Blogs from Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia, Asia - page 6

Everything I did in Yogyakarta was just plain fun. I originally planned on staying in the region for about six days, but after a couple I realized that I needed to stay a bit longer to experience as much as I could of the things the city has to offer. I had to skip Jakarta, but from every person I met throughout the country—locals and travelers—it seems like it was a good decision. I arrived late into Yogyakarta, and my first night I spent it settling into the hotel, checking out the neighborhood, eating good pasta, and seeing some live music. The pasta I had the first night was delicious, and I continued to go to Mediterranea, a restaurant run by a French chef, throughout my stay in Yogyakarta. All of the food that the restaurant ... read more

Yogyakarta (Prambanan) - Tuesday, 16 December, 2014 Our second day in Yogyakarta begins our day trips to Java island's most popular natural and archaeological destinations. Prambanan is an ancient Hindu complex of Hindu temples built around 8 - 10 CE (AD) and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We arranged a driver from our hotel for 400,000 IDR for a sunset tour. Park admission was not included and was 225,000 IDR ($20 USD) each person. Every monument in this country seems to be 225,000 IDR for foreigners, which seems a little steep. Our driver picked us up around 3pm at about the hottest part of the day, 95 F. He took us to Candi Sambisari (pronounced sandy sambi-sorry), one of the outer-lying temples, first. It appeared there were no foreign tourists about, only local school children. ... read more

We arrived in Yogyakarta late at night and luckily the van driver knew our hotel so we got dropped off at the right spot. We met a couple Australians on the Bromo tour and we agreed to share a taxi to see the sights the following day so we exchanged details and hunkered down for the night. Jay lounged in the room while I went in search of food. I find it fascinating to walk around a city you don't know late at night in a culture that you don't fully understand. There's something about it that sets your senses on overdrive. I find that while I have a heightened sense of awareness, I also have a heightened sense of bravery when I'm alone. It's hard to describe but it is an enlightening experience nonetheless. At ... read more

14 mars J'ouvre les yeux dans cette humide chambre du Bladok Losmen & Restaurant au coeur de l'Area Sosrowijayan à Yogyakarta. C'est qu'hier soir, je suis descendu du mini-bus plutôt déboussolé de ces dix heures de somnolence réfrigérée. Je prend ma douche froide (froide par obligation) dans la salle de bain indonésienne (mandi) de ma chambre alors que je réalise que je devrai pondre davantage que trôner ici. Je descend au restaurant, reprend tranquillement vie, et me lance au hasard dans les rues et ruelles (gang) du quartier. Les cyclo-pousses sont harcelants et les vendeurs qui feignent l'amitié instantanée pullulent aux alentours. Des gamins en vélo font l'aller-retour dans les ruelles en faisant vibrer des coins de carton coincés dans les rayons de la roue arrière de leur bécane. Puis, une fillette barbouille de craies l'asphalte ... read more

In the morning we all had a lie in until 9am. Much deserved I think. Leaving the guesthouse early afternoon, we headed for the bird market. I didn't really know what to expect of this place. We used the local bicycle carriages to get there as it was a fair few kilometres. This market was basically a giant pet shop. Birds, fish, bats, reptiles, rabbits, cats and dogs. The guys loved it, Benny kept saying "...it's great, you never know what's going to be round the next corner". When it came to the cats and dogs, it broke my heart to see them in their cages. Yes, they were being fed, eye drops etc but still. They all looked pedigree too, such beautiful creatures. However, there was a fun aspect of this day. Nate and Benny ... read more