Today, we visited various historically intriguing sites in Yogyakarta. Firstly, we visited the Sultan Royal Palace. There, we learnt about the history of the palace, including the previous sultans of Yogyakarta. Currently, the sultan of Yogyakarta Hamengku Buwono X, the 10th sultan. In Indonesia, only the sultan of Yogyakarta has political power.
Secondly, we visited the Taman Sari Water Castle, which is a meeting place for visitors of the sultan from foreign countries. The water temple was built by Portuguese architects, It is called the water temple as it used to be surrounded by water. However, due to cracks in the ground caused by an earthquake, the water seeped into the ground. The temple itself embodies the three main religions in Indonesia which are Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam as the sultan of Yogyakarta believed that to maintain a balance of culture, he had to treat each religion equally.
We also visited geographically fascinating sites such as the Parangkusumo Sand Dunes. The sand in the dune was very fine and it was dark in colour. The sand originated from Mount Merapi. When the mountain erupted, lava flows to the ocean and solidifies. Over time, the solidified lava turned into fine grains due to friction from the ocean waves.
While visiting these sites, we learnt that as students representing Singapore and Punggol Secondary School, we had to demonstrate our school values, such as propriety. During our visit to the Sultan Royal Palace, we demonstrated propriety by not damaging any of the historical artifacts.
-Group 3 // Amal, Donovan, Iqbal, Samantha, Shohaib, Ting Feng, Madhumita
Credits to Max Zhang for taking these beautiful pictures for us
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