Sunday, July 29, 2018
Today we visited Kota Tua. As you can see above, the influence of the Dutch colonization can be felt in this town square, which reminded me of my trip to Switzerland last year.
Our first stop. We visited the Wayang Museum to see the traditional puppets and a live show.
These puppets come in male and female couples. Legend has it you must not separate them. When I asked our IREX guide Risque what would happen if we separated them, she replied, "Nothing."
Each floor has puppets from the various shows produced in Indonesia over the years. Some were very old. They even had a section that presented puppets from around the world.
This style looked like the ones used in the live performance.
The live performance. It includes traditional music, singing, and storytelling. Shows can go as long as nine hours. This one lasted 5 hours...we stayed for 30 minuets. I got the gist. Fascinating, though.
This piece can be seen in the image of the live show above. When light passes through it you can see intricate patterns on the wall. The craftsmanship is wonderful.
Our next stop. The Bank of Indonesia. This history museum shows how the currency of Indonesia ties in with its captivating history.
The history lesson Dewi gave us came in handy, here. Seeing how the regime changes impacted the currency of Indonesia was fascinating. Dewi lived through the financial crash of 1998.
A room showcasing the history of Indonesia's currency.
Gold anyone? You could even hold one in your hands. It weighed 30 lbs!
Grover had a great day. He liked the puppets most of all. He asked the tour guide if there were any muppets.
I like all of the art in the museum its very colorful and stylistic. There must be years of stories and characters in each of those puppets