Ancient history

28. Day 2 on the island of Java

Farewell to filth and stench and preaching of Masprio

As it was morning. We got up at five in the morning as per our habit. We made arrangements at our level in the restrooms. Madhu and Bhanu made tea outside in the same verandah and also prepared Chivda. Exactly nine o'clock Mr. Anto came with his car. We put things in the car and went to the nearby house to say farewell to the landlady because Masprio had gone to school by this time. The landlady was a nice little girl. His eyes were telling that he was sorry for the inconvenience caused to his guests. Possibly her husband could not understand what better housing is called, what is living in cleanliness, and what is the problem caused by the presence of meat and fish for a vegetarian family!

While walking by Vijay, Mr. Wrote a mail to Masprio that we are leaving We are sorry that we could not stay here longer. On this Masprio advised Vijay on the mail itself that you should carefully book the apartment for yourself. You have a little girl with you, a grandpa, you have women and you are so careless. We give our apartments to those who want a natural environment. Foreigners from many countries have come and stayed here and they have appreciated the facilities here. You should know that dengue is caused by mosquitoes that bite during the day. Presumably he was saying that Masprio put us among mosquitoes without dengue and that we will now encounter mosquitoes with dengue wherever we go.

This is probably what is called the situation where the inverted thief scolded the Kotwal. He was not bothered about how much trouble we had caused and our money given to the website was also wasted. What response could have been given to Masaprio's teachings? Probably Masprio was right because foreigners who would have liked the facilities here include facilities like the availability of fresh chicken, the facility of self-sorting the fish from the dirty water tank and the availability of the pigs living in the street at all times. Those foreigners were probably not going to be found anywhere else. They do not even need to wash the latrines because they use tissue paper for this purpose. How could he even need a fan and AC after getting drunk. That is why happiness was spread here for them. We were wrong, people like us are called intolerant in our own country because why can't we harmonize with others, then if someone was preaching to us abroad, then maybe it was right!

Mr. Anto's Disappointment

Mr. Anto took us to see the Presidency Building located in the central part of Yogyakarta city. To see this building was a good ticket and we had to get out of the car and walk a lot. The sleeplessness of the night had left us unworthy to walk that much. Such buildings can be seen in India without paying any money. So we only saw it from outside. We refused to go inside. Mr. Anto was disappointed by our disinterest, but he smiled and said Alright, let's go to the Water Fort where the King bathed with his Queen.

Seller and Dokar

The king's palace was surrounded by splendid streets lined with cars and pedestrians. Standing on one side of the road, we saw strange rickshaws plying. They are driven by humans like the cycle rickshaws in New Delhi but are pushed rather than pulled. That is, there is a seating area for two passengers in the front and the seat of the rickshaw driver remains in the rear part of the rickshaw. This was probably done for the convenience of the tourists so that they could have a comfortable view of the streets. However, in such a rickshaw, the rickshaw driver has to spend more energy.

Mr. It is known from Anto that for the convenience of tourists, similar rickshaws run from Jalan Malio to Boro Kerton, which are called Becak in Javanese language. In Javanese language, C letter of English is pronounced 'ch' of Hindi language. Soon we turned our attention to tangs drawn by horses. They are made in the shape of light chariots. Such rickshaws used to run on the roads of Delhi at some point of time. These are called Andong and Dokar in Javanese language.

Jal Mahal and a group of women in Rajasthani costumes We were in front of the Jal Mahal in no time. It was a large palace surrounded by a high wall. There was a notice board outside the palace on which the name of this place was written as Nagayogyakarta and the name of the building was Kantor Kagungan Dalem. All our belongings were loaded in the car as we had come after vacating the old apartment and there was no time to reach the new apartment. Although Mr. Anto seemed to be a civilized and well-educated man, however, no danger could be taken in the foreign country. So father sat in the car and the rest of the members got down from the car to see the Jal Mahal. Here the ticket was Rs.25 per tourist.

It was indeed a grand Jal Mahal. A palace with bathing pools inside and changing rooms around it. The palace was divided into several parts. Above the entrance of each part were statues with the faces of demonic figures. The main entrance of the palace also had the face of a similar idol. Coincidentally, at the same time a group of women came to the Jal Mahal, whose clothes we were very happy to see. Each of the women in this group of about twenty women wore similar clothes. Seeing from a distance, it seemed that she was wearing a splendid ghagra and pink colored veil like Rajasthani women, but on closer look it was known that she was wearing a robe, not a splinter, but a robe on which from head to waist. Because of the pink veil worn by her, it seemed that she was wearing Rajasthani style clothes. Talking to these women, it was difficult to know from which country or which island of Indonesia they had come. All those women seemed well-educated and well-mannered, but did not understand a single word of English. She was wearing sunglasses, high-heeled sandals, and expensive ladies' bags hanging over her shoulders. She was also taking selfie. It was decided that these women were not from the island because the women living on this island had different types of clothing.

