Well....
We miss Yogyakarta.
Who wouldn't?
Those who have been visiting this lovely historical city will certainly fall in love with its ageless charm.
So does my petite family :).
Before heading to the Big apple (almost a year a go...gosh, time flew!), we decided to have our family vacation to those beautiful spots in our homeland. It was a long list of great places but judging from our tight schedule and many preparations we had to do, we only managed to choose Bali and Yogyakarta. Plus Lampung, of course :).
We spent one weekend in beautiful Jogja.
Staying in one cozy hotel near Malioboro, the most hip and infamous area in Jogja, we decided to stroll around the city in becak or pedicab. One for me and Obi and one for Bo et Bapak. It proved to be the best decision :). We pretty much enjoy the rides...
So, in one of our colorful days in Jogjakarta, we spent some time in Taman Sari, Yogyakarta.
Taman Sari Water Castle, to be exact.
Let's have a look ...
Right in the proximity of the Jogjakarta Sultanate Royal complex, this water castle is famously well-known for being the bathing arena for the concubines.
Aha..the sultan's concubines :).
Imagine those pretty, young ladies bathing merrily and innocently on one of these pools.
Legend said the Sultan would throw a flower to one of those girls and she would be picked to accompany the King. I myself am not a big fan of concubine stories but my mind surely traveled through time portraying that scene in my head as our local tour guide told us this story.
Taman Sari Water Palace is truly an oasis amidst the sun-scorching day in Jogjakarta.
It usually soars up till almost 40 degree celcius in midday, so you can imagine how refreshing it is to see this cool pool complex :).
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| don't you wanna dive in :) |
Showing an elegant mixture of Javanese architecture filled with Javanese philosophy and European influence, Taman Sari Water palace was built by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono I back in the late 17th century. Taman Sari itself means the garden of flowers, reflecting the beautiful flowers they used to have in the surrounding complex, although now what is left and being well-restored is only the bathing complex.
By the time we arrived at the gate, our local guide a.k.a our becak driver has recited the beautiful stories when this bathing complex was more than just pools. It used to cover four different areas consisting of the artificial lake and a few bathing complex for the kings, the kings' families, and the concubines.
We got in to the complex from the east gate, showing two giant snakes (as the guardians, I suppose) and ornate flowers. They call it Gedhong Gapura Panggung.
We managed to see the tower where Sultan observed the ladies enjoying the cool water and later threw a flower to his choice. Some enclaves are beautifully positioned as well, fun to explore.
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| Bo, Obi and I :) |
My local guide also shown us the traditional spa spot, where those concubines picked by the Sultan prepared themselves before meeting the king. It was indeed a very interesting spot, where they put all those natural herbs and perfume for the ladies.
Then we went to Gedong Mangkaran as well, at the back of the complex, through Gerbang Carik.
We ended the tour by exiting through the eastern gate or called Gedhong Gapura Hageng.
Really love the ornate details in this gate...right face a square where we bought es cendol :).
We noticed that this historical complex has been surrounded by settlements and houses as well. I guess that's why some of the original complex of this water palace is gone :(.
I just found out that this beautiful palace is tentatively listed as World Heritage Site.
Well, for sure, when we visited this lovely place, it was packed with tourists like us as well as foreigners. So, I guess, the legend of the famous concubines bathing merrily in these pools attract people's attention. It was too bad that we didn't manage to have a complete tour here as Bo et Obi were feeling hot already, but we surely love to get back here.
Don't miss Taman Sari water palace when you visited Yogyakarta :)
References:
Taman Sari (Yogyakarta), Wikipedia,
Scribbles from my local guide :).
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