Indonesia - Traveling Thru History

Things to Do in Indonesia

Erin — Sat, 23 May 2020 07:34:03 +0000

Looking for things to do on your next trip to Indonesia? Check out the activities recommended by travel bloggers for the best things to do in Indonesia. #TBIN

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Photo Essay: The Terraced Rice Fields of Bali

Erin — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 14:00:55 +0000

I’m sure most people have heard of Indonesia and have epic fantasies about the exotic beauties to be found on the island of Bali. You’ve probably imagined lush greenery, exotic dances, vast landscapes and beautiful beaches. Well, your fantasies are correct. Bali is an island that is believed to have been settled in the early 8th century. Hindu priest Rsi Marhandya came to Bali from Java and founded a colony at the confluence of the two Wos rivers at Campuan, just west of the city of Ubud. It was there that Rsi Marhandya also developed the traditional Balinese cooperative irrigation system that is known as the Subak System. While the terraced rice fields can be found all over the island, the main areas where the terraced landscape is most visited are around the villages of Tegallalang, Pejeng and Campuhan. In 2012 the Subak System of Bali was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. The subak site we visited was quite on accident. We were under the impression that there was only one area where the terraced rice fields were and thought it was further away than it was. We were very surprised to find ourselves driving right past a terraced system our very first morning in Bali, shortly after leaving our hotel. I was so excited that I cried. lol. Our trip to Bali was a short one and Troy had said we may not make it to the side of the island we thought the terraces were on since everything else we wanted to do was on the opposite side. I was really disappointed, so finding the terraces that first morning made me so happy. And I cry pretty easily. lol. We thought we’d only spend an hour or so there, but we ended up spending almost three hours wandering up and down the terraces and all around the hillside. It was such a great place to visit. This guy was pretty awesome. When we walked past him, he chattered away in Indonesian and waved me over. When I got over to him, he popped the hat on my head, linked arms with me and pointed towards the camera. It was pretty funny. Of course, he wanted money before I walked away, but it was worth it. He was fun. To get to the other side of the little ravine in the middle of the rice field, we had to cross this bridge. It was a little rickety, but not too bad. I was nervous the first few steps, but it held up just fine. Once we got across the bridge, we met this sign. It cracked us up. We left a ‘donation’ and then continued on our way. We assume this little ‘cave’ is for the workers to rest during the day and store their gear at night. And, of course, we had to take a cute selfie while we were there. Troy was not thrilled. lol

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Candi Mendut

Erin — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 00:30:01 +0000

Candi Mendut is a 9th century Buddhist temple located in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It is one of three temples along a straight line that are of religious importance to the Javanese people, but the exact relationship between the three has been lost. All that is known now is that Candi Mendut, Borobudur and Pawon were all used for a combined religious ritual. Candi Mendut, more commonly known as Mendut, was built in the early 9th century, sometime before or around 824 AD. Dutch archaeologist JG de Casparis believes the temple mentioned in a Karangtengah inscription dated 824 AD is Mendut temple and has presented enough evidence to back up his claim that the archaeological community concurs. It is unknown how long Mendut was in use or what caused it to be abandoned, but in 1836 the temple ruins were discovered among an overgrowth of trees and bushes. Archaeologists began restoring the temple in 1897 after careful research and completed their restoration work in 1925. The stones used in the restored temple are mostly the same as were at the site when it was found, but there are not enough stones to complete the restoration. Off to the side of Mendut is a field of stones. These stones are those that remain of the rest of Mendut. The parts of the temple that are missing are the pinnacle on top, the walls of a front chamber and the roof of the front chamber. The stones are laid out in the positions they would be in had the remaining stones been on site. Mendut may be small and unassuming, but it has some beautiful bas-reliefs and stone carvings. These depict Boddhisattvas (Buddhist divinities) and other Buddhist figures. The Kejawen Buddhists of Central Java who practice mysticism or Buddhism believe that praying at Mendut will bring about the fulfillment of wishes. This bas-relief in particular is important to childless couples. They pray to this depiction of Hariti for children since Hariti is the symbol of fertility, the patroness of motherhood and protector of children. Inside the temple, you will be greeted by a small room filled with three figures. The central figure is Dhyani Buddha Vairocana. He represents liberation from bodily karma. To the left is Boddhisatva Avalokitesvara. She (some sects depict Avalokitesvara as male, others female) represents the liberation from the karma of speech. And the statue on the right is Boddhisatva Vajrapani. He represents liberation from the karma of thought. While Mendut is not a temple of popular use, it is once again being used for certain rituals. Aside from praying for certain wishes to be fulfilled, Buddhist devotees come to Mendut during the full moon of May or June to observe Vesak by walking from Mendut to Borobodur. Devotees take part in mass prayer while walking around the temples.

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Pura Penataran Pande Peliatan

Erin — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 01:37:28 +0000

One of the fascinating things about Bali is that there are, literally, temples everywhere. Because of this, Bali is known as “the Island of a Thousand Puras”. Any street you turn down will have a temple of some sort, whether it be a grand edifice or a ‘small’ local establishment. I hesitate to call them small, though, because even the small ones are of a decent size. On our first day in Bali, we got to see one of the smaller temples and were just fascinated by the layout and design. We had been on our way to Gunung Kawi and saw this neat temple shortly after leaving our hotel. We didn’t realize until later that, as fascinating as this one temple was, it was just one of the smaller, more plain temples in the area. And, really, no temple in Bali is all that plain. The word ‘pura’ is a Sanskrit word that means ‘walled city’ or ‘palace’ and accurately describes a Balinese temple. The temples in Bali are set up to where they have all the sacred buildings within a walled complex. Even though the complex is walled on the exterior, the interior is designed so that worship takes place in an open-air setting that follows the Tri Mandala formula for how structures should be layed out. Before getting inside the temple itself, there are some really neat things to see before the entrance gate. The exterior of a Balinese temple is pretty spectacular. There are statues, pavilions and some beautiful carvings. On the wall at the left of the temple is a plaque that I’m assuming was placed there when the temple was built. I’ve tried to translate this to English, but none of the online tools I’ve used can translate more than two words. My guess is that this plaque is dedicating the temple and denotes the date of dedication, October 7, 2006. This is a stone statue of a Balinese Hindu god. He sits outside the entrance to the outer courtyard. I looked around for an hour trying to figure out this guy’s name, but I couldn’t find it. I actually had a hard time with finding any definitive information on the statues and carvings on Balinese temples. There are several different sites that list different names, but the consensus is that this statue is guarding the entrance to the temple. This is the pedestal in front of the entrance to the temple. The detail of the carving and the intricacy of the pedestal design is just wonderful. One of the demon carvings at the base of the outer courtyard pedestal. The first part of the Tri Mandala is known as the Nista mandala, or outer zone, and is used for dance performances and an are to make preparations during religious festivals. This is one of the doors congregants have to go through to get into this area. Large pavilion (bale) in the inner courtyard, or Madya mandala, the middle zone. One of the smaller shrines in the inner courtyard. This tower is in the process of being decorated for an upcoming festival. I love the style of this shrine, the multiple layers and and detailed accouterments. You just can’t look at this without being awed by the detail and the precision of the carving. I really love the temples in Bali. They are so fascinating and unique. I could have spent days just stopping at every one we passed in Ubud. Each temple is unique in its own way, thus leading to no two temples being exactly alike. If you get a chance to go to Bali, I recommend taking some time to visit a temple or two, just so you can enjoy and appreciate this part of the Balinese culture.

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