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印尼记遊(十九)
Travelogue in Indonesia 19

布兰班南陵庙
Pramlanan Complex

离开这里之后,我们再去参观了三处画室,为了时间逼促,只略事盘恒。大家匆匆忙忙地奔跑了大半天,身体虽感疲乏,但是收获却不少,而精神极愉快!

三点钟光景,我们又赶到布兰班南陵庙去 (Pramlanan Complex) ⻋行约二十分钟,就抵达了目的地。这是一个方 围十英亩的旷场,除了庙前的舞台及坡下的一摊咖啡档之外,弥望的是一片古旧颓圯的伤感景。所谓布兰班南陵庙,本是包括一百六十多座宏伟繁复的建筑,与婆罗浮屠同为佛教遗迹,有着同等价值的。但大部分都己崩毀无遗。据云:因古物保管无人,当地人曾搬运此地的石块去铺砌⻢路、及营建制糖业的工程建筑,因此就渐次地湮没殆尽了。至廿世纪初期,才开始加意修建保管。但是巨大的破裂残毁,已不易修复。除了中央的一座拉拉庄格陵兰庙 Lara Djonggrang 是依照原有的设计图,加以修复完整之外,其余者則断础残垣,形成了一幅荒殘之景,入目怆怀!这些千余年的遗物,现在只徒增观览者的凭吊而已!

拉拉庄格陵兰庙,还有一段动人的神话故事,这里因限於篇幅,未克详述。这座陵庙是一座实心的佛塔。据之史实,当为公元一九一五年 Shivaist 王朝的国王达克莎 Daksha 所建。其高度为一百三十尺,是一方形的地基。基址上计有二十个角隅及丰茂的装饰。四面的中央均有一道干阔的梯阶,可次第及於庙內的回廊。每道梯阶的终点均高於回廊,而直达於一拱形之佛龛,內供石佛一座。每座佛像的姿态各尽其妙,无一雷同。我们在陵庙內做了一番巡礼之后,就到其他的塔上去走走。拉拉庄格陵兰庙的兩侧是 Brahma 陵庙与 Vishnu 陵庙。对面有一座伏着的大石牛,雕刻得以栩栩如生。据说:这还是 Shiva 王的神牛,我们也爬上去骑坐了一会。这里比婆罗浮屠更多画面,但大家已疲惫不堪, 似乎都不想再作画了。我坐在外墙上勾了兩幅画稿,回过头來不⻅了他们,便赶忙收拾画具,赶到坡下去。原來他们全在咖啡档上,尝试看那位名闻日惹的咖啡头手所沖泡的咖啡乌。我的咖啡瘾最浓,当然不能坐失良机。一试之下,果然是名不虚传。我们就坐在这里,一面品茗咖啡,一面欣赏着夕阳下的拉拉庄格陵兰庙!

游毕此处已是黃昏,其余的古迹如:日惹古王宮、水晶宮、⻔突庙,和加拉珊陵庙等,都未遑一一观览,这祗好等特將来有机会重游时再去吧。

晚饭后,想一舒疲累酸痛的筋骨,於是就提议作一次新加坡式的坐⻋吃⻛,聊以游观街市。与三轮⻋夫讲好每小时三十盾的⻋价,畅游日惹城,我们分乘四部⻋子出发。这里的⻋子座位既窄,靠背又短,结果「⻛ 」犹未吃到,却先尝到炒排骨的痛苦了。更糟的是那三轮⻋夫他蹬得比蜗牛的爬行还要慢,而愈來愈减速度。温君就向⻋夫交涉。⻋夫说;「我蹬够一点钟给你就是了,你当初又不会声明要蹬快⻋······」温君说:「那么我现在告诉你,我们要吃⻛,你必须加速度,这么慢怎能吃到⻛?」⻋夫也抗议;日惹只有这么一条街,我预算好这速度,恰可以一小时走完,如果蹬快了叫我蹬到那里去?」温君还想要和他缠下去。我心里想:的确是自己傻瓜,人力⻋又不比汽⻋,那能讲时间加速度呢?由此看來,日惹的⻋夫竟比我们这批新加坡人來得聪明呢!坐在⻋上真有沙丁⻥装罐之苦,所以我们放弃了坐够一小时的权利,宁可下⻋步行回去。 (十九)

After leaving the art studios, we rushed through three more studios due to time constraints. We spent most of the day on a hectic tour, and although our bodies felt tired, the experience was rewarding, and our spirits were high!

