Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadinigrat
When Faye, Yah and myself were in Yogyakarta, we decided to visit a Kraton, a palace for the Javanese Royals. Kraton is actually a Javanese word that means castle or palace, and when you visit a Kraton you can't simply say "I've been to the Kraton!!" Why? Well there are more that one Kraton and each of this Kraton has a name. In Yogyakarta, the famous Kraton is named Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadinigrat, where the late Sultan Hamengkubwono IX resided. Who is he? He is the one responsible to bring independence to Indonesia and overthrow the Dutch. To most of us who can't remember the name, it is known as Yogyakarta Kraton.
Although this Kraton is still the living place of the current royalties, some area are open for public visits. Bear in mind that you have to dressed properly when visiting, and handycam or camera will be charged extra. It is compulsory to have the Kraton official tour guide, ours are a friendly lady. As soon as we entered from the main entrance, we saw a large pavilion, according to our tour guide it is for gamelan performances such as the upacara, uyon-uyon,a dance known as beksan and puppet theatre (wayang kulit and wayang golek). When we went to visit we have no idea about the royal gamelan group performances so we didn't get to see it. What's more, there are some general worker that seems to be doing some construction work at the site. Oh well, maybe next time we get a chance to see it...
As we continue on with our tour, we saw more pavilions, each holds it's own significant roles in the Javanese Royals customs. What interest me the most is the main pavilion that stored the desk used by the late Sultan Hamengkubwono IX when he wrote the independence letter. Not that I'm patriotic over Indonesian independence in particular, but if you look up the ceilings, you will be able to see the antique Italian crytal chandelier hanging from a beautiful gold engraved patterns ceilings. True, most of the gold on display are replicas but only this one is pure gold, or so I've been told and read. I'm not really sure if it's really gold coz it's so high up. I believed the pavilion are called gedhong kaca as it was the only pavilion surrounded with glass, because of the old table I suppose.Then our guide brought us to the museums where it stores the royal antique collections. Most of them are gifts from well known world leaders. Others are royals apparel and accessories for special occasions. Afterwards it's time to visit the royal batik printing house. Now we are not allowed to take pictures here, the batik design are only for royalties. They even have the antique traditional batik printing equpment, used by wives of the late kings. Well, overal I would say Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadinigrat is a good place to visit for historical and early architecture fans. Others might feel a little bored as you are not allowed to roam freely in the compound and only able to see from a distance, some pathways are not even allowed to be stepped on. Still, it wont hurt to visit the palace while you are in the area.
