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Dearest Uncle G,

Recently, I re-read the children’s book by Dr. Seuss called Green Eggs and Ham and thought of my Indonesian food trip.  Have you read that book before?  Just in case you have not read it, it is about a persistent guy named Sam who tries to make his unnamed friend try green eggs and ham.  Throughout the entire story, Sam hounds the unnamed friend who, without trying the green eggs and ham, says that he does not like it.  To end Sam’s pestering, the unnamed friend  eventually tries green eggs and ham thinking he will not like it but ends up liking it instead.  I love this story because it sounds funny when read fast.  Try it. Read this excerpt from Green Eggs and Ham really fast -

“SAM:  Do you like green eggs and ham?

UNNAMED FRIEND:  I do not like them Sam-I-Am.  I do not like green eggs and ham?

SAM:  Would you like them here or there?

UNNAMED FRIEND:  I would not like them here or there.  I would not like them anywhere.  I do not like green eggs and ham.  I do not like them, Sam-I-am.”

Like Sam’s unnamed friend in the Green Eggs and Ham book, I was doubtful about some of the Indonesian food I encountered.  I wonder if you would be more adventurous than me.

I forgot to ask Danang what this was when I chanced upon it at the traditional market in Jogjakarta.  Monk thinks it is fried bats.  Whatever it is, I’ll passed on this roadside food. (more…)

 

Dearest Uncle G,

On our first day in Jogjakarta, Danang took us to an authentic Javanese restaurant called Yu Djum. Getting to Yu Djum reminds me of how I got to Alamo’s in Legaspi, Albay. That is - we drove through narrow alleys lined with small houses until we hit the end of a road, which opens up to a cluster of small houses, and in one of those houses, you will find Yu Djum.

We got to Yu Djum at 11:00 a.m. and were among the first customers there.

I instantly felt at ease in Yu Djum. It felt like one of those old restaurants in the province that remains unchanged by time. As we entered, four old men started playing Javanese musical instruments while an old lady sang. Inside, there are about six or seven rectangular wooden tables each with two benches. On each table there are a few glass jars filled with kerupuk (fish crackers).

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A crash course in religion and faith was not in my Indonesian itinerary.

My itinerary was simple - see Borobudur and Prambanan, go for a swim in Bali, eat and shop.  Of course, I also wanted to see Gunung Bromo but that was too much of an effort for this trip.  Other than that, my modus operandi on this trip was to rely on LS. 

LS surprised everyone by being able to carry a conversation in Bahasa Indonesia at the end of our trip.  As for me, Tito L gave me a tiny electronic translator.  All I had to do was type in the Indonesian word or phrase and I would get an instant English translation.  The lazy me never got to use it.   So, I relied on LS to communicate with everyone new we encountered to get information. I also relied on LS, who read up on Indonesia before our trip, to provide me information about the places we saw and things to do.  I was only emphatic about my views when in came to shopping.  I did a lot of that in Indonesia.

But sometimes, things do not go the way you expect it.  Instead of just coming home with things I bought from the trip, pictures and a few traveler’s tales, I came home with a deeper understanding of different religions and of faith.  And this is not a bad thing.   

Sutopo’s heart beats for Prambanan

Without a doubt, scholars have done extensive studies on the architecture and religious significance of Prambanan. I know because I read some of the accounts prepared by those scholars.  I find, however, that the best account about Prambanan is that of Sutopo, who is by no means a learned scholar. Sutopo was our guide at Prambanan. He is a Muslim who lived all his life in and around the premises of Prambanan. While he may not have read scholarly accounts about Prambanan, he certainly supplied us with accurate information about it. More than that, his account contained something  missing in those scholarly accounts. That something is a heart that beats for Prambanan.

LS and I barely slept the night before our 6:00 a.m. flight to Jogjakarta. As soon as our plane landed, Danang took two sleep-deprived girls to Prambanan. We got there at 7:30 a.m. and were introduced to Sutopo in the receiving area, which was some distance from the temple complex. At that point, I was dreading the long walk to the temples on a hot day and wondering how soon the tour would end so I could get some shut-eye at our hotel.  Surprisingly, Sutopo later managed to stimulate my senses by introducing us to his beloved Prambanan.

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On Prambanan

In Paul Michel Munoz’ Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula, he says that “Prambanan was a complex of temples dedicated to [the Hindu god] Shiva, which was built to celebrate the return to power of the Sanjaya Dynasty in Central Java around 825AD.” (at 354)

“As with the majority of Indonesian Hindu temples, the shrine of Prambanan presents typical cruciform, mountain-type shapes symbolizing Mout Meru, the residence of the Gods and the axis of the world in Hindu mythology.  The temple is divided by three concentric prescints with surrounding low walls which present openings for doors.  The external precinct was empty.  In the middle precinct were 224 small chapels or shrines disposed on four ranks…The inner precinct contained 16 cruciform temples.”  (Ibid., at 355)

The three main temples in the inner precinct are dedicate to the Hindu gods, Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma.  In front of each temple is a smaller temple dedicated to the vahanas or mount of those gods.  The vahanas of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma are the Garuda, Nandi Bull and Hamsa, respectively.  To read more about vahanas, click on this. (more…)