Trials, Tribulations, and Sultan's Palaces

There is some kind of chain reaction going on. Or maybe it's just the long-awaited third of the law of threes. But I tried to book a ticket to Malaysia in the morning and was not able to get either of my credit cards to go through to buy the ticket. Others might have taken this as some kind of cosmic warning not to get on a plane, or to stick around. I took it as a challenge. I found a travel agent and had them help me book my ticket. Then I paid for it with cash. With the commission fee for the travel agency, it didn't really come out any differently since I was not paying the online credit card usage fee. I am starting to wonder what the heck is going on though.

After getting the ticket booked, I was in a bit of an off mood, shall we say. I stalked down the street to go and see one of the sights of the city of Yogyakarta itself, the Sultan's Palace. All sorts of Bechak (bicycle cab) drivers shouted out asking if I wanted a ride somewhere. I have gotten to the point where I am okay with them just doing their best to earn a living, even if it is hassling people who don't even look in their direction, trying to get a fare. I normally now just politely say, “No, thank you,” as I walk on my way. But today, in my somewhat dark mood, I was just saying a curt no as I continued on.

At the end of the street, I reached the Sultan's Palace. I bought myself a ticket and went inside. But it was kind of odd. There was no house. It looked a bit shabby and unkempt. And it didn't seem much like it would the residence of the Sultan. I took some photos though and then I met a woman that I had met at the top of Borobudur the day before. She had taken the time to explain something about the structures at the top of the temple. And here she was again. And she as confused about the Sultan's Palace as I was. I was glad I wasn't the only one. She had thought there was more to it as well. She seemed to remember that there were some museums of some of the Sultan's stuff and that sort of thing. But we chalked it up to changing times or some such. I decided to head off to the Water Castle, and we took our leave.

I got directions to the Water Castle and followed them. I ended up at another ticket window, but it didn't really look much like something to do with water, so I asked where I was. The Sultan's Palace. Hey, wait just a minute here. I was just at the Sultan's Palace. Over there? Yes. Well, that's the ceremony place. This is the residence. Oh. And then she told me there were four separate parts to the Sultan's Palace, including the ceremonial area, the residence, the museum, and the Water Castle. And, of course, each had its own entrance fee. Naturally. I think Yogyakarta is one of 'those' tourist areas. It's going to get a bad reputation if the city isn't careful. I hemmed and hawed a moment and then decided that I was there and I would go in. So I paid my entrance fee, and my second camera fee (the first being at the first Sultan's Palace area), and went in. I don't understand this whole camera fee business. If you are going to invite someone in to see what's there, then do it. Let them look around, take some photos, whatever. But include it all in one price. This whole nickel and diming crap is a bit annoying after a while.

Anyway, I looked around at the Sultan's residential area and looked at some of his stuff. It looked a lot more like a residence and a palace than the other place did. There were a number of portraits of sultans past and a whole bunch of treasures of various sorts. And it's still all the stuff of a life or lives. It doesn't matter if they are the lives that most of us can only ever dream of living with gifts of opulent antiques or goldware. It only has true meaning to the person who lived the life. And perhaps to the adoring subjects in the case of a sultan, but even then he's only the sultan of Yogyakarta. So, I wasn't all that impressed with the Sultan's Palace(s), I guess. But it is one of the things about Yogyakarta, so I'm glad I went and had a look.

After that, I finally got better directions to the Water Castle and wandered off in search of it. I headed out, turned left and then left again. Oh, but not that left. Or the next one. Oh, THAT left. And then down that street, I turned left again, but I wasn't supposed to. The guy on the street that I was passing on my way, following the sign that pointed to the Water Castle, told me that was for cars. I could just go in the gate that I had passed. Oh, well thank you very much. I am continually impressed with how truly helpful the Indonesians are to visitors. The Indonesians who don't drive pedi-cabs, or are selling batik, or trying to get me to go and watch some performance, at any rate.

Turned in the proper direction, I entered the gate and started looking around for the Water Castle. It didn't look much like I was going to find it easily.

Then this man approached and asked me what I was looking for. I told him I was looking for the Water Castle. He pointed where I should go and then started off in that direction himself. I could smell a bill in that move. I tried to not follow him, without it looking like I was trying not to follow him. But when I would dawdle to take a photo, he would stop and wait for me. So I had to take the tack that I was going to have to tell him to get lost, without putting that rudely of course. So I told him that he didn't need to show me the way, that I didn't need a guide. He said he wasn't a guide. He worked for the sultan and lived in the area, the sultan's lands, for free and tax-free. Nevertheless, I said, I wasn't going to pay him any money. He said he didn't want any money, he just wanted to show me around. I wasn't entirely convinced, but I gave up and resolved that if it came to it, I would not pay much. I have such a strong will, don't you think? He led me around through this little community and to the entrance of an underground mosque. He said I should see that first, as the sultan's family used to use it before the roof collapsed in the earthquake a couple of years ago. It was an interesting place. I didn't know mosques could be underground. As we were leaving, there was a small donation box. My guide made no mention of it all, just started showing me the way out. And because of that small act of being a free guide, I left a small donation.

Then we moved into the Water Castle area itself. The man told me that the whole area used to be under water. It was some kind of a lake, for the enjoyment of the sultan. In the center of the lake, there was a swimming area. The sultan would be taken across the lake in a canoe and would enter the swimming/bathing area. Before he arrived, 40 (or was it 140, I didn't quite hear the number my guide mentioned) women would go through an underground tunnel to the big swimming pool and frolic. The sultan would arrive and would go up into a tower and watch them. Then he would make a choice of which of the women would be favoured that day. The chosen woman would join the sultan in the tower and they would go through to the small, private swimming pool for a while. After that they would retire to the bedchamber to, as my guide termed it with a knowing smile, play. Then they would bathe, change clothes and carry on with the day.

This was the entrance tunnel for the women.

This is the entrance to the main swimming area. Above the entrance is a protector god in the Hindu religion. I asked my guide about that later. It was curious to me because Indonesia is currently a majority muslim nation. But this seemed to suggest that at one point the rulers were Hindu. He said that, yes, the first sultan was Hindu, but the rest have been muslims.

Here is where the women would frolic in one pool, and the children of the household would play in the other.

This is the tower, from where the sultan would observe and then make his choice.

The sultan's-eye view.

The private swimming area must have been a bit more impressive than it is these days. Of course that kind of cavorting and carousing probably isn't favoured any longer so it likely doesn't get the care it used to get.

The bedchamber where the sultan and his choice of playmates would play. One of the things my guide had pointed out to me was the height of many of the doorways and corridors in the Water Castle. They were only about 5 feet high, requiring us to stoop over to walk through. My guide told me that the people at the time were not that small. The doorways and corridors were made that high so to force people to bend over, and pay respect to the sultan.

At the end of the tour through the Water Castle, my guide took me to the shop, where I did buy a batik painting (probably for a lot more than I might have been able to bargain it down, given how easily the proprietor accepted what I had to give, which was less than half the price he originally quoted; I must get more hard-nosed in bargaining for purchases in the future). And then he took me to see his brother's paintings which were even nicer, but I couldn't buy anything more and told him so. He took it well. Then he took me to the entrance area and bid me farewell. And never asked for a dime for his services. I really hate it when I have allowed my jadedness at thinking everybody is out for a buck, which then stomps on (in my head) those who just genuinely want to help out a visitor. I wonder if there is any middle ground at all in how one can approach all people, and not get ripped off out of it.