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Sunday is Car-free Day!
February 3, 2019 marks our first city tour, first stop - Car-free Day in Madiun.
We left the dormitory at 06:00 riding a bicycle. Each International Student has one buddy behind them. This kind of activity gave us not only a trip but also a kind of exercise for the body.
The bicycle trip took for almost half an hour.
We visited the street-long bazaar in the central district of Madiun City. You can find different products from Madiun like vegetables, fruits and even garments like batik, and of course, food - for those who are tired walking and shopping.
After the bazaar, we visited Alun-Alun Park, Masjid and Temple.
East Java: Historical Expeditious
East Java is a province of Indonesia that includes the eastern part of Java plus Madura and some smaller islands. Last February 9, 2019, we had an excursion to Museum Trinil and Benteng Pendem.
The university bus of UNIPMA picked us up in the dormitory at 07:00. All of us, the international students, were very excited to have a short historical trip. We were excited to see the hidden beauty of Indonesia's history.
Our first stop is in Museum Trinil in Kabupaten Ngawi, East Java.
Ngawi Trinil Museum was established in 1891. The museum was built by Eugene Dubois. The Trinil Museum stores thousands of animal fossils including the human fossil Pithecanthropus Erectus
The museum, located 15 kilometers from the center of Ngawi City, has a story behind its establishment. Inside the museum, you can find different artifacts and fossils from long ago. There are elephant's tusks, human skull and teeth and even the horns of bull. There are also replicas of stones found in Indonesia that was believed to be in the old age.
After Museum Trinil, we visited Benteng Pendem Van Den Bosch (Fort Van Den Bosch).
Benteng Pendem or Hiding Fortress was built by the Dutch military. The Fortress was surrounded by two rivers - the Madiun river and Bengawan Solo, which was inhabited by crocodiles to provide optimum security against the hostile. In order to access the insides of the fortress, they put a magic draw bridge that only their troops know.
The story of a man who was executed yet alive and eventually buried alive, the deep well as graveyard inside the fortress gave me chills.
The trip left us a hungry stomach. so, we had our lunch in Rumah Makan Taliwag and headed back to dorm at 14:00.
Jogja Istimewa: Visiting the Special Region of Yogyakarta
Yogyakarta, Indonesia is a four-hour drive from Madiun City. In reality, visiting Yogyakarta is not part of the planned excursion of UNIPMA. Yet, because they want us to give the best Indonesia esperience, they brought us to the Special Region of Yogyakarta City.
At 03:00 of February 12, 2019, we rode the UNIPMA Bus to visit Jogja.
Around 07:00 when we reached Yogyakarta to grab some breakfast. However, my friends and I chose to stay on the bus to sleep :). Another one hour and we reached the Prambanan.
Prambanan or Rara Jonggrang, temple compound, a UNESCO Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu architecture, and by the towering 47-metre-high (154 ft) central building inside a large complex of individual temples. Prambanan attracts many visitors from around the world. We were one of them. Yet, we just saw the front beauty of the temples. The ticket is expensive for students like us - 325,000 rupiah for foreigners.
So, we decided to move to another place called Candi Sambisari. We arrived at Candi Sambisari at 09:12.
Candi Sambisari is located in Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya, Yogyakarta. The temple is buried about 5 meters underground. It was surrounded by a rectangular wall made from white stone measured 50 meters x 48 meters. In this main yard, there are eight small linga, four located at the cardinal points and four others in the corners.
We had a great time sight seeing the intricate details of the temple. Also, since the place is near Adi Sucipto International Airport, airplanes flying overhead gives another beauty of the surroundings.
After visiting the temple, we moved to Hulan Pinus Pengger - the Pine Forest.
Pinus Pengger is located on higher grounds. During our trip from Candi Sambisari to Pinus Pengger, it seems like I'm travelling to Baguio City - the Summer Capital of the Philippines. The mountanous trip made me realize why I should be an ambassador of preserving the beauty of nature. The view outside the bus, the beauty of nature, reduces the stress that we had from our internship. We took several photos for the place is very Instagramable.
Visiting such wonderful places ended us up in McDonald's Food Station for lunch before proceeding to another destination - the Kraton Yogyakarta.
Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat is a palace complex in the city of Yogyakarta. It is the seat of the reigning Sultan of Yogyakarta and his family. The complex is a center of Javanese culture, and contains a museum displaying royal artifacts. Fascinated on the displayed artifacts, we maximize our time to fully visit the 25 percent of the total land area that is open for visitors. The remaining 75 percent of the land is surrounded by tall, concrete fences for the protection and privacy of the Sultan's family.
I was very amused to saw such a palace with real Sultan living inside. I thought it was just in the myth or happened long ago. Yet, because of this trip, I had the chance to see the things that was hidden from my eyes before.
After visiting the palace, it's time to visit the famous street in Yogyakarta, a street where you can buy souvenirs and authentic Jogja products - Malioboro.
Maliabara (Malioboro) Street symbolizes a journey of human life full of worldly temptations that requires illumination (symbol: torch) which is used by humans on the basis of the teachings of para wali who illuminate the life of the people. (From: poster along Malioboro street)
Since this was our last stop for Yogyakarta escapade, we utilized our time searching for souvenirs for our family and friends in the Philippines. Your eyes will be filled with fascinated objects and ornaments from the gifted hands of malioboro people. The very details of every product they are selling speaks about their rich culture and great love to their city.
So, before I finally leave Yogyakarta, I brought some batik pants, bag and other souvenir items.
Our Yogyakarta journey really means a lot for me. I had a chance to discover the beauty of the other side of Indonesia and immense myself in their rich culture by just visiting their stunning architecture and experience the 'Never-ending City of Asia'.
Am I dreaming? No. I was just a dream before but now, everything has been experienced beyond my expectations. This journey of a lifetime will always remain in my heart for Indonesia became my home away from home.
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