Perceptions And Confessions
Jun. 29th, 2009 10:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lupestripeI have just spent a couple of hours in an Indonesian gay bar, just around the corner from my hotel. We didn't know it was a gay bar but as we sat down, we caught a glimpse of pictures with semi-naked men adorning the wall and a statue of a little boy urinating into a fountain. In the lavatory, there was a poster advertising the perfect man.
And here is the thing - Indonesia is a Muslim state yet homosexuality is legal and the age of consent is 16. Meanwhile, Singapore, which is a secular nation, homosexuality has a 10 year to life prison sentence associated with it.
It's amazing how media perception often taints your view of the world. The people here are so friendly, often giving up their time to chat with you because you are different. One man today spent an hour taking us around Taminsari - the ruins of an old water irrigation system in the Kraton (old temple) in town. He asked for no money but he was very enlightening. Such generosity makes you feel positive about a country and its people and I admit I am very much enamored with this country.
On 27 May 2006, an earthquake of 6.3 in magnitude hit Yogyakarta. It killed 7000 people. The man who we met, survived the quake and told me in great detail how it affected Indonesia and the city in particular. Indonesia is a country that consists of volcanic islands so earthquakes are common here. However, despite what you hear on the news, you don't appreciate the devastation of Earth's power until you see for yourself. I am sure my Californian friends are aware of the power of quakes but here the buildings are not as stable as they are in the States. There are still patches of land where houses used to stand and where people died. This was the case outside the Taminsari. Because the quake hit just before 6am, people were still asleep and were buried in their sleep. Now, those patches of land are vacant. The huge cracks in the Taminsari - which was built in 1738 - demonstrated the power of the 2006 quake.
The Kraton was the old temple and is walled by thick white walls. You go into the area, which now houses 25000 people clustered together in narrow and winding back streets, through a large tunnel. There are no pavements so you are walking with the traffic. At the centre of this construction stands the old temple itself, a wooden structure not dissimilar to the Chinese style of temple. Ornate wooden pillars support intricate wooden ceilings of bright gold, green and brown. The carvings are truly wonderful and for the price of a drink, we were allowed to take our shoes off and look around the living quarters of the former Sultan. During our drink, we listened to the traditional sound of a gamelan orchestra and the man playing allowed us to play with him. It was a truly memorable experience being allowed to play this traditional instrument.
After Taminsari we happened upon the bird market, which was mental. Here, about 150 separate vendors were selling birds for the equivalent of $5 per feathered friend. They were all kept in cages both outside and inside the open air shops and the variety of species and the beautiful colours of plumage was extraordinary. The atmosphere was electric - there were chickens, pigeons (which are considered exotic here) and a whole array of foreign species, all sat in cages, chirping away and waiting to be bought. At one stage, we saw a 5 year old child carrying a cockerel around with him whilst later we observed a kitten who was toying with a bird in the cage. His head kept following the bird around as if waiting for the pounce. He was eventually kicked away by the stall holder. There were also food preparation stands, bird seed shops and a few other animals were also on sale. These included owls (which were great to observe), squirrels, mongooses, some beautiful lizards and ghekkos (we saw one in someone's garden as we headed up to the Tamisari - its forked tongue was exceptionally long as he was using it to suss us out) and sadly snakes. I avoided those, not being too keen on our long thin friends.
We decided to retire for lunch soon afterwards, but not before I spotted some adult diapers being sold in a chemist's shop. We dined on that traditional Indonesian dish of crepes before heading to a museum dedicated to Affandi - Indonesia's most famous artist. He was an impressionist painter who did most of his work in the Forties and Fifties. In 1958, under the subjugation of Dutch rule, like other artists, he moved to Yogyakarta and founded a home here. He drew many self-portraits and portraits of his wife but some of his more political work (including being involved in the Indonesian Independence Movement) were very evocative. On display was also his 1970 Mitsubishi Galant, which he bought in 1976 and pimped out so it looked like a shark. Tim Westwood eat your heart out. It was told that Mitsubishi wanted to buy the car back off him but he refused. He also created a swimming pool in the shape of a fish and a caravan for his wife, who he left behind when he died in 1990. His body and his wife's is buried in the middle of his family home, which is now the museum. Local kids' paintings are also on display there and there is a good atmosphere of art appreciation around the place. We also nabbed some fizzy iced tea and some jasmine iced tea too, which was delicious. I also saw a furry image in a book, which I may share with you later. It's on page 63 :-)
The area around Yogyakarta is famous for its silver so after our museum trip we headed to the silver district, which is some 5km outside of the city. Here, it is more open, with green rice paddy fields adorning the highways. It is also a more conservative region with women wearing the hijab and where the pace of life is slower and more traditional. The silver here is mixed with copper at a ratio of 92.5:7.5 so as to toughen the malleable metal. It is then drawn into wire of 0.5mm thickness and from that it is weaved into shapes and sculptures based on a template that has been pre-drawn. Once completed, the silver is polished by using the stone of a local fruit (whose name I have forgotten). After it is dipped in water, you can peel the flesh of the stone off to reveal a solid centre. Rub a toothbrush along it and it creates a foam, with which you can polish the metal. The intricate designs of some of the sculptures was mind boggling. There were statues of boats, horse drawn carts, the Eiffel tower, clocks and various animals, all constructed to accurate and miniscule detail. It was all very impressive plus we got a free Sprite. There was also a lot of traditional jewelry there too.
