[Hak] Central Java, May 2013

[oksoks]

Well done bro.

 

[Bukitimah]

Wow, any more to come? I have planned to visit Borobudur in Sept. will definitely include most of what you have covered. Planning for a 5 days visit. Anything in particular to look out for?

 

[jtsky]

This thread is so nice, please share more

 

[hakhak]

Well done bro.

Thanks oksoks!

Wow, any more to come? I have planned to visit Borobudur in Sept. will definitely include most of what you have covered. Planning for a 5 days visit. Anything in particular to look out for?

Yes, I still have photos from the last 2 days of the trip. But I have been pretty busy recently, I'll process and upload more when I'm free.
You can take a look at the first post of this thread for my itinerary, my favourite was the sunrise at Borobudur temple. Do pm me if you have any questions.

This thread is so nice, please share more

Thanks jtsky! I'll be uploading more when I have the time to process them.

 

[hakhak]

It has been a long time since I updated this thread, time to finish processing the remaining photos!

Jalan Malioboro

After finishing the hike at Mount Merapi, we headed back to Yogyakarta. I didn't allocate much time for Yogyakarta, so we just spent a short while at Jalan Malioboro, the major shopping street of Yogyakarta, before heading to Parangtritis Beach for sunset.

I attempted to take some street shots, a genre that I seldom shoot. I admit that I'm not very good at it, and one reason is because I don't have enough guts to go close enough to the subject.

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[hakhak]

Parangtritis Beach

We headed to Parangtritis Beach for sunset. If I remember correctly, it was about a 45 minutes drive from Yogyakarta. When we arrived at the beach, the sky was extremely cloudy and I was quite disappointed, thinking that I won't be able to witness the beautiful sunset view from here. From my past experience, I told myself that anything could happen even with the sky filled with clouds, and it really did! For a very short period of time, the sun appeared strongly below the clouds, before disappearing below the horizon.

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While shooting, a couple who was doing their photoshoot along the beach got into my frame, so I had no choice but to shoot them instead. ;p

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I'm not sure what caused it, but I love the misty layer just above the beach.

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The night before Vesak Day's full moon.

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[Daoyin]

Glad to see more. I like the yellowed pp for the Yogja street shots.

 

[hakhak]

Glad to see more. I like the yellowed pp for the Yogja street shots.

Thanks Daoyin! Glad you like them!

 

[hakhak]

Punthuk Setumbu

It was Saturday, the final day and the main highlight of the trip as the Waisak celebrations were going to take place later that day. Once again, we woke up at ungodly hours, taking the car from our hotel in Yogyakarta to Punthuk Setumbu, which was a short distance from Borobudur temple.

I can't remember exactly what time I reached Punthuk Setumbu, but at that time I thought I was going to be the first few to arrive there. After a short climb up a hill, I was shocked and amazed to see so many photographers (mostly locals) already camping there with their tripods and bazooka lenses. I somehow managed to squeeze in and set up my tripod. Those who came later than me were not so lucky as the whole area on top of the hill was already packed.

It was a magnificent view, with the sun slowly rising up from behind Mount Merapi. This was my favourite sunrise spot I had for this trip.

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The mist was so surreal, even though for a short moment it actually blocked our entire view. From a zoomed in shot, we can see the famous Borobudur temple hiding within the mist.

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[cp1238]

Very Nice Series

 

[hakhak]

Very Nice Series

Thanks cp1238!

I'm finally back to this thread to finish off the photos from the final day of this trip. Gotta clear my backlog of photos before going for my next photo trip in March!

After shooting the sunrise at Punthuk Setumbu, we were walking back to our vehicle that was parked a distance away and the sunlight plus morning mist was really awesome.

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[hakhak]

Waisak Procession

For those who are unfamiliar with this festival, here's a brief write up extracted from this website here.

Every year the magnificent Buddhist temple of Borobudur hosts the holy Vesak festival, attracting thousands of Buddhist pilgrims and other travelers who come to see this ancient and sacred Buddhist ritual take place.

Conducted annually during the full moon in the month of May or at the purnama sidhi, Vesak commemorates three most important events in the life of the Buddha Siddharta Gautama known as the Tri Suci Waisak. The first important event is the Birth of Prince Siddharta at the Lumbini Gardens in 623 BC. The second episode is the enlightenment in which Prince Siddharta became the Buddha in Bodhgaya at the age of 35 in 588 BC, and the third is the passing away of Gautama Buddha at Kusinara at the age of 80 in 543 BC. Thus, Vesak is also known as simply Buddha’s day.

