Yogyakarta and the Ruined Water Castle

Travel Day 685 – Solo to Yogyakarta on Java, INDONESIA

Somehow this day started on the wrong foot and when I took the rickshaw after breakfast to the train station, the train was just leaving and I had to wait another 1 ½ hours for the next one to come…

Restored Bathing Area of the Water Castle in Yogyakarta

Technically this was not even a big deal, but by the time I arrived in Yogyakarta, found a cheap hotel and settled in, it was too late again to visit the local Kraton. Exactly the 1 ½ hours would have been enough time to visit the palace, but as I was unlucky in Solo with the Kraton and its early closing times, the same proved true here in Yogya as well. But just when I felt quite frustrated with the day and walked along the main market of Yogyakarta, something happened that lifted my spirit again…

While looking at all the delicious food that was laid out, some locals approached me and insisted I would sit down with them and taste some of the dishes. This was quite surprising as so far Yogyakarta seemed to only consist of obvious tourists, annoying rickshaw drivers and pushy batik sellers, who made me miss Solo already. So this little lunch came just in time to change my opinion as the locals who turned out to be extremely friendly and not only did they help me with different food orders, but they also insisted on paying for my meal. That was really a nice experience…

Ruined Buildings of the Former Water Castle on Java

Funny enough, but this little event made my whole day and afterwards I set off with new energy to explore as much of the city on foot as humanly possible. First there was the main shopping street, Jalan Malioboro, then there was the Bird Market, Pasar Ngasem, and then there was the Water Castle, Taman Sari. All of these areas were quite close to the Kraton and could be reached easily on foot, but the most fascinating was by far the site of the half-ruined Water Castle that used to be located in the middle of a huge artificial lake…

Actually this whole area once belonged to the Kraton and the Sultan of the most powerful Javanese kingdom. Everything used to part of a royal pleasure garden and the lake with its buildings on man-made islands that could be reached via an underwater tunnel was the centerpiece. Probably the real centerpiece was the bathing area on one of the islands, providing different pools for the concubines while the sultan was watching them from a tower to choose one to his liking…

Water Castle Mosque with Unique Staircase in Yogyakarta

Unfortunately this whole area had been destroyed in an earthquake and besides the restored bathing area, most of the buildings lay in ruins. The lake as well had been drained a long time ago and what existed today was a complete settlement of small houses, making it next to impossible to even image how the Water Castle area must have once looked like. Still, what remained was the underground tunnel with its vent houses, a few ruined buildings and a former circular mosque with a quite unique central staircase…

The whole exploration of this Water Castle was actually really fun and in combination with the friendly locals of Yogyakarta, this day turned out to be quite a nice one, even it had been started seeming on the wrong foot in the morning…