We met a fantastic security guard who doubled up as a traffic director, who kindly ordered a taxi for us. After that, we went to the gay bar where I tried Rangdan - a local specialty which involves beef cooked in a spicy sauce. It was probably the best meal I have had on the trip so far. A couple of Bintangs later and I am back typing this to you.
And here is the thing - Indonesia is a Muslim state yet homosexuality is legal and the age of consent is 16. Meanwhile, Singapore, which is a secular nation, homosexuality has a 10 year to life prison sentence associated with it.
It's amazing how media perception often taints your view of the world. The people here are so friendly, often giving up their time to chat with you because you are different. One man today spent an hour taking us around Taminsari - the ruins of an old water irrigation system in the Kraton (old temple) in town. He asked for no money but he was very enlightening. Such generosity makes you feel positive about a country and its people and I admit I am very much enamored with this country.
On 27 May 2006, an earthquake of 6.3 in magnitude hit Yogyakarta. It killed 7000 people. The man who we met, survived the quake and told me in great detail how it affected Indonesia and the city in particular. Indonesia is a country that consists of volcanic islands so earthquakes are common here. However, despite what you hear on the news, you don't appreciate the devastation of Earth's power until you see for yourself. I am sure my Californian friends are aware of the power of quakes but here the buildings are not as stable as they are in the States. There are still patches of land where houses used to stand and where people died. This was the case outside the Taminsari. Because the quake hit just before 6am, people were still asleep and were buried in their sleep. Now, those patches of land are vacant. The huge cracks in the Taminsari - which was built in 1738 - demonstrated the power of the 2006 quake.
The Kraton was the old temple and is walled by thick white walls. You go into the area, which now houses 25000 people clustered together in narrow and winding back streets, through a large tunnel. There are no pavements so you are walking with the traffic. At the centre of this construction stands the old temple itself, a wooden structure not dissimilar to the Chinese style of temple. Ornate wooden pillars support intricate wooden ceilings of bright gold, green and brown. The carvings are truly wonderful and for the price of a drink, we were allowed to take our shoes off and look around the living quarters of the former Sultan. During our drink, we listened to the traditional sound of a gamelan orchestra and the man playing allowed us to play with him. It was a truly memorable experience being allowed to play this traditional instrument.
After Taminsari we happened upon the bird market, which was mental. Here, about 150 separate vendors were selling birds for the equivalent of $5 per feathered friend. They were all kept in cages both outside and inside the open air shops and the variety of species and the beautiful colours of plumage was extraordinary. The atmosphere was electric - there were chickens, pigeons (which are considered exotic here) and a whole array of foreign species, all sat in cages, chirping away and waiting to be bought. At one stage, we saw a 5 year old child carrying a cockerel around with him whilst later we observed a kitten who was toying with a bird in the cage. His head kept following the bird around as if waiting for the pounce. He was eventually kicked away by the stall holder. There were also food preparation stands, bird seed shops and a few other animals were also on sale. These included owls (which were great to observe), squirrels, mongooses, some beautiful lizards and ghekkos (we saw one in someone's garden as we headed up to the Tamisari - its forked tongue was exceptionally long as he was using it to suss us out) and sadly snakes. I avoided those, not being too keen on our long thin friends.
We decided to retire for lunch soon afterwards, but not before I spotted some adult diapers being sold in a chemist's shop. We dined on that traditional Indonesian dish of crepes before heading to a museum dedicated to Affandi - Indonesia's most famous artist. He was an impressionist painter who did most of his work in the Forties and Fifties. In 1958, under the subjugation of Dutch rule, like other artists, he moved to Yogyakarta and founded a home here. He drew many self-portraits and portraits of his wife but some of his more political work (including being involved in the Indonesian Independence Movement) were very evocative. On display was also his 1970 Mitsubishi Galant, which he bought in 1976 and pimped out so it looked like a shark. Tim Westwood eat your heart out. It was told that Mitsubishi wanted to buy the car back off him but he refused. He also created a swimming pool in the shape of a fish and a caravan for his wife, who he left behind when he died in 1990. His body and his wife's is buried in the middle of his family home, which is now the museum. Local kids' paintings are also on display there and there is a good atmosphere of art appreciation around the place. We also nabbed some fizzy iced tea and some jasmine iced tea too, which was delicious. I also saw a furry image in a book, which I may share with you later. It's on page 63 :-)
The area around Yogyakarta is famous for its silver so after our museum trip we headed to the silver district, which is some 5km outside of the city. Here, it is more open, with green rice paddy fields adorning the highways. It is also a more conservative region with women wearing the hijab and where the pace of life is slower and more traditional. The silver here is mixed with copper at a ratio of 92.5:7.5 so as to toughen the malleable metal. It is then drawn into wire of 0.5mm thickness and from that it is weaved into shapes and sculptures based on a template that has been pre-drawn. Once completed, the silver is polished by using the stone of a local fruit (whose name I have forgotten). After it is dipped in water, you can peel the flesh of the stone off to reveal a solid centre. Rub a toothbrush along it and it creates a foam, with which you can polish the metal. The intricate designs of some of the sculptures was mind boggling. There were statues of boats, horse drawn carts, the Eiffel tower, clocks and various animals, all constructed to accurate and miniscule detail. It was all very impressive plus we got a free Sprite. There was also a lot of traditional jewelry there too.
We met a fantastic security guard who doubled up as a traffic director, who kindly ordered a taxi for us. After that, we went to the gay bar where I tried Rangdan - a local specialty which involves beef cooked in a spicy sauce. It was probably the best meal I have had on the trip so far. A couple of Bintangs later and I am back typing this to you.
