Live-Blogging the Second Half of History Channel's Hidden Cities - Java, Indonesia

10:26 p.m.     16th Century Castle

     Just came home.  I rushed to my room where I left my laptop running so I could live-blog the second half of the show.  Whew!

     Mataram Sultanate is the last kingdom of Indonesia, or something.  Presenter Anthony Morse is going to the castle of a sultan.

     Kotagede Palace, or the great walled city.  It followed the traditional Javanese design; 3x3 grid.  Only parts of the palace remains and special permission is needed to enter the palace.  It means that it is not open to the public, right?  The royal bathing grounds remain in the palace.  The rajahs or princes bathed in there, separate from the women's bath.

     They went into the throne room and it's small, but it's just a remnant of the palace.

10:34 pm.     Katan Palace

     Palace of Yogyakarta.  Wow, huge bathing grounds.  Anthony has been given special access into the palace's gates.  Very traditional grounds.  Every Thursdays, the puppets are aired out, like a ritual of some sorts.

10:36 p.m.     Mount Merapi

     Structure buried by the volcano's eruption.  And now, Mt. Merapi has been spewing ash.

10:41 p.m.     7th to 10th century buddhist kingdom

     By 8th century, Mt. Merapi's surroundings have both hinduism and buddhism practiced side by side.

     King Boco's place.  It's huge.  During excavation, archeologists found layers of ashes, apparently, priests and even kings may have been cremated there.  There are also traces of sacrifices.  It is considered part of the big city of hinduism, or something.

10:45 p.m.  Kedulan Temple

     Volcanic forces destroyed the buildings so people are building it (reconstructing) on higher ground.  People are matching stones to the tower.  Very tedious process.  They're rebuilding one of the smaller structures.

10:47 p.m.   Prambanan

     Largest temple complex in Indonesia.  Restoration since the 1930s.  Some temples reach 47 meters.  Really gargantuan.  Oh, the stones were just piled on top of the other, but they're earthquake proof.  Ramayana was carved at the facade.  I want to go there.

10:52 p.m.     Ramayana Dance

     First evidence of Ramayana in the 9th century.  Ramayana tells the tale of King Rama and his wife, Sita.  And, Indonesians have a troupe which does the exotic dance.     And, Anthony is in full-character mode.  He said the dance is difficult; his thighs are burning.

     I wasn't able to watch the first half, so forgive me if I just jumped in the middle.  I'll watch the episode again when it gets replayed during the week and make the necessary additions and corrections, too.

    

    

History Channel's Hidden Cities - Java, Indonesia [Live-blogging hitch]

     I might not be able to live-blog the third episode of History Channel's Hidden Cities.  I am about to go out for a drive around Makati to see how the city lights up its street for Christmas. I will be going with my relatives, well, it's actually for the kids' entertainment.  

     Oh, I have worked there for five (5) years and as the premiere business district of the Philippines, I'd say Makati makes a spectacle with their Christmas displays and lights year after year. 

     Going back to the topic, if we get to finish early, I'll go straight to live-blogging the episode.  If not, I'll watch its replay and replay-blog it, if ever there is such a term.  Hee.

     I'm crossing my fingers that we'd get home earlier.

History Channel's Hidden Cities: Java, Indonesia

N.B. From the History Asia Channel's website:

Located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, Indonesia's Java was formed mostly violent volcanic events but that hasn't stopped it from becoming home to teh capital Jakarta and growing into the most populous island in the world.

In this episode, presented Anthony Morse ignores the fact that the region is still a active volcano zone and explores an artificial cave system carved out of molten lava by WWII Japanese troops.  He also uncovers a centuries old religious complex in East Java that was buried by volcanic ash and digs up evidences of a Dutch castle hidden beneath the town of Semarang in Central Java.

Premiers 07 November 2010, Sunday, 10 p.m. (GMT +8)

Encores: 09 November 201o at 11 p.m.; 14 November 2010 at 9 p.m., and 26 November 2010 at 10 p.m.

     The Philippines definitely have a lot in common with Indonesia.  For one, we look a lot like the Indonesians (and the Malaysians, Thais, Vietnamese, etc.), after all, they were one of our ancestors.  And, like Indonesia, we are also an archipelagic country; we both lie in the Pacific Ring of Fire; thus, we also suffer from volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.  

     I haven't been to Indonesia though I would really love to visit Bali, Borobudur and Yogyakarta. But definitely not now, not after after the twin calamities struck our Southeast Asian neighbor: earthquake and Mt. Merapi's eruptions.  Speaking of Mt. Merapi, presenter Anthony Morse was in Mt. Merapi during the filming of the episode, definitely shot before the eruptions, as can be seen on the photo below:   

Caption says: "Volcanologist Eko Teguh (left) and presenter Anthony Morse (second from left) climbing the slopes of the active volcano Mt. Merapi."

     Let us watch the show for our travel research on the world's largest archipelago, Indonesia.  Also, let us pray that Mt. Merapi calms down, and that Indonesians and fellow travelers alike therein remain safe.