Kids at the area.
In some occasion I brought my 10 years old son and some children visited the complex. Seemed that they enjoy so much the challenged in exploring the heritage site inherited by their own ancestors.
The important things that should be aware for children here in this area are:
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There are some ancient wells that forming open holes. And because of the hill landscape makes them not too easy to see from the far.
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Because the archeological digging activities still take place in the area, it is a must to be aware of the many holes been left open to unfinished exploration process.
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Toilets are
With my husband and some friends, I once spent the whole night inside the complex. Although one of my friend living at a village near by, it needed a tough negotiation with the Queen Baka front office management, to get the permission. What’s made the negotiation be tough was because they sometime only accepted people whom used the temple at night for “tirakat” (= a Javanese spiritual custom to meditate in the silence of the night). The place has been used for that kind of spiritual activities since long time ago, most of the ancient heritage sites in Java does. Well, this needed a deep understanding to the local customs, caused there are many “does and don’t” for those who doing it. And, although we came not to do the “tirakat”, we too have to obey the rules here likes not allowed to fell a sleep all night, filling the conversations –which should done in low voices- with good topics around spiritual life, not to mention many rules about primary biological needs liked eating, drinking or urinating at some particular part inside the complex. Thanks God all the rules doesn’t include smoking.
Spending the deadly dark night with all those strict rules wasn’t easy at all. Liked crazy we had to fought the tickling time that seemed much more slower then ever. Ten minutes to 12 o’clock in the middle of the night, a villager –a boy about 20 of age- calmly passed behind us who sited in circle at the very center of the “Batur Pendopo”. The night was too dark for us to saw his face, but I felt that he was smiling at us, so we politely smiled back. Funny to realize how could we be so sure he was smiling that without command all the four of us smiled back. Some minutes after the boy leave through the right gateway, a villager came in. He came straight to us and introduced himself as one who live in the village closely to the Site complex. It was a cheer to have him in the small group who already lost topics to make any conversation. From him all the details about the “does and don’t” in doing the “tirakat” in the area came. He also told us that the very place we sited is the favorite place of “Ngarso Dalem” (=the IXth Sultane of Yogyakarta) to meditate in the past. For most Javanese (the central Javanese) Queen Baka Temple is one of the best places to do the “tirakat”. When I countered him about the influence of that spiritual activity to the peaceful atmosphere surrounding the complex, he just nods his head and showing his white teeth in a big smile.
The villager also told us that at one occasioned the Ngarso Dalem came to the village and brought a small bamboo basket full of warm and good smelled rice. He told the villagers to cooked a vegetable dish consisted of bean curd and
A hard sudden rain struck in the middle of the night and forcing us to ran in darkness into a small guarding post near by. The impact of a strict rule of not to feel asleep really influenced the small team. Although the cold night made our tired bodies be so