the castle in Yogya

There was one building in downtown Yogyakarta in Central Java which jutted out incongruously from the low-rise business tenements. It resembled a Gothic castle or church and it gave me the creeps. I was in a speeding car when I first saw a glimpse of it, I made a mental note to seek it out later.

I was visiting Yogya for the second time in ten years and a friend of a friend, a local of the city, volunteered to tour us about town. We already made the rounds of the Keraton Palace, the municipal hall, the town plaza, the train station and upon my instigation, practically all local Catholic churches. Somehow we still missed out that “church”. I prodded her some repeatedly to take me to that “church with gothic spires”. She gave a strange look as we already ran out of churches. When I described the building to her in detail, she finally realized what I was talking and took me there.



Canon PowerShot S40, 1/1000s, f/4.5, 8.6mm


No, this was no church. It was a house of an eccentric Catholic Indonesian who designed a gothic mongrel of a castle as a batik boutique in the 80s (or late 70s). Unfortunately, he did not have the foresight to check that there was NO parking spot so the 3-storey building eventually came to naught. Now it is abandoned, decrepit and silent. It is hidden 2 houses deep from the main street but you can see the spires rising out piercingly.

Unfortunately the interior street is so narrow only a motorcycle can get in so this was the ONLY shot that I was able to take. The place was locked and no one was around. I told you it was eerie…

the colors of Yogya

Blame it on the Dutch. The city of Yogyakarta hs schizophrenic spellings. One can spell it Jogjakarta or Jogyakarta. It can be referred as Yogya or Jogya. Whichever you choose, one thing is undeniable. Jogya is the epicenter of culture in Central Java. Think of the royal court of Keraton, the best batik tulis (handpainted batik), the dance drama of Ramayana and the wayang kulit shadow puppets. It goes natural then that the people, seeped with the heritage that dates back centuries, have an innate love for colors.


a collage of bright doors in Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia


I am not talking about soft pastels or cleverly coordinated complementary hues but solid blocks of bright, loud, clashing and screaming colors. The Central Javanese certainly don't want their buildings dark and somber.


even windows of Keraton Palace of Yogya are not spared with neon splashes
Canon PowerShot S40, 1/80s, f/5, 10.3mm



street scene at Jln Brig Jen Katamso, Yogyakarta
Canon PowerShot S40, 1/250s, f/4.5, 12.3mm


In one visit there in 2005, I took numerous pictures of nearly 20 attention-grabbing doors from just a 50 meter strip in downtown Jogya with my old point and shoot. Soon enough, I had to stop myself or else I would run out of batteries.


a becak at Jln Brig Jen Katamso, Yogyakarta
Canon PowerShot S40, 1/500s, f/5, 7.1mm


Colors are there to entertain. So I was just there to enjoy.


night rush in Jalan Malioboro, Yogyakarta
Canon PowerShot S40, 8s, f/8, 7.1mm