Day 3, December 18, 2003.

We’re dedicating this day for the candis!

Not to make the same mistake as yesterday, we walked the other way around to look for breakfast, and got an icky-poo chicken porridge for our troubles. Well at least it’s very cheap…

When Lisa came to pick us up, we have to get her future sister-in-law’s car in the UGM campus, get some spareparts, then checked in her car at the garage coz it got some engine problem. Luckily it's on our way to Prambanan. The car's in better hands, we head on to Prambanan.

Got a bit of a drizzle, but after Jakarta, it’s good to have a non-acid rain for a change. So no complaints from me. The Hindu temple itself is great. There are some blocks scattered (parts of the unearthed – yet unfinished smaller candis) on the outskirts of the main candis, and if someday somehow somebody’s able to solve that gigantic, very heavy puzzle and get the pieces together, there’ll be some 200 candis in the complex. But at the moment there are only 6.

The biggest one is dedicated for Syiwa, the Destroyer. Our impromptu satpam-turn-guide said that it’s because Javanese kings feared him the most. It got 4 rooms, one each for the statues of the pudgy Syiwa Mahaguru, the gigantic Syiwa Mahadewa, the elephant-headed Ganesha, son of Syiwa, and lastly the voluptuous Betari Durga, aka Loro Jonggrang in Javanese lore. Durga, Syiwa’s mate, has a very smooth body as there’s a believe for women to stroke it in order to get eternal youth * oh sure… *.

Same thing with Ganesha, but him is for intelligence. I think I’m in dire need of this… Sad thing with Durga is her face was mutilated. The lore said that whenever you look at her, the statue seems to be always smiling down at you and it got on a Dutch’s nerve, which in the end cost the removal of her  nose. And there’s a story about a satpam who’s dozed off outside the main candi. Durga came to him in his sleep, thank God with face still intact, forbid him to sleep there.

The candis on the right and left of the main candi only got one room, each for the statues of 4-headed Brahma (the Maker) and Wishnu (the Caretaker)

The other 3 candis are paced in front of the three candis, and meant for the gods’ respective chariots. I only remember this sad-looking- one-horned buffalo named Nandi (one horn is yet to be found).

Going back towards Magelang, we head on to Borobudur. On the way we stop by for lunch at grilled chicken resto, which was too sweet for my taste. Not to mention their sorry excuse for ‘soup’, which in fact a ‘soto’. Not as successful as yesterday’s nasi pecel apparently.

After an hour drive in some drizzle, we arrived at Borobudur. Boy those the umbrella renters, peddlers and photographers really bugs me! Can't they bloody leave us alone???

At last we came face to face with one of the wonders of the world. Man, it’s humongous! Lisa’s sandal broke so she opted not to come up with us.It’s fun going up, though, not at all as hard as I thought. The only backside is some sleazy old men that leered all over us. The bastards! If only I could throw them down the temple...

We walk around the candi at every tier, and manage to take several good shots of the candi and us. The most fun is becoming the head of the headless Buddha statue J. Reaching the top wasn’t that grand though, coz everybody decided to stay on top so it got very crowded. The view is amazing though...

It’s already around five-is when we set out from Borobudur (after a row with the parking boys who decided to wash our car anyway after we repeatedly refused), and feeling a bit tired. A cup of coffee (or a nice tall drink for me) sound good, so we look for a place to park our weary butts. Attempt for the much-reccomended Gajah Wong is thwarted since it’s not yet open, but Lisa found us a very nice alternative. Not far from the UGM area, there’s this very nice café called Gabah. Unusually chic for Yogya, it’s small and surrounded by old-fashioned houses, rather remind me of cafés in Bandung. The drinks turns out to be nice, the french fries yummy and we got a complimentary plate of salak pondoh from the very nice chef. This one definitely won its ticket to my recommendation list.

 Gabah and its very satisfied customer.

Heading home, we stopped by a street vendor most famous around Yogya for its duck. Nicely filled after one drumstick garnished with a nastily hot sambal, we headed for Baldok. Not ready to turn in yet (and feeling guilty for eating so late), Intan and I walk around the block to get a glimpse of Malioboro at night. That was followed with some half-hour lounging at the hotel’s restaurant to check out other guest.