We pick up a becak to take us to Taman Sari the former water castle complex of the sultans, now abandoned. Our driver is tiny even for < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /?>
Indonesia and can’t be more than about 4’ 6” and slightly built. It’s a wonder he can reach the peddles and see over the top of the rickshaw, never mind find the strength to transport the two of us, albeit downhill most of the way. Bu eventually we arrive having taken a detour via the Kraton due to a mix-up over our destination. The Taman Sari is behind the bird market to the west of the kraton in the maze of alleyways that criss-cross the city away from main thoroughfares. We have to pick our way through the market taking directions along the way until we come on the ruins of the water castle which provides an excellent view of across the low-rise city. The castle is linked by subterranean walk way to the walled swimming pool s where the sultan and his entourage bathed in what must once have been rather beautiful surroundings, but now empty and forlorn. The whole complex of palaces, pools and waterways, including an underground mosque, was build between 1758 and 1765 as a pleasure park for the sultan and his entourage and now mostly lies in ruins.
The noisy bird market – Pasar Ngasem – is an interesting place to wander with stalls selling all kinds of birds and ornamental cages. Here we solve the mystery of the street vendors in Banyuwangi (see earlier blog) whose cockroaches and ant-covered mixture we couldn’t fathom. The latter, based on a closer inspection in the bird market, is a crawling maggot-and-ant mixture which along with the cockroaches is one of several rather gruesome kinds of bird feed on sale here.
We stumble on a rather charming vegetarian café in the back alleys between the bird market and the Taman Sari and stop for lunch. We seat ourselves on what once upon a time must have served as a day bed at a large refectory-style table on a bamboo framed veranda. From this vantage point we can watch comings and goings of local life. We are the only customers all lunchtime despite several tourists passing on their way to and from the Tasman Sari.
The alleyways of Yogya are the heart of this bustling, intense city. Everyday life spills out into the narrow traffic-free ginnels which are just wide enough for two people to walk comfortably abreast. People wash clothes, scrubbing them on slabs that double as seats and washboards, food is cooked on small portable stoves and people stand around passing the time of day. Round the corner from our losmen the alleyway passes a small open space, probably where a building once stood, now home to a improvised badminton court which regularly attracts a crowd of children and adults to play, socialise and eat at the food carts that are stationed here.