Yogyakarta, Java: In a stupa stupor

Yogya is the hotbed of Javanese culture and intellectual goings-on, and is steeped in history - it's still ruled by a Sultan, who operates out of an enclosed mini-city in the centre of town. Returning to busy streets and traffic took some adjusting, but we found the Yogyakartans (or Yoghurt Cartons, as I much preferred to call them) much friendlier, and less out to rip us off, which was a nice change.

Yogya's two biggest tourist attractions are two temples, Buddhist Borobudur and Hindu Prambanan, both relics of much earlier civilisations on the island that were subsequently driven out by the Muslim sultanates. Both temples have been badly damaged by centuries of neglect and earthquakes but are undergoing reconstruction now. Borobudur is a Mahayana Buddhist stupa (or temple) built in around 800AD and abandoned 300-400 years later, rather mysteriously. It was lost for centuries to volcanic ash and the jungle, until Stamford Raffles (who got around a bit) rediscovered it and began restoration. It's now safe to climb to the top of the stupa, which we did, although seriously heavy rain curtailed our visit. Nearby Prambanan is a Hindu monument built around the same time, and abandoned almost as soon as it was completed - an earthquake damaged the temple and frightened the people to the extent that they fled to Bali. Reconstruction has been hampered by Borobudur commandeering most of the funds, and serious damage inflicted by the 2006 earthquake. It's now open to tourists but only to walk round the perimeter as much of the stonework is very precariously held in place. In both temples, we were lucky to have excellent guides who really knew their stuff. Our Prambanan guide was our favourite (despite his fantastically awful teeth) as he not only gave us a guided tour, he also performed some Javanese dance, and recounted the whole story of the Hindu epic, the Ramayana.

Speaking of which, we combined our visit to Pramaban with seeing a performance of the Ramayana Ballet - the story of the Ramayana told through traditional dance. The epic tells the story of Rama and his wife Shinta, and her kidnap by the King of the Giants. With the help of Hanuman, the white monkey, and his magic arrows, Rama faces a series of trials before eventually defeating the giants and winning her back. The story, in various forms, is of religious and cultural significance across Asia, so it was interesting to see. The dancing itself was fantastic, though we were disappointed that the much bigger open-air version is only on during the dry season.

The next day we visited the Kraton, or Sultan's Palace, which was actually quite disappointing. We were expecting more in the way of opulence. It did let us pay a visit to a traditional Wayang Kulit (or leather shadow puppet) workshop. Inspired by our visit to the ballet, we bought ourselves Rama and Shinta puppets. The puppets are intricately carved in Buffalo leather and beautifully painted. You can bend them as much as you want and the leather will give, so they should survive in my rucksack.

We also paid a visit to the Yogya bird market. The craziest place on earth. As well selling thousands of tiny songbirds (which are immediately released on purchase for good luck), the market had on offer: dogs, squirrels, mice, rabbits, bats, owls and just about everything else that flies. Along with a seriously horrible assortment of bugs and cockroaches to feed them with. The oddest sight was a crate full of little chicks dyed in garish shades of pink, orange, blue and green - given as presents to children on Chinese New Year apparently.