Yogyakarta, Central Java - Indonesia

if you look closely, you can see the outline of a buddha sleeping it is said that after building the temple of borubudur, buddha himself came to the mountains to rest

it must be the earthquakes, but my friends and i based here in jakarta just sort of decided that it's about time, yet again, to explore indonesia besides the usual trip to bali. we decided, we will go to yogyakarta (jogja as the locals like to call it).

actually around the month of may last year, this particular part of indonesia suffered a massive blow from a 7.o magnitude earthquake, so we kind of figured that it will be highly unlikely that another earthquake in this part of indonesia will strike. we know as well as everyone else that this reasoning is so stupid. but seriously, we went because of the ever so famous 'borubudur" (buddhist temple, the largest single buddhist temple in the world) and "prambanan" a hindu temple. indonesia's history is so rich and varied - it has gone through various conflict-ridden changes as leaders changed and the result - a diverse history as diverse as the beautiful paintings i bought along the streets of mario boro (yogyakarta's "quiapo")

first stop: borubudur

maira posing by the carved walls of borubudur (can you just imagine that they built this place using animal power and slave labor, stacking all these lava blocks one by one and then afterwards carving on them?)

second stop: prambanan

we reached prambanan at night and we were just plain entranced (here with bobby, trinka and maira)after dinner with the fantastic view of prambanan at night, we watched a Rama and Sita play at the open-air theater. all the foreigners there, including us, were just transfixed. the ballet was pretty long though.the following morning, we decided to go back to see prambanan in daylight
can you just imagine how people mill about this place a thousand years ago?

third stop: The Sultan's Water Palace

Well, this place channels Rome to me. Anyway, our guide was saying that during that time, the Sultan actually had more than 50 wives and around 73 children. Everyday, he will peer though his turret and choose a wife to spend the night with. Wow.

Nice shot Trinks :)

Due to popular demand: Life's Unexpected

Guys, grabe -- just experienced for myself first hand a 7.5 magnitude earthquake just a little past midnight last night here in jakarta. I was watching TV with the laptop on trying to finish a presentation when it happened. At first I thought I was hearing "creaking sounds" -- the kind of sound I usually hear when a strong wind hits the building I was staying in -- but this was continuous and louder. I realized it was an earthquake when I literally felt the building sway and I stood up, swaying heavily on my feet.

I was panicked. I ran to the room to grab a pair of shorts since I was only in a long night shirt, picked up my house keys and opened the front door leading to the elevator directly for my unit. I realized that the elevator may not be safe enough so I bolted to the back door and headed straight for the stair well. By this time, large pieces of paint from the ceiling and from the walls we're falling on me --- and I really thought that my chances of survival was really nil (to none!).

I was on the 16th floor.

So you can just imagine the long run I had to make and with bare feet at that. I checked 3 times which floor I have covered 9-5-1 and then finally the ground floor. I was muttering to myself, "God help us" the whole way because even if I cannot see people in front of me or behind me, I can hear their panicked shouts and voices coming from everywhere. I cannot describe fully my feeling during the mad rush going down. All I can think about was to get out of the building as fast as I can and to pray.

Once outside, the other residents of the cluster of buildings gathered in the open space near the pool and I met a lot of single people also living alone in their units and we all huddled together For some reason, families huddled together and singles huddled together. As if the nearness of similar circumstanced people brings a certain wave of comfort. We all kinda knew how each felt like - mothers and fathers hugging their young sons and daughters, we single people with arms around ourselves talking about the cons of living alone at a time like this. Met a lot of new friends last night. Most of us, like me, forgot to grab anything - no cellphone, no nothing.

It was during the relief of coming out and seeing other people that I realized the fullness of what just happened. It made me start to think about so many things, it's so funny actually how near-disaster situations like this make you see your personal priorities so clearly. And I thank God for the grace of that learning.

Anyway, the one other reason why I am sending out this e-mail to all of you is to try and warn you to be more ready than I was for times like this. I know that most of you live (or have friends who live) in high-rise buildings. Some essentials you must remember.

1. Keep all valuables in one bag (passport, jewelry, documents)

2. In this same bag, put a FLASHLIGHT, a water bottle, maybe even an extra old phone with some sim card load

I was lucky that even with a 7.5 magnitude quake, the electricity did not go out but I can just imagine how much more panicked I would have felt if it did and I have no way to see where I was going.

I was also lucky that the building was able to withstand the quake and can safely go back after a few hours to belatedly pack this emergency bag. I wouldn't have been able to go out of the country or something if the situation worsened etc. with no passport and all.

For those living on their own in a foreign country, make sure to have friends to call and contact for emergencies. I will be forever grateful to trinka, maira and ramy who came to my rescue and who I spent most of the morning with just shaking off the fear and the shock.

Stay safe people and hope this helps you guys prepare for life's unexpected.