Blogs from Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia, Asia

The shadow should be the same length as the body… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were continuing to explore the atmospheric city of Yogyakarta. When we woke at 5am, Ren was feeling drained. The previous afternoon had been difficult, as she had started to feel unwell during our walking tour of Yogyakarta. Rehydration tablets helped a lot, as did an early night with extended sleep – despite being broken. However, Ren was resolute in her determination to take the day by the horns. She hadn’t travelled all this way to spend the day in a hotel room. She was going to continue exploring this bohemian city, and nothing was going to stop her. I headed down to Greenhost Boutique Hotel’s breakfast area around 6am. The buffet was expansive, but it was not overly exciting ... read more

Don't stand on the dew until the sun reaches its highest… ~ Indonesian Proverb HE SAID... Today we were travelling north (then southeast) from Pangandaran to Yogyakarta– by road and rail. A violent thunderstorm had erupted the previous evening and continued throughout the night, only subsiding around 5am. Each thunderclap shook the hotel, as if a bomb had exploded just above our room. Luckily, we could anticipate each thunderclap. We left the curtains to our room open, and the night sky would turn white with each flash of sheet lightning – then the thunder would explode a few seconds later. We settled in Sunrise Beach Hotel’s large airy breakfast area around 7am and enjoyed a substantial breakfast, as we would not be stopping for a meal until dinner. I enjoyed cornflakes, yoghurt, fresh pineapple, fresh dragon ... read more

We arrived with Air Asia early evening in Yogyakarta International Airport. Getting the free visa on arrival for 30 days (which can not be extended) was easy. No questions, no comments we did not even have to show our ticket of transport out of the country. We gave the customs our passports, without looking we got the stamps - that was it. It just started to pour down when we wanted to leave the airport. A real tropical thunderstorm. Problem with the storm: no WIFI which meant no grab car for us. But as we did not want to wait in the middle of really annoying taxi drivers we went through it and found a taxi driver with an ok price. Not as cheap as grab but still quite good. So we took the taxi and ... read more

Indonesia has been on the wish list for literally years. We’d gazed at it wistfully from Timor-Leste in 2012 when islands were so close it felt like we could almost reach out and touch them. But since 2016 it has been high up the wishlist, when through some work focused on Indonesia Marie discovered the existence of Borobudur Temple. Despite it being NZ’s closest Asian neighbour, earlier attempts to get there hadn’t quite worked out. Then an opportunity presented itself in the form of work giving time back to the one who struggles to build up their annual leave balance. This gift needed to be taken timely i.e. quickly. With a bigger trip planned for a little later in the year this would be unplanned expense that we couldn’t really afford. But after having the thought ... read more

One thing about Indonesia is the interesting calls of the toads and frogs that come out at night. We particularly enjoy one creature that, in a loud and rather deep tone, has a call that sounds like “ars......soooowl” repeated about half a dozen times. I do wish I knew what it was.... Today we have a full day in Jogjakarta, with a city tour in the morning and a culinary tour in the afternoon. Our guide arrives and we set off in two bekaks – bicycle rickshaws – with me in one and Sara and the lady guide Vita in the other. We ride for about 15 minutes to the kraton. The traffic to the first time visitor to Asia might seem chaotic but to us it is positively sedate. David’s driver/rider babbles away, obviously believing ... read more