Yogyakarta, the City of my Dreams

In summer 2004, I took the vacation of a lifetime; I went to Yogyakarta in central Java (Indonesia) to hear gamelan music. It changed me forever, and the city of my dreams called to me so strongly that I returned the next year. In 2006 a terrible earthquake destroyed much of the area around Yogya (especially Bantul), but I went back again in 2007... and 2008...

Here are a few pictures from my 2007 trip (click for larger images). I recently added pictures from my 2005 trip

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The garden at Peti Mas hotel, where I stayed this year.
The birdkeeper at Peti Mas. He brought out different songbirds every morning.

Wayang kulit (shadow puppet) performance at the Sono Budoyo museum, viewed from the rear.
Audience-side view of wayang kulit.

Wayang kulit at the Sultan's palace, viewed from the rear.
Audience-side view of wayang kulit at the palace.

Wayang golek (wooden puppets) at the Sultan's palace.
A wayang golek character rides a horse to meet his destiny.

The inescapable fate of evil characters.
School children visit the palace for wayang golek. They shouted with laughter at the antics of the dalang (puppet master)'s characters.

A dancer at the palace.
Saron player at the palace, wearing his kris (ceremonial dagger).

The court gamelan at the palace.
Me, standing by the gamelan.

The remains of the Bangsal Trajumas pavilion after the earthquake. An heirloom gamelan, centuries old, was destroyed when the pavilion collapsed. I was told by some puppet makers (see below) that the sultan had a special ceremony for the gamelan, with many empty seats left for the spirits.
Earthquake damage to the glass walls in the palace museum. (Update: I visited the museum again in August 2008, and I'm happy to say the damage has been repaired.)

Shadow puppet makers in their workshop near the palace. The man on the left holds a cured buffalo hide, while the man on the right makes the perforations in a puppet that has been cut from the hide.
Another puppet maker (brother of the man holding the hide on the left) packs one of the puppets I bought to take home (gunungan, the Tree of Life). In the background, another artist is sanding the surface of a puppet before painting.

Workers excavate a street in the palace area. Safety standards are slightly different in Yogya than they are here in America...
Bird sellers in the area around Pasar Ngasem (the bird market).

Street sellers along Jl. Malioboro. All of these stalls are packed up at night to make room for sidewalk restaurants called lesehan, where people sit on straw mats enjoying dishes like ayam goreng (fried chicken marinated in coconut milk).
Street musicians, Jl. Malioboro.

Rempah-rempah (spices) being sold at Beringharjo market. This is at the very back of the market, which is a huge building several blocks long.
Chunks of gula (sugar), also at Beringharjo.

A lady selling chips made from nuts, again at Beringharjo.
Jamu (traditional Javanese medicines), again at Beringharjo. You can see a bottle being recommended to me at the lower right.

A food seller outside the front entrance of Beringharjo market. This year I finally had the good sense to ignore my doctor's warnings and eat anything I like from sellers like this or the wandering kaki-lima ("five-legs"): food carts with two bicycle wheels, the post it rests on making the third leg and the vendor's own legs making five.

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The garden at Peti Mas hotel, where I stayed this year.	The birdkeeper at Peti Mas. He brought out different songbirds every morning.

Wayang kulit (shadow puppet) performance at the Sono Budoyo museum, viewed from the rear.	Audience-side view of wayang kulit.

Wayang kulit at the Sultan's palace, viewed from the rear.	Audience-side view of wayang kulit at the palace.

Wayang golek (wooden puppets) at the Sultan's palace.	A wayang golek character rides a horse to meet his destiny.

The inescapable fate of evil characters.	School children visit the palace for wayang golek. They shouted with laughter at the antics of the dalang (puppet master)'s characters.

A dancer at the palace.	Saron player at the palace, wearing his kris (ceremonial dagger).

The court gamelan at the palace.	Me, standing by the gamelan.

The remains of the Bangsal Trajumas pavilion after the earthquake. An heirloom gamelan, centuries old, was destroyed when the pavilion collapsed. I was told by some puppet makers (see below) that the sultan had a special ceremony for the gamelan, with many empty seats left for the spirits.	Earthquake damage to the glass walls in the palace museum. (Update: I visited the museum again in August 2008, and I'm happy to say the damage has been repaired.)

Shadow puppet makers in their workshop near the palace. The man on the left holds a cured buffalo hide, while the man on the right makes the perforations in a puppet that has been cut from the hide.	Another puppet maker (brother of the man holding the hide on the left) packs one of the puppets I bought to take home (gunungan, the Tree of Life). In the background, another artist is sanding the surface of a puppet before painting.

Workers excavate a street in the palace area. Safety standards are slightly different in Yogya than they are here in America...	Bird sellers in the area around Pasar Ngasem (the bird market).

Street sellers along Jl. Malioboro. All of these stalls are packed up at night to make room for sidewalk restaurants called lesehan, where people sit on straw mats enjoying dishes like ayam goreng (fried chicken marinated in coconut milk).	Street musicians, Jl. Malioboro.

Rempah-rempah (spices) being sold at Beringharjo market. This is at the very back of the market, which is a huge building several blocks long.	Chunks of gula (sugar), also at Beringharjo.

A lady selling chips made from nuts, again at Beringharjo.	Jamu (traditional Javanese medicines), again at Beringharjo. You can see a bottle being recommended to me at the lower right.

A food seller outside the front entrance of Beringharjo market. This year I finally had the good sense to ignore my doctor's warnings and eat anything I like from sellers like this or the wandering kaki-lima ("five-legs"): food carts with two bicycle wheels, the post it rests on making the third leg and the vendor's own legs making five.