Entering into the Serenity of Yogyakarta

My trip to Yogyakarta was a short and tight one. The only direct flight to Yogyakarta is Airasia from Singapore (Silk Air flies only to Surabya and another 10 hours drive is needed to get to Yogyakarta). There is only one flight per day from Singapore to Yogyakarta in the late morning – 1110am and one return flight early in the morning – 0735am and each journey is about 2hours 10 minutes. (Check AirAsia flight schedule at http://www.airasia.com/sg/en/flightinfo/flightschedule.page).

My flight to Yogyakarta was delayed for more than 2 hours, as usual, and I arrived only at 3pm on my first day! Taxi services are available at the small international airport, though there will be touting. Remember to go to the official taxi service counter, a small booth, tell them your destination and pay directly to them. A receipt will be issued to you and a taxi will be arranged. Most travelers feel that it may be dangerous to take taxi in such developing countries. Transport services are often provided by hotels but the charges are almost doubled or tripled the price. It will depend on your choice! However, never never never share a taxi with another stranger and do remember to go to the OFFICIAL taxi service counter! I have taken taxi from airports in many such countries such as Vietnam; the Phillippines; Cambodia and they have, so far, been safe for me!

I always travel to a destination with key attractions in my mind to visit. For this short visit , I have targeted Borobudur temple; Mount Merapi; Prambanan Temple and of course, Malioboro town for this trip.

Staying at Manohara hotel is of great convenience for travelers with the main objective of exploring Borobudur temple. Manohara hotel is situated within the Borobudur archaeological site and guests can visit the temple for free. The restaurant at the hotel also offers a view of the temple which is only 5 minutes walking distance away. http://www.manoharaborobudur.com/index.php
The hotel also offers Borobudur sunrise tour which starts at about 4am at IDR 320.000/person. The guided tour will include a torchlight and tour up the temple at awe hour. Steps are steep and it is really dark. Visitors will get to walk around the temple, before waiting for the sunrise at about 0530am. There was no sunrise when i visited due to the drizzles but it was an experience for me!
You may also go for the free audio visual show in the hotel, depicting the history and meaning of Borobudur temple and its carving.

Although there is a shortcut from the hotel to Borobudur temple, exiting the temple is one of the worst nightmares for me! There are many touts pestering you to buy souvenirs from them and will follow you all the way! There is a market within the site, which is open from 9am to 6pm daily. The touts will try to sell you their items at a much expensive rate and try to restrict you in entering the market! It was a scary experience for me so do not even stop and take a peep at them, else they would “haunt” you throughout!

Bicycle rental is available at the hotel at a low cost (I think it is only S$1/hour) and it is nice to ride around the peaceful archaeological site. Strangely, there seems to be an elephant camp within the site as I cycled and saw 2 elephants in an isolated hut. It was pouring anyway when I cycled and was quite an unforgettable experience with many locals staring at me!

Travelling around the country can be challenging, hence hiring a car may be the best choice. Many car rental services are available and after much comparision, I went with Ruly transport which is the cheapest! The driver turned out to be nice and proper too! Car was clean and decently new! I rented the car for 12 hours for various places.

As part of the archaeological site, do also visit Candi Mendut which is about 10 minutes drive away. This is quite a small temple, but there is a 1000year old tree standing firm and strong in the soil!
Mount Merapi is about 40km and takes about 2 hours from Borobudur due to its road condition. Mount Merapi erupted in October 2010 and left the place in devastated conditions. Houses are almost buried under the ashes, trees are wiped off; roads are destroyed. You can see the top of some remaining homes, with rooftops riped and more than half of the structure buried. There is also an overturned car which is completely ruined along the path. The scene can be emotional and disturbing though.

The place is now open to many locals and stalls, selling food & drinks as well as eruption DVD, have been set up for visitors. Constructions have also started where you can see the locals digging out home structures manually, using tree trunks.

Apply lots of sunscreen; wear a sunglasses or cap when going up Mount Merapi. The entire place is still covered with ashes and it is sometimes windy.

With Mount Merapi standing calm and quiet for now, it did made me reflect on the unpredictability and the mortality of life. ......

Prambanan Temple, also a world heritage site, is one of the Hindu temples built in historical time. Entrance fee is US$16 though! The counter also served coffee and tea for tourists too. Am I paying for the coffee & tea (Which I did not even drink!). The structure and the carving in Prambanan are interesting too but somehow I did not enjoy it as much as Borobudur temple which felt more peaceful and magnificent, in my opinion. Anyway, I was caught in a heavy downpour at Pranbanan while the disposable poncho did not help! The temple can be covered in about 1 hour but there are sometimes dance and cultural performances. Outside the temple is another market which sells souvenirs, tee shirts and bags! No touts there, fortunately ( I guess it was the rain!)

Malioboro is the shopping & food district of Jogyakarta with 2 long rows of shops. Things can be slightly more expensive there but there are many stalls selling various designs of tee-shirts! All vendors there do not agree to reduce price though you bargain and sell only at their fixed price. The stalls close at about 9pm and it is a good place to experience in the quiet Jogyakarta.

Frankly speaking, I did not quite get enough for that place, will be back there again to cover more!