Saturday, February 5, 2011

An Early Vacation in 2011

A vacation in January might be too early, and maybe to most it is unusual. But for me and four of my friends it is just the right time. We have availed of promotional airline fares a few months earlier and our New Year has been more exciting because of the expectation for this trip. My friends called it 'Oplan Whirlwind Borobudur' because it really was so sudden and everything just went into place. I just asked them when are we going to Borobudur and immediately one booked us for the plane and the hotels. Two of them also made the itinerary. It was really more exciting for me because i did not have any input in the planning, but to agree with them in whatever is the plan! Maybe that's the privilege of being the oldest in the group. haha!

It was a budget flight so we left Manila at midnight. Indonesia is an hour late than the Philippines, and we spent 4 hrs in flight to Jakarta and another hour domestic flight to Yogyakarta, where Temple Borobudur is located. We slept for a night in Yogyakarta and spent the whole day at the old Royal Palace and the Temple of Prambanan before transferring to another hotel near Borobudur. Prambanan is a must to visit as it rivals Borobudur Temple in elegance and magnificence.

It was vacation, but it certainly is not easy because no matter how late we were in going to bed, we always wake-up early for the sunrise shots. But of  course, we went there purposely to get photos! My friends are either professional photojournalist or expert hobbyists, I am the only trying hard photographer in the group.

Hotel 1001 Malam, Yogyakarta is clean and organized, a pocket garden at the middle, with free coffee/tea the whole day in addition to free breakfast

At the left is a painting on the wall of the hostel, while at the right is the long rows of motorcycles, a common mode of transport in Yogyakarta.

The expanse of Candi (Temple) Prambanan with the renovated structures. A wider ground with blocks of stone ruins are still waiting to be reconstructed. 
  
Left: Skyward view of the main temple; Right: a detailed apsara on the wall of the temple

A night shot of the Prambanan Temple

The Ramayana Ballet in Prambanan complex was a beautiful cultural presentation, at left is one of the lady dancers, while at the right is a fast dance number almost like the Turkish swirling dervishes.

I will cut my post here and will continue the Borobudur episode next post.

14 comments:

  1. Andrea,

    Your such a tease! These photos are a new world to me and I can't wait to see more! What fun!

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  2. Were you one of the aliens who were there to build the crop circle? What timing!

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  3. hahaha, Randy i laughed at your comment. Actually, i am not yet inspired to post but it has been 2 wks already, and i read Michelle's comment already worried about me. So i extemporaneously put something in there, not really pre-meditated but spur-of-the-moment post. If i post more it will be too long for a post, hahaha, please bear with me. Thank you.

    One - i am in your networked blog but i put a long comment, but it just stopped not posting it, so i first copied the comment in Word and plan to paste it in another browser. Maybe my presence the might be a prima-facie evidence for the creation of crop circles. Please dont give them the lead, or i will be very famous. Then the 2 of us will be famous, you as a philosopher and me as creator of crop circles!

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  4. Andrea Lucky you! Love the on the spur of the moment holiday! Enjoy!

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  5. I love your images even though you 'were trying hard'. It looked like a great getaway. The image of the room was beautiful. I would have loved to stay there.

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  6. I am so happy that your reason for being gone, was your vacation. Fabulous and what a wonderful place to take photos..all of which are great... I think last minute things are the spice of life.. If you go to another blog, please let us know where that will be Andrea....Michelle

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  7. I love spur-of-the-moment vacations. I wish that I could take one now. It is so cold and snowy here. I'd love to find a warm place to stay for a few days. Borobudur looks like an exotic destination. I'll be back to see more pictures.

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  8. Borobudur is certainly an exotic location. The Hotel 1001 Malam sounds very romantic too. It reminds me of the Arabian Nights stories of Ali Baba and Sinbad the Sailor. I also remember the new Queen who made the King fall in love with her (hence didn't kill her like what he did to all the previous brides) by telling a 1001 stories. Well, I'm certain that this trip is full of adventures and passion for nature's beauty.

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  9. Wow, beautiful photos. I bet you enjoyed every moment of that journey.

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  10. Beautiful photos! the temple looks amazing

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  11. What wonderful photos, Andrea! I hope you had a great time on your vacation. Thank you for sharing these.

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  12. Great photos Andrea. The location is stunning! I've always wanted to go to Borobodur but the nearest to it I've gotten is Bandung. Your spur of the moment trip inspires me to take one with my family.

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  13. Helen or islandgal246 - hehe, the spur of the moment holiday was really great and fun! Thanks for the visit.

    Donna of gardenwalkgardentalk - oh yes the room at the Hotel 1001 Malam was cozy and very clean, complete also with hot water and a native bamboo towel rack, which i love and might copy at home. BTW, whenever i see your photos, they make more more 'trying hard' photographer, haha.

    Michelle of ramblingwoods - thanks for your visit, yes of course i will definitely tell everyone if i get a new site, your comments are certainly my inspiration to go blogging...always!

    Linda - yes you can try going to Borobudur right now, i saw lots of Americans there. You can take our routes and if you are interested i will link you to a more detailed IT by my friend journalist.

    Autumn Belle - haha, yes i remember 'malam' is also the same word used here by the Ilocanos, who are living in the northern Philippines, meaning 'night'. And that Arabian Knights novel i read when i was in elem school, yes i also remember.

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  14. Diane - yes you bet, i really enjoyed every bit of that vacation, especially because i have wonderful friends with me.

    Fer- thanks for your visit. You should try visiting these places too.

    Daisy - you're welcome and thank you for the kind words and visit.

    Bom - yes it is easy and fun to go there. You can try our path, i strongly recommend it, as well as our hotels. I can link you to my friend who put the exact IT and the cost of every move we did there; here: http://www.lagalog.com
    It could be easier than Japan.

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Your comments inspire me to post more, and our conversations make life and gardening more meaningful.

However, Anonymous comments and personal back links give me problems, so i don't publish them. Anonymous + back links = SPAM = DELETE

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