Wahanarata Keraton, Yogyakarta.

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Hello everyone, Welcome.
If you search on Google with the keyword 'Wahanarata', then you will get something that only exists in Yogyakarta, super large, spacious and the only museum in the world. This is a museum created by the Yogyakarta Palace kingdom, as a place to store the carriages that were usually used by the kingdom from the beginning of the kingdom's formation.

Carriage, like most kingdoms, every kingdom must have its own carriage. Each kingdom has its own characteristics. In fact, the first time I came here, I seemed to see the shape of a carriage that I often saw in several fairy tales. The shape is similar and it was quite extraordinary for me who had very little information about royal carriages like this.

Wahanarata, a place where the royal palace carriages are stored and then used for the public as one of Yogyakarta's tourist destinations. Even though this is a royal collection, an entrance fee is charged to visitors of 20,000 rupiah, or let's say 1.3 dollars for one entry. This fee will later be for the needs of the museum, there must be a lot of costs for maintenance in managing the royal carriage.

Here is a very complete collection of royal carriages, all arranged and lined up in the museum, even the place is enough to accommodate hundreds of existing royal carriages. Not only the carriages used by Sri Sultan Hamengkubowono, but also other families who are still tied to the kingdom.

Are all the carriages still usable? Of course, there are some that are still suitable for use and are often used for royal events, but some of them are also only maintained without being used because their condition is old or they need special care so they are not used. However, all the carriages are guaranteed to be maintained and none are skipped at all.

This place is so charming because there is a guide who is willing to tell a lot about the wahanarata museum without being paid. I was shown some unique carriages and also some gifts from other kingdoms that gave royal carriages as a form of friendship. There are also carriages made from other countries and it was very informative.

Likewise with some carriages that turned out to be very popular with Sri Sultan Hamengkubowono or some procedures for using carriages according to royal rules. Simply put, this place really makes me enthusiastic about all the information that we don't know from outside the Yogyakarta palace.

There are so many forms of royal carriages, even those that have existed since the 1800s, during the Dutch colonial era at that time. Can you imagine how they are very neat and maintain the preservation of culture, even royal carriages like this are still worthy of use. The carriage has been around for more than 200 years and is still very beautiful and charming, even without a scratch around the body of the carriage.

Likewise with some of the accessories used for a series of events if using this palace carriage. there are several clothes worn by the coachman and also those worn by the horses pulling the carriage. The details are also explained, there are even some carriages used for weddings, annual events or sacred events that are different, the uniforms are also different.

Unfortunately, there are some carriages that cannot be photographed because they maintain the privacy of the palace. I don't know why, what the reason is, but what is clear is that we must respect the decisions and rules of the kingdom. But, I recommend you to come here as one of the unusual destinations for lovers of tradition and culture like me.

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