The sacred ceremony is preceded several days earlier by a ritual to obtain holy water from the pristine springs at Jumprit in the Temanggung district. The holy water will then be kept in the small Mendut Temple near Borobudur. The following day is the ritual of igniting the Vesak torch, whose flames are taken from the natural eternal flames at Mrapen in the village of Grobogan, in the Purwodadi district, Central Java. The flame and holy water are kept in the Mendut Temple to be carried and used during the ceremony at Borobudur on the actual Vesak day.

The ritual of “Pindapata” will also be conducted as part of the Vesak rituals. Derived from the word Pinda which means a chunk of food and Patta (or Patra) which means a bowl, Pindapata is the ritual where Buddhist monks (Bikku and Bikkhuni) receive offerings of food from the Buddhists congregation. Buddhists monks would walk with their head bowed while holding a bowl and the congregation would voluntarily fill their bowls with food. The philosophy behind this is the act of giving and receiving as a moral exercise for both monks and followers, in accordance to the teachings of Buddha.

Monks and congregations will gather at the Mendut Temple on the morning of Vesak day and embark on a journey on foot from the Mendut Temple, passing Pawon Temple, the rivers Elo and Progo until they reach Borobudur Temple. The procession will also carry the Vesak torch, the holy water, and other Buddhism symbols. During the procession, Parittas or holy verses from scriptures are chanted by the monks. The journey will take roughly about three hours.

As soon as the soft moonlight shines over Borobudur, the monks light the candles, reciting holy chants. All participants will fall into a deep ascetical state during the seconds of the full moon, which marks the pinnacle of the Vesak ceremony. Afterwards, the Ghata Visaka Puja will be recited followed by the Pradaksina ritual or the ritual of circling the Borobudur Temple three times. Marking the end of Vesak’s rituals series, thousands of Puja lanterns will be released into the sky symbolizing enlightenment for the entire universe.

As an expression of the true essence of Buddhism, the Vesak Festival is a beautiful display of Spirituality, faith, and culture. Highlighted by enchanting tranquility and deep spirituality, the Vesak ritual ceremony is certainly an amazing festival worth observing.

After having a short nap in the car and then lunch, we headed over to somewhere near Mendut Temple, where the Waisak procession has already begun. The monks and congregation would start off from Mendut Temple, and walk all the way to Borobudur Temple. The roads in the area were mostly closed already, so our driver had to drop us off quite a distance away.

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[hakhak]

There was a large number of onlookers lined up at the sides of the road, including many photographers as well. Some of them would try all means to get a good view of the procession.

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[hakhak]

Waisak Ceremony at Borobudur Temple

A huge crowd has already gathered at Borobudur temple, where the stage and tentages were also set up.

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There were many rituals taking place at the different tentages, before everyone finally made their way up to the base of the temple where the main ceremony took place at.

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Where possible, most people actually gave space to the group of monks that were walking towards the ceremonial area, but that lady with the ipad in the photo actually walked right up to the monks to take photos of them with her gigantic ipad.

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I just feel that these orange robes go very well with the colours of temples like this.

 

[hakhak]

It has rained during the night of Waisak for the past few years, and this year was no different. Luckily I was prepared and brought my poncho along.

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If I'm not wrong, this is the only night of the year when the Borobudur Temple would be lighted up at night.

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Despite the drizzle, the volunteers began to set up the candles for the lighting ceremony.

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[hakhak]

People started to use the joss sticks to light up the candles that were laid to form some words/symbols (?) on the ground. It was a slow process that was made more challenging by the drizzle that was slowly becoming heavier.

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The torches were used to light the joss sticks, and the people were fighting hard against the rain to keep the candles lit.

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[hakhak]

Soon, it was raining cats and dogs, and it got almost impossible to light up every candle at the same time. I think its pretty obvious from these photos just how heavy the rain was.

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And this was how a group of photographers managed to create a shelter for themselves.

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Sadly, unlike past years, the rain didn't stop and the organizers had no choice but to cancel the finale. The finale was something that most people there, including myself, were eagerly looking forward to. Thousands of lanterns were supposed to be lit and released into the sky, promising a spectacular scene. I just wasn't lucky enough to witness it.

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That's all the photos I have from this trip back in May 2013, hope you guys enjoy them! If any of you need information regarding this trip, feel free to PM me, but most of the information can already be found in my first post of this thread.

Now I'm ready for my next exciting photography trip in March, to somewhere far and cold, and hopefully I will be blessed with good weather for the entire trip. Stay tuned for more when I return in April!