Yogyakarta and Central Java, 11-15 June 2014

[jeezuinn]

1.

Hi all,

Posting a thread to share my photos from my most recent trips. I'll also share my itinerary and meal venues, hopefully it would be helpful to anyone who wish to go there in future. Simply amazing place, i'll definitely return for a photography trip in future .

I hired a driver who helped me plan the itinerary. The whole trip was very well planned. There was ample time for us to slowly appreciate the marvels of the places, and we hired an atraction guide at most of the locations to provide us with a better insight on the different attractions.

Day 1
Touched down at 1230, headed straight for lunch at Ayam Goreng Suharti (Suharti's fried chicken)
Full and satisfied, we then went to HS Silver Maker (Harto Suhardjo)
Checked in at Manohara hotel, ate some street food(MUST try tongseng, its a slightly thick soupy dish that i haven't seen anywhere else), tucked in early to prepare for the Borobudur sunrise

Day 2
Sunrise at Borobudur
Headed to Kraton(palace) Yogyakarta
Shopped at Batik Omah(a famous store with better quality batik, but also pricier)
Lunched at Pendopo Ndalem (Traditional Javanese cuisine, expensive and not very ncie )
Visited Prambanan temple
Dinner at Pak Pong (a must go place for any mutton lovers. Everything is mutton here, and extremely delicious)

Day 3
Headed to Mt Merapi in the morning. Took the 1hr+ Jeep tour. Highly recommended, and you can ask the driver to stop whenever u wish to take some photos
Lunch at Ikan Bakat Cianjur, really really good bbq fish and fried tofu!
Visited the traditional bird market. Lots of birds and other animals being sold there (owls,lizards,snakes,bats,dogs,cats, u name it)
Walked and shopped along Malioboro street, just a stone's throw away from my hotel (Whiz Hotel)
Dinner at Westlake, an awesome seafood restaurant.

Day 4(last day)
Checked out Taman Sari(water castle). Highly recommended to find a random local guide. He will be able to show you the tunnels and passages that used to be part of the castle before the earthquakes.
Lunched at the famous Jajamuran(All about mushrooms) restaurant. Every dish here are from mushrooms, cheap and good.
Went to visit Ratu Boko and Plaosan temple since i missed them on my second day.
Dinnered at the traditional local street food known as 'Angkringan'

 

[jeezuinn]

First stop: HS Silver Maker.

2.

This silver maker is one of the larger and more established silver maker located on a street full of them.

3.

Greeted by a vintage BMW motorcycle when we walked in

4.

The silver makers first form an initial mold. These molds individually twisted into shape from long coils of silver, by using these pliers.

5.

The initial molds are then placed on paper to act as the base, and finer silver threads are then twisted in the same way for the intricate details.

6.

Once completed, these molds are then burned, to get rid of the paper.

 

[jeezuinn]

7.

This nut is called Buah Lerak. After the paper has been burnt from the mold,the silver is immersed in a boiling solution. After which it is polished using this nut, which will result in a shiny piece of silver. Magical nut :bsmilie:

8.

When polishing, the Buah lerak will release some foamy substance like these. The silver is then polished, and washed in normal room temperature water.

9.

Naturally, the silver they make are for sale too. Not cheap though. This is the interior of their shop.

10.

Another section of the shop. Rows and rows of silverware for sale. From jewellery to sculptures to cutleries.

 

[Hofstater]

Great thread, and great pictures. Travelling there myself in August, looking forward too it. Do you have any advice?

 

[jeezuinn]

Great thread, and great pictures. Travelling there myself in August, looking forward too it. Do you have any advice?

Thanks! Kinda broad question for me to answer haha. Perhaps you can pm me with more specific questions and i'll answer them if i can. One thing to note if you are heading there for photography is that their sun rises and sets really early. The sunset is typically around 5.30 Indo time(they are 1 hour behind us, so 6.30 our time).

My driver said that august/sept is a good time for fruits. The fruits there are awesome! And on the way from Yogyakarta to Central Java, there's a single store selling sweet potatos from West Java. These Ubi Madu(honey sweet potatos)are extremely yummy, and they really do have a tint of honey taste. Though fairly common in west java, it seems to be the only store that sells it here. Must try!

