it was discovered in 1814 by a British ruler. Extensive excavation between 1975 and 1982 restored and exhibited this architectural marvel to the present world.

Borobudur has 10 platforms – the 1st six platforms are square in shape and the last three towards the top take a circular form. The whole monument is built with stones placed one over the other in a interlocking style- no kind of cement is used to bind them. The perimeter of the 10 platforms contracts symmetrically from bottom to top, reflecting the process of nirvana in Buddhist philosophy. The central stupa stands as a pinnacle indicating enlightenment. This whole sublime structure transforms into a one large stupa when seen from a distance. As you climb and circumambulate each floor, one can find wonderful bas-reliefs beautifully carved in the perimeter walls depicting stories from the Jataka tales and other Buddhist mythologies.

The top three circular floors has 74 identical perforated stupas with a Buddha statue inside as shown in the photo above. One has to peep the perforations to have a dharshan of Buddha.

Hotel D’Omah, Yogyakarta

The hotel that we stayed in Yogyakarta is an eco-friendly boutique resort located in Tempi, a pristine village in the suburbs. The stay in this hotel was in itself an experience. The story of this hotel goes like this- the infamous 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake destroyed a big farm house owned by an Australian. Instead of abandoning, this kind expat decided to renovate/ rehabilitate the house into a hotel so as to help improve the livelihood of the local villagers affected by the devastation-thus Hotel D’Omah was born. The whole property is just awesome and exotic.

Batik fabric

Batik is a special fabric dyeing process having originated from Java and popular in south-east asia now. Its geographical indication to Java is further confirmed by the findings of batik design wear on the ancient statues recovered from this area.

The desired picture, design or pattern is drawn with pencil on the fabric prior to the process. This is followed by waxing on the pencil drawings with a ‘canting’ – a stylus kind of brush to hold and apply the hot wax (paraffin). Later, while dyeing the fabric, the waxed area resists the dye stuff and stands distinct from the unwaxed portion. The fabric is subjected to repeated dyeing until the desired colour/pattern is achieved. The fabric is then soaked in hot water to flush out the wax deposit and finally gives an aesthetic look. A stamping tool is used instead of ‘canting’ for larger applications.

There are many outlets in Yogyakarta that sell exclusive and genuine batik fabrics starting from men’s shirts to ladies tops and the list is long.

Ramayan Ballet

Ramayan ballet is a spectacular dance drama staged in Bali and Yogyakarta. This performing art is enacted in a traditional ‘Javanese dance form’. If you plan your trip meticulously and happen to be in Yogyakarta on a clear full moon day, you may be fortunate to watch this ballet in an open air theatre in the back drop of the magnificent Prambanan temple. Otherwise, you can watch the performance in Purawisata cultural centre, an indoor theatre all days round the year. We were contended with the ‘Purawisata show’ having already missed an opportunity to watch in Bali earlier.

Before the start of ballet, we were served with a sumptuous buffet dinner with a good spread of local cuisine (a combo ticket). The show runs for approximately 1.5 hours and was an amazing visual treat. But more mesmerizing was the thought about a Hindu mythology being enacted in a Muslim majority country, by actors belonging to Muslim faith, in front of a global audience and this rare cultural fusion leaves you awestruck.

Please watch the edited version of the Ramayan ballet (6.39minutes)

Bye Bye Yogyakarta

Before we move to the next destination, let me mention about the palace of the Sultanate, the Sultan’s museum (Sonobudoyo museum) and Taman Sari water castle, all in Kraton area in Yogyakarta which are worth visiting.

And, on this 9th day of our tour, we started our journey towards the capital city of Jakarta. We flew Garuda airlines in the evening and reached Jakarta.

March 15th&16th 2018 (Day 10 and 11)

Jakarta, the capital city

Jakarta, is yet another big metropolitan with sky scrappers and malls, bustling with people and traffic, but there are lot of interesting places to be explored.

Jakarta was already in a festive mood as it was hosting the forthcoming 18th Asian Games.

We began our Jakarta itinerary with a visit to the National Museum near Merkeda square. It is regarded as the best museum in south east Asia exhibiting more than one hundred thousand objects portraying Indonesia’s rich history and antiquity.

Kota Tua (aka Old Batavia)

Kota Tua is a neighbourhood area located in West Jakarta with many 17th century colonial building built by the Dutch East India Company before their official occupation of Indonesia. The Fatahillah square becomes active and colourful especially during week ends. The famous ‘Cafe Batavia’ resides in a sprawling 2 storey colonial building and serves Asian and western cuisines. Food is quite expensive, but the antique interiors and 200year old ambiance would certainly take you back in time.

Indonesian government has done a marvellous job by converting the colonial buildings into theme based museums and Kota Tua is also known as ‘museum district’. We visited ‘Bank museum Indonesia’, Museum Wayang (Puppet museum) and Museum of Ceramic and Fine Arts (free entry). Bank Museum Indonesia captivated us with a interesting presentation of history of currency followed by the story of Indonesia’s economy. Puppet museum was just adorable with a huge collection of puppets from around the globe.

Kota Tua and the museums do not show up in the regular tourism radar, but please mark them in your ‘must see’ places during your visit to Jakarta.

Istiqlal mosque

Istiqlal (means Independence) is the largest mosque in South Asia and 4th largest in the world. The mosque can accommodate more than one hundred thousand people for prayers.

The mosque administration were so welcoming. After knowing our religious identity, we were asked to fill the customary visitors register. Then we were led to a guest room with locker facilities for baggage. I was given additional robes to cover my half pants and my wife was advised to cover her head using her stole. Finally, we were guided to the visitor’s gallery to have a look at the interiors. The central dome was an enthralling piece of architecture.

We observed a huge number of women folk visiting the mosque and offering prayers (namaaz) in a secluded area inside the main prayer hall.

March 17th 2018 (Day 12)

Concluding remarks

And finally, the day has arrived to bid adieu to Indonesia and board our ‘Malindo Air’ flights back to India.

Everything is so different and striking about this country – the respect for the ancient monuments, Bali enjoying a Hindu majority status in a Muslim majority country, Muslim actors enacting Ramayan ballet with dedication, printing image of Hindu Lord Ganesha in Rp 50000 currency note and government owned airline named ‘Garuda’, a Hindu mythological character just to mention a few. In spite of Islam being the majority faith and with the presence of diverse ethnic backgrounds, Indonesia does not show any kind of apprehension or hesitation in remembering, preserving and celebrating its roots.

Personally for me, this country reverberates the true essence of progressiveness, tolerance and inclusiveness.

Indonesia is truly iconic.

The End.