Yogyakarta behind the scenes

Well, after our return from Pramdanan, Tamansari, the swimming pool of the first sultan, was already closed. However, a nice lady showed us a spot from where you can take a look over the walls. Quite neat.

She also showed us into the shop of a local Batik artist, which we admired, and then left with friendly grunts. The village area in the old palace compound is made up from many small, but very cute houses, and there is a super-friendly vibe in the neighborhood.

We wanted to visit the bird market next, but learned that the map we used was outdated, and the market had moved. Nevertheless, a man from the neighborhood showed us the old water castle, which is no longer surrounded by water, but rather by houses.

The former main hall of the Water Castle

View to the West from the top of the Water Castle

We were shown the connecting tunnel that allowed the sultan to go from his residence and office in the water castle to Tamansari, where his concubines lived.

This tunnel went straight below the moat of the water castle.

Our neighborhood guide wanted to take us to the same we already had been to see Tamansari, so we skipped that part of the walk,  went by the original main entrance to Tamansari, and returned to the open space in front of the water castle.

Since it was still early, we headed over to Sosrowijayan street, which is supposed to be nicely illuminated at night, but didn't really excite us. Food at a nearby restaurant was good, though.
We took a becak (muscle-powered, three-wheeled bike) back to Prawirotaman, and finished the day with Italian ice cream at Il Tempo Del Gelato.