 

[jeezuinn]

Borobudur

This, along with Prambanan, are two temples that i have always wanted to visit. Now that i finally got to fulfill my wish, i made sure to stay at Manohara hotel so that its easier for me to join the Sunrise. The sunrise ticket is sold by the hotel itself, and costs 230,000 rupiah(about S$25) for Manohara guests, and 380,000 rupiah(about S$41) for foreign non-hotel guests. I highly highly recommend spending the money to stay 1 night at Manohara if you are intending to go for the sunrise, as it is quite a journey from Yogyarkata(Borobudur is in Central Java, and 1 hr plus drive from Yogyakarta, and i dont remember seeing any other nearby hotels around Manohara). Entry starts at 4, and you get to go in before regular Borobudur guests do so at 6. The place, and view from the top is simply breathtaking. Alas, it was totally foggy that day, and i saw no hint of the sun nor golden light, but simply being able to visit this place is already a great satisfaction for me.

11.

One of the interesting sights en route to Manohara to check in. Its not everyday we see a sheep riding a motorbike

12.

This is the basic twin room at Manohara hotel. Pretty comfortable, but pricey by Indo standards (since a basic twin room hotel can be gotten at S$40 easily), at 1,000,000(about S$108) rupiah a night.

13.

My foggy view of Borobudur

14.

There are 3 layers of stupas(the bell shaped structure), 32 on the first, 24 on the second and 16 on the top layer,excluding this one. Each stupa has a buddha statue inside(or is supposed to), but many have been stolen over the years. This is the main stupa, and is empty inside. It is not known whether it was uncompleted, or is intentionally left empty

15.

The temple is full of carved relics. These relics come together to form a story about Buddhism. I was told that in the early days, devotees would go on a pilgrimage, starting from Candi(temple) Mendut, cross a river to Candi Pawon, then cross another river to finally reach Borobudur. Upon reaching Borobudur, the devotees would then circle the temple, layer by layer,bottom to top. This particular relics shows the birth of Buddha, depicted by the carving of the boy to the left of the tree. Beneath his foot there are carvings of lotus flowers, because it is said that Buddha could walk the moment he was born, and every step he took for his first 7 steps bloomed a lotus flower

 

[jeezuinn]

16.

A last shot of Borobudur before moving on to the next area.

Candi Mendut
Passed by this place while en route to our next destination, so we took a quick stop to have a look at this small but beautiful temple.

17.

This is the first stop of the pilgrimage of the devotees.

 

[jeezuinn]

Kraton(Palace) Yogyakarta

Did not really get to take much photos here. The guide was pretty fast in bring us through and explaining stuffs.

18.

While the Sultan's family are Muslims, Yogyakarta comprises largely of Buddhists and Hindus in the past, as well as dealings with the west. As a result, many things from the palace itself, to the artifacts within, are constructed with the influence of different religions and cultures as a sign of harmony. The main entrance has a somewhat western feel to it, with the two door guards that are influenced by Buddhism.

19.

This is one of the Sultan's old sedans on display. The guide said that it requires 20 people to lift(I hope i didn't hear wrongly, the guide's accent was really strong. Not unbelievable though, the thing looks heavyyyy).

 

[jeezuinn]

Candi Prambanan
Candi Prambanan is located within the Prambanan complex, and its pretty huge. There are multiple temples here, notably Candi Prambanan which is a Hindu temple, as well as Candi Sewu which is a Buddhist temple. The guide mentioned that there was a change of religion of the royal family in the later generations, which is why there are both Buddhist and Hindu temples in the same complex. Unfortunately, i did not get to visit Candi Sewu as i arrived too late.

20

Like Borobudur, Prambanan is filled with carvings depicting the story behind the religion. This particular one shows the war between Krishna and the Evil King Kamsa.

21

And this one shows Krishna ascending the throne after the Evil King Kamsa has been defeated.

22

Outside of the temple, there's a fenced up area with over a hundred spotted deers. These animals are considered sacred in Hinduism, but i couldn't catch the reason given by the guide . Could anyone tell me?

 

[daredevil123]

Great to see your photos of Jogja. One of my favorite places to visit. And I see you tried many of the very special eats. Pak Pong and JaJamuran are simply awesome restuarants.