Meeting Miss Rogovita

By the time we came out of the Jal Mahal, it took us around 11.30. Now we could comfortably move to our new service apartment. That's why we got Mr. Requested Anto to take us to the new apartment so that the luggage in the car can be dropped there and lunch can be prepared. We are Mr. Had left with tea and chivda from Maspriyo's apartment. In about half an hour we were in front of the new apartment. This apartment is located in the famous area known as Yogyakarta Special Region. It can be called the intermediate zone of the island of Java. The king of Java used to reside in this area, hence it is called Yogyakarta Special Region. Here the streets and houses were numbered one after the other, so we had no difficulty in finding Miss Rogovita. Miss Rogovita met us in the bungalow opposite the apartment. We came to know that Miss Rogovita lived with her family in the bungalow opposite the bungalow we had booked as a service apartment. Miss Rogovita welcomed us all with a handshake. She is a cheerful, friendly and cheerful Christian woman and a member of a highly educated family. His father was once a professor at Yogyakarta University and at one point he was awarded the Best Man of Yogyakarta City by a prestigious institution in America. All this information came to us through medals, awards and pictures in the bungalow.

New Apartment

Our new apartment was a comfortable apartment with all the amenities, where Deepa could play comfortably and there was no danger of her falling into a pool. We could sleep soundly all night without hearing the pin-pins of mosquitoes, the cries of chickens and the cries of mullahs. From the kitchen of this bungalow to the bedroom, common room, lobby, bathroom and toilet, everything was built according to a specific plan.

The kitchen was huge, with a large dining table for cooking as well. From refrigerators, gas-plates and water coolers to precious crockery, cutlery, uttensils, mineral water, there was no shortage of anything. Everything was very neat and neatly arranged. All rooms were fitted with comfy dub-bed sofas and air-conditioners. There was a separate room for watching TV where a very expensive sofa was kept. Ken had expensive furniture in the drawing room and in one corner was a bicycle for exercising. It was a home whose comfort could not be available even in a five-star hotel. We had to spend a very small amount for this house whereas for a five star hotel we would have had to spend many times more. We were so pleased with our selection that all the gloominess of last night quickly vanished from our minds. The food was ready in about an hour. We also had lunch at the same time so that our day would not be wasted. We wanted to visit Parambanan temple today. In our opinion, this was the same temple built by the gods, which we had come to Java to see.

Indian broom on the walls of the bungalow

The walls of the rooms in Miss Rogovita's bungalow were decorated with a variety of artistic materials. There was also one such thing which was no less than a pleasant surprise to see as an item of decoration. It was an Indian broom made from coconut casks. In two rooms these brooms were hung like artefacts.

Showcasing the costumes of Javanese culture in the jungle

Mr. Anto took us from Yogyakarta to Central Java. The distance from Miss Rogovita's apartment to Parambanan Temple was about 40 kilometres. It was very sunny outside. Around 15-20 persons were standing at one place in the route wearing a specific type of dress. He had red, green and blue caps on his head whose sides were raised like flames. He held long spears in his hands, with which he stood upright in his place.

On his waist was a double tahmad or a wide salwar coming just below the knees. They were wearing long coats on the upper part of the torso and stood under a cloak made of cloth. We have Mr. Asked Anto who are these people and why are they standing in this forest? Mr. Anto told that these people are standing wearing clothes reflecting the culture of the island of Java to entertain the tourists. I took some pictures of him. I realized that these people liked it when a foreign tourist took their photos. He used to stand up straight and look at the camera to take the photo.

Fee of Rs 1100 for entering the temple

Parambanan Shiva Temple is located in the Central Java region, at a distance of about 17 km from Yogyakarta city. Stopping at a point on the way, Mr. Anto arranged discounted tickets for us to enter the Parambanan temple. Foreign tourists are charged around INR 1100 per tourist, we got this ticket at the rate of around INR 1000 per person. We were told that this temple is managed by UNESCO and the entry fee is also determined by UNESCO. We were amazed to think that what is so special about this temple, for which UNESCO charges such a huge amount from foreign tourists for entry! As soon as he got out of the car, Mr. Anto took us out of the trunk of the car, gave us two big umbrellas and suggested that you keep them with you, you will need them. We were surprised that the clouds were not visible far and wide in the sky and the sun was not looking so bright, yet we saw Mr. Accepted Anto's suggestion.

Welcome to the splendid tea by the temple trust

Mr. Anto came to the office at the entrance of the temple to drop us off and gave discounted coupons to the staff there. He did all this without telling us. Handing over the ticket to us from the office, Mr. Anto said that you must drink tea here, it is included in the ticket of foreign tourists, for this you will not have to pay a separate fee. We have Mr. Expressed his gratitude to Anto and proceeded towards the tea stall. A splendid arrangement of tea, i.e. milk tea, was made for foreign guests on the island of Java by UNESCO staff. It was a different matter that milk was made by dissolving powder in water.

Unparalleled affection meeting of two unknown children from two unknown countries

While we were having tea, Deepa's eyes fell on a foreign child sitting in the baby trolley, who must have been barely eight or nine months old. The family seemed to have come from some East Asian country. Deepa climbed on his trolley and started cuddling the child. We tried to separate Deepa from that child but Deepa was not going to give up her younger child easily. That child also hugged Deepa. उस बच्चे के अभिभावक भी हमारी ही तरह, दो भिन्न देशों के अपरिचित बच्चों का यह स्नेह-मिलन देखकर कम आश्चर्य में नहीं थे। लगभग एक घण्टे बाद जब मंदिर परिसर में इन दानों बच्चों का एक बार पुनः सामना हुआ तो स्नेह-मिलन की यह प्रक्रिया पूर्ववत् पुनः दोहराई गई।