Around three o'clock, we headed to the Prambanan Complex, about a 20-minute drive away. Upon arrival, we found ourselves in a vast area spanning ten acres. Aside from the temple's front stage and a nearby coffee stall, the rest of the scene was one of desolation and melancholy. The Prambanan Complex, originally consisting of over 160 grand and intricate structures, was another Buddhist relic of equal value to Borobudur. However, most of it had crumbled away, neglected and forgotten. Historically, local residents had even used the stones from this site to pave roads and construct buildings for the sugar industry, gradually erasing it from memory. It wasn't until the early 20th century that efforts to restore and preserve it began, but the extensive damage made full restoration nearly impossible. Apart from the Lara Djonggrang temple, which was fully reconstructed based on original designs, the rest remained in ruins, creating a hauntingly beautiful landscape. These thousand-year-old remnants now served as a place for contemplation and remembrance for visitors.

Lara Djonggrang Temple has an enchanting myth associated with it, which I won't detail here due to space constraints. This temple is a solid Buddhist stupa, believed to have been built by King Daksha of the Shivaist dynasty in 1915. It stands at a height of 130 feet and has a square base with twenty corners and intricate decorations. Each side has a broad staircase leading to the temple's corridors. The corridors lead to an arched niche in the center, which houses a stone Buddha statue. The statues in this temple all have unique and exquisite postures. After touring the temple, we explored other nearby temples. On both sides of Lara Djonggrang Temple were the Brahma and Vishnu temples. Across from them was a colossal stone cow, intricately carved and believed to be the sacred bull of Shiva. We couldn't resist sitting atop it for a while. There were more captivating scenes here than at Borobudur, but we were all too exhausted to start sketching again. While they rested, I perched on the outer wall and sketched a couple of drawings. When I turned back to find them, they had already gathered at a coffee stall to try Kopi Tubruk, a renowned coffee from Yogyakarta. My love for coffee was unquenchable, so I couldn't miss the opportunity to taste it. True to its reputation, the coffee was exceptional. We sat there, sipping coffee and watching the sunset over the Lara Djonggrang Temple.

By the time we finished, it was already dusk. We decided to explore the other historical sites, such as the Royal Palace of Yogyakarta, Taman Sari, and Candi Sambisari, on another occasion when we had more time.

After dinner, we wanted to relax and unwind, so we suggested taking a Singapore-style trishaw ride to explore the local markets. Negotiating a rate of 30 rupiahs per hour with the trishaw drivers, we set off to explore Yogyakarta. We each rode in separate trishaws. The seats were narrow, and the backrests short, which made it an uncomfortable ride. Unfortunately, instead of the cool breeze, the first thing we experienced was the pain of bumping against the trishaw's bones. Even worse, the trishaw drivers pedaled slower than snails, and their speed continued to diminish. My friend, Mr. Wen, decided to negotiate with his driver. The driver explained, "I've pedaled at this pace for an hour because I calculated that it would take an hour to cover this street. If I pedal faster, where am I supposed to go?" Mr. Wen still wanted to argue, but I thought to myself that it was my own folly. After all, human-powered trishaws were not the same as motor vehicles, and I couldn't really expect them to adhere to a schedule. It seemed that the trishaw drivers of Yogyakarta were more savvy than us Singaporeans! Riding in the trishaw was a true test of patience, so we gave up our right to a full hour's ride and decided to walk back instead.

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