Mount Merapi & the Prambanan Temples

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Sunday, 9th August 2010

Our day started early with the aim of reaching the vantage point of Mount Merapi before 9am. The 1 hour drive took us through the Javanese countryside where rice fields, tobacco and coconut plantations made up most of the scenery. We managed to reach our destination by 8.30am, in time to capture the last shots of Merapi before it disappeared into the smog covered skies. Hermanto was right from the beginning and we were thankful to have heeded his advice to set off early from Yogyakarta.


The next leg of the journey took us through the Hindu Temples of Prambanan and we were pleasantly surprised that there were not too many visitors this morning. According to Hermanto, most visitors would timed their visit to Prambanan in the evening to coincide with the gorgeous setting sun over the ancient temples. However, we were just contented that the temple complex was never too crowded and that the touts were few and far in between compared to the scene we witnessed at Borobudur the day before.


We decided to do lunch at the only restaurant within the temple compounds. The variety was limited but prices and quality far surpassed our initial expectations. After our meals, it was another short drive of 17km back to the city of Yogyakarta to take in the sights of the Royal Palace (Kraton) and the Water Castle (Taman Sari). The Kraton was already closed in the afternoon. It did not help that its exterior facade did not make an impressive sight.


With these sights, we managed to fulfil our Yogyakarta campaign with the rest of the day hanging loose in the hotel room. On a parting note, we felt generally safe during our time in the city. The locals were friendly and the service staffs were willing to serve. Certainly, with the success of this trip, it helped to open up greater travel opportunities within the Indonesian archipelago.





Air Asia air tickets: SGD 141
3 nights accommodation at Hotel Santika Premiere Jogja: SGD 127
Admission tickets: SGD 62
Body massage: SGD 32
2 way airport transfer: SGD 4
2 day car rental: SGD 31
Meals & other miscellaneous: SGD 75
Total expenditure: SGD 472

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Comments

[vicsu82]

May i know your fav parting shot picture.. was taken at where???

[sweetas]

Driver - Hermanto
understand that u r very satisfy by the taxi driver. may i have hermanto's contact / email?

[Budokan]

Driver Hermanto
Sweetas, You can find Hermanto's contact at this url http://www.tourdriver.blogspot.com/ Regards, Budokan