Better Than Cinderella

You've seen the pictures of Kereta Kencana. Now you can see pictures of other coaches kept at the keraton museum in Yogjakarta. According to the guide, they're mainly made in Netherlands, Germany, Yogjakarta, and Solo. All the coaches have their own special names. I didn't write down the names of the following coaches. Suffice to say looking at some of them made me wanting to be a princess! :)

Which one is your favourite? Sorry can't give you bigger pictures, it would have taken me forever to upload.

On a different tone, I had my first trip to Sephora in Singapore the other day. I'll tell you more about it next time.

Kareta Karaton Nyangyogyakarta

I thought this picture is a perfect start to the re-telling of my adventures in Yogjakarta, which is situated somewhere in the middle of Java Island in Indonesia. It was my third trip there, the first one for hubby. My cousin L was assigned by his parents to be our tour guide/driver. I can tell you that he did a very good job! :)

The picture was taken outside the Museum Kareta Karaton Nyangyogyakarta (= Museum of Palace Coaches in Yogjakarta). Keraton is the palace where the king and his workers live, the reminder of an ancient Javanese kingdom, before it became part of Republic Indonesia. This museum is still used as the royal stables, where they keep coaches and horses belonging to the king. The present ruler is known as Hamengkubuwono X.

The most important coach they keep there is Kereta Kencana (= the Royal Coach). This coach has been used on coronations of a number of kings, 8 horses are needed to pull it. Local legend says that it was impossible to take pictures of this royal coach using manual cameras, as they always came out as blank pictures when the films had been processed. Not sure why exactly.

I've made sure that the pictures hubby took are here for you to see. But if for some reason you can't see them, let me know, the legend might be true for you afterall. So here goes: 3 pictures in total.

Kereta Kencana

Interior View - taken by tall hubby

Notice the golden fruits decorations. They symbolise prosperity.

The Mystery Continues...

Dear my lovely readers,

It's been ages since my last "proper" post . Not my fault, really, as my relatives kept us busy. I think hubby felt a bit overwhelmed and blowned away by their hospitality and unusual habits. He couldn't believe how much eating and snacking happened in my family!! We talked a lot, ate a lot, laughed a lot, then ate some more, travelled a bit, followed by more talking, more eating, and more everything. In a nutshell, the last trip to Indonesia was quite full-on, kept me busy from morning to evening. At the end of most days I collapsed in exhaustion. 28 days of good exhaustion if I may say so. *grin*

Thus my disappearance from the blogging world. I shan't be missing for long once I manage to get some proper computer time again. Afterall, I have loads of stories to tell, like the ones that go with the collage above - notice the lady in the hat: it's your's truly. Hehehe...

Which brings me to another point: I'm typing this in a hotel room in Singapore. How long am I going to be here? Only God knows. Like I said, I'm in the process of relocating to another country.

Now, tying up loose ends. About the Mystery Giveaway. I haven't taken photographs of the prezzies yet. I haven't drawn the winners either. My deepest apology.  Since they're supposed to be "mysterious", I'm going to show some of the prezzies soon. I would also like to extend the giveaway due date to another week or so. I know, it's been ages. Sorry again. I'll also try to be fair to those who have entered previously. The details will be on my next post. Promise.

Time to sleep, I'm looking like Garfield right now...