77 Hours in Jogjakarta.

The Adventurers : 
2 adults who visited Jogya for the 3rd time in the last 4 years*. 
2 pre-teenagers, Jogya's 1st time visitors.
*counted since we moved back to Indonesia (from Mumbai) on June 2009.



This was the trip that our children were really waiting for. For the last couple of years, they learn about our cultures, nation, traditions, and those 'new things for them' make their curiosity growing bigger, rapidly. They had a long list on their mind; which places they wanted to visit, from the famous Borobudur Temple, Malioboro Street to Monggo Chocolate Factory.

pics (above) are from my instagram  album

Now, I can tell the difference between travelling with children and with (pre)teenagers. We need more discussion before deciding about the place that we will visit. huhuuu... need more tissue to wipe my sweat. FYI, our teens are talkative, like to argue, very different with their mom :)
So... this is our nice short family vacation, when we tried to accommodate 4 people desires.

day 1 (wed)

12.00 | Adisucipto International Airport, Jogjakarta.
Went straight to the hotel, checked in, having lunch at the hotel's cafe while waiting for our room to be ready (read: made up), and prepared the next day trip (booking the rental car, and life performance tickets)

13.00 | The Hotel.
A stylist hotel, located in Degan Street, just a walking distance from the famous Malioboro Street.
Colorful, chic, modern. We really enjoyed our stay there.
Everything seems stylist, from the lobby, room to the food. They named it Ibis Style Hotel.




Pic, clockwise from top left : Javanese Fried Rice, Chicken Sandwich, My Delicious Stylist Gado-gado, Gudeg Jogja.



16.00 | around Malioboro Street
The most popular shopping street in Jogjakarta, that lies north-south axis in the line between Jogjakarta Keraton and Mount Merapi. Surrounded by many hotels, restaurants, and many shops, both sides of the street are crowded with many small stalls. During the holiday season, it is very crowded.

Museum Benteng Vredeburg (Vredeburg Fortress Museum)
Keep calm and enjoy the nice atmosphere.
A bit late to visit the museum. We walked around, enjoying the peaceful environment in and around the complex that was built circa 1760s.



Traditional Street Food
Colorful, exotic food are available through the Malioboro Street.
So ..this is also the most popular place to hang out. Many-many people spend their evening here.





19.00 | dinner at Angkringan Gareng Petruk

Angkringan is a food stall that selling rice, side dishes and drinks at very cheap prices. We chose Angkringan Gareng Petruk, which one of the oldest & famous angkringan located in front of daily 'Kedaulatan Rakyat' Office Building. 

Simple, delicious, cheap. I was happily enjoying my 'Nasi Gudeg with boiled egg', 2 fried tofu and Es Tape (Fermented Glutinous Rice Ice), and paid Rp 8,500.00 only (less than a US dollar !). 

For the coffee lover; do try Kopi Jos, coffee served with hot burned coal.

day 2 (thu)

08.30 | Borobudur Temple
It's like a big day for our children. This is the most important destination they put on the list.
After 1 hour 15 minutes journey from Jogjakarta, we stood up in front of the magnificent 9th century Buddhist Temple. Exciting!

We walked straight to the main dome, and walk through the circular platforms, enjoying different scenery from different angles and thousands of reliefs on this UNESCO World's Heritage Site. One of the most amazing construction in human kind, I can say.







more information about Borobudur Temple:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/592
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur

11.30 | House of Raminten
Hot sunny day, and...yeah... we had lunch at a perfect restaurant.
I had been targeting this place since we're in Jakarta. ha..ha..ha..
An eccentric restaurant, with very affordable prices. Delicious exotic food are available. Local culinary in one place, unique name of food and beverages on the menu list, eccentric traditional attire were worn by the waiters/waitress .
We spent some time after lunch to take a rest and enjoying the calm-traditional ambiance.
A note: Raminten is a stage name of an over-weight lady wearing Javanese traditional kebaya with too much make-up & has a Mick Jagger clone of lips. She is actually a he, the director of the Mirota company.







little tip:
Be smart (like us). Come a bit early, before lunch or dinner time, so you don't need to wait for seat or waiting too long for your order.

House of Raminten
Jl. FM Noto no.7 Kotabaru, Jogjakarta.

14.00 | Prambanan Temple Compounds
Another UNESCO World's Heritage Site, the largest Hindu Temple in Indonesia.
The complex originally has a total of 240 temples, but now only 11 remaining of various sizes. The largest is the Siva (Shiva) temple which towers dramatically at close to 50 meters high.
Nice place for spending our early evening, exploring the corners of the temple that was built on 10th century. The shadows of the tall temples helped buffering the strong sunlight while we walked around the Siva temple, that is famous for the 62 relief depictions of the Ramayana Ballet, telling the story of King Rama and his wife Sita (Shinta) against Ravana, the king of giants from Alengka.