And thanks for sharing your photos. I love how you show the mini series and the write up. Great!

 

[jeezuinn]

Great to see your photos of Jogja. One of my favorite places to visit. And I see you tried many of the very special eats. Pak Pong and JaJamuran are simply awesome restuarants.

And thanks for sharing your photos. I love how you show the mini series and the write up. Great!

Thanks for viewing bro! Pak Pong and Jajamuran are two restaurants i would never forget, and a definite must-go when i next return. Jogja has been great, and i was pleasantly surprised at how clean the place was! You don't see alot of litter around.

 

[jeezuinn]

23

There were origianlly a total of 240 temples in Candi Prambanan. Most notably would be the three largest temples dedicated to the three Hindu gods, Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. Directly opposite them would be the three temples for the gods' Vahanas(vehicles). The Garuda(eagle) for Vishnu, the Angsa(swan) and lastly, the Bull for Shiva. Both the Garuda and Angsa are no longer in the temple, and the Bull has lost a horn. The guide jokingly said that a housewife may have been using it to grind herbs and spices :bsmilie:

 

[jeezuinn]

Mt Merapi
The jeep tour at Mt Merapi allows you to explore the mountain area in the comfort of a bumpy jeep ride. Some of the sights you can expect to see here are the restoration works from the previous eruptions, as well as the damage left behind. Although Merapi is an active volcano that erupts once every four years, there are still alot of people who live nearby due to the extremely fertile soil. I was told that the view of Merapi is often extremely foggy, so we set off not expecting too much. However, we were extremely lucky to have a perfectly clear view throughout our ascend, and when we started descending back to the town, it suddenly fogged up!

24.

Breath taking view from the town at the foot of Mt Merapi

25.

One of the first sights that greeted us after the jeep tour started. Throughout, you'll see many miners and lorries to transport the rocks. The road get a lot bumpier after this.

26.

27.

This is the aftermath of the eruption in 2010. The whole village was scorched and destroyed. They decided to place some of the destroyed items in this area as well for the tourist to have a look.

28.

During the tour we saw many of these old ladies carrying huge bunches of grass. The driver said they bring it back to feed their cows.

 

[Jedi R]

Nice... Will plan for a trip there..

 

[jeezuinn]

Nice... Will plan for a trip there..

Thanks! You should definitely go! There's so much to see and do and eat there, not to mention that it is not expensive too. During my 5d4n trip there, i already felt i didn't have enough time, and now i'm aching for another trip back :bsmilie:

 

[jeezuinn]

29.

This was as close to the mountain as we got. It may sound unbelievable, but the air there was really nice and refreshing! We were blessed with this amazing view, and right after i took this shot, it started to fog up. 5 mins after we got back in the jeep, we could no longer see Merapi.

30.

On the descent, the jeep driver stopped to let us have a look at this. The locals call it Batu Alien, or alien rock, because they claimed that it looks like one. They were trying to point out the features to us, but we couldn't really see it. They then asked us to take a photo, and we will be able to spot it. True enough, the alien features started popping out.

31.

Back at the town, we found these amazing honey! These are the ones they farm themselves, but they also have the more expensive jungle honey. In SG, i doubt we'll ever gonna get true 100% pure honey. Awesome!

 

[TANHK]

Very informative and nice photos.
Thanks for sharing

 

[jeezuinn]

Very informative and nice photos.
Thanks for sharing

Thanks for the encouragement! My pleasure to share my experience, and hope they may be of use to others who wanna go in future

 

[jeezuinn]

Pasar Burung(Bird Market)

This market was originally a bird market, but now its just a name. They have lots of different animals here, like... everything.

32. Owls

33. More owls

34.

I was shocked when i saw these multi-coloured chicks. I have no idea how it is done, but couldn't help but feel that its quite cruel.

35. Lovebirds

 

[jeezuinn]

36.

This handsome rooster seemed to be the prized possession of 1 of the shop owners. He has his own stand in the open, as compared to others in cages.

37.

Lizards were a common sight too

38.

There were a lot of puppies on sale too

39.

Honestly did not expect to see a turkey. This guy was really HUGE!