Hypnotized by Wayang Kulit

I'm a very visual person.  If you tell me something, I won't remember it unless I see it written down.  I can take one glance at a map and find my way around a city for an entire day, but if I see written directions, I won't understand them unless I plot them on a map.  Dave taught me to drive a manual transmission vehicle by waving his hands in front of me to match the movement of his feet.

I think this is why wayang kulit, the Indonesian shadow puppet show, totally hypnotized me.  The puppets are beautiful--the leather is carved so some parts are thinner.  Then, the puppet is painted in vibrant colors with amazing detail, even though the puppets themselves aren't meant to be seen by the audience!  Luckily for me, we were permitted to walk around the stage and the gamelan orchestra providing the soundtrack.

How cool is this?!

So dramatic!  Here's what it looks like from the front...

Here are the rest of the pictures from our time in Yogyakarta...