Many ruins spread around the temple, waiting for restoration.









more information about Prambanan Temple:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/642
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prambanan

16.30 | Ratu Boko Archaeological Site
A quite and peaceful place.

Located 3 km south of Prambanan Complex, on the hillside plateau, lies a remain of a once  grand palace called Ratu Boko. Two level grand gates are the most interesting part, most photogenic spots.

Here, we were walking around the ruins, enjoying the evening, while watching the sunset and cooled by the mountain breeze.











19.00 | Ramayana Ballet Open Air Prambanan
Beautiful ending of our 'tour the temples day'.
Performed in an open stage with the illuminated Prambanan Temple as the background, Ramayana ballet let us to enjoy the story in a set of typical Javanese dance accompanied by live gamelan music.
Tens of professional dancers with colorful costumes were supported by very good lighting and sound system.
Surprise to see my son sat nicely and followed the theatrical dance performance.
It's a memorable attraction.

day 3 (fri)

10.00 | Merapi Lava Off Road Trip
Started our day with an off road trip, along the area that suffered the most damage from the volcano’s massive eruption in 2010. The tour, using a 4x4 WWII Jeep Willys, enables us to see the trace of hot lava spewed by Mount Merapi’s last deadly explosion. Two hours shaking on the jeep, covered by white volcano dust!











12.00 | Lunch at Kaliurang
Hungry, just after the off road tour.
The local restaurants were lining at the Telogo Putri, which was our start and also the finish point of the tour. All are serving local menu. Just a quick pick, 'Terminal Perut Bu Sukiran' was our selection.
Not taking too long, my order; Mutton Sate and Nasi Pecel (Javanese Rice serve with cooked vegetables and peanut sauce) were served. Delicious!
I recommend this restaurant and the menu.

13.00 | Ullen Sentalu Museum
A private museum, located at Kaliurang Highland.
Displays relics and artifacts from royal houses and keratons of Central Java; i.e. Jogjakarta and Surakarta. Naturally beautiful.
Have a unique layout, beautiful interior and exterior. A very informative guide, really helped us to understand the collections and the monarchies. Taking picture the collection and the interior is prohibited, the positive way to 100% enjoying the museum. It's a good experience, visiting one of the best museums in this country.











http://www.ullensentalu.com/

16.30 | Kota Gede
A historical neighborhood in Jogjakarta.
A silent witness of the rise of the Islamic Mataram Kingdom that once ruled almost the entire Java, besides being known for its silver craft.
For me, Kota Gede is a picturesque town. Every corner has its own beauty. Traditional, pretty.
It's nice spending our evening walking through the small alleys in Jagalan District.












Monggo Chocolate Outlet and Factory
Finally, ... my daughter's wish to visit this factory came true.
Located in Kota Gede, this local chocolate outlet is a must place to stop by.
This is what we get when Belgian Chocolatier 'create' unique chocolate using the selected cocoa beans from Javanese, Sumatrans and Celebes Plantations.





19.30 | Dinner (sate and bakmi jawa nearby the hotel)
Actually, we had a simple delicious dinner on a food stall, just walking distance from our hotel.
I have no idea, why I didn't take any picture there.
Too hungry or too tired probably :)
--no pic--

day 4 (sat)

08.00  | Malioboro, Beringharjo Market
Too early to visit other tourist destinations that open around 9-10 am, we decided to walk to the Beringharjo Market, in Malioboro Street.
Just spent time looking around and enjoying the 'traditional market enviroment'.






09.00 | Tamansari Water Castle
Exploring this place, that surrounded by ancient architecture and splash of water, feel like we were sent back to many-many years back. Peaceful and cold. An amazing man-made structure.
Built in mid 18th century, this is a site of a former royal garden of the Sultanate of Jogjakarta. It is located about 2 km south within the grounds of the Kraton, Jogjakarta.
Feel amazed with the tradition and the way of thinking, the perspective.











10.30 | Quick Shopping
Mirota Batik Shop, selling all traditional Javanese merchandises.
From big range quality Batik, to the cutlery and other tidbits.
Another place that I chose to visit is Toko Progo, located behind Beringharjo Market. Props big shopping :)
For the most popular food to bring home; Bakpia. I grought home 'Bakpia Unyil Raminten'.



12.00 | Lunch at Yu Djum Gudeg
Here, finally our children can say that ... They like gudeg, the traditional 'side dish' from Jogjakarta.
One of the famous Gudeg Seller has its outlet nearby our hotel.
So this is our quick last lunch for ending our 4 days busy trip.



14.00 | Adisucipto International Airport.
ready to go back home.



I'll see you on our next trip...