Yogyakarta
(Jogja)
After I
recovered from the night bus ride I decided to take a cab down town and stroll along
Malioboro which is the main street in Jogja. I checked the Batik shops and I
wandered around the surrounding quarters. Malioboro means an endless one way
street which is impressive indeed. Hundreds of stores selling Batik, Souvenirs
and Junk are front lined by Street Food Stalls and thousands of Becaks (cycle rickshaws)
drivers. Be sure to find a “tour guide” at every corner
I went back
to the beginning of Malioboro and went down “Gang 2” opposite of the central
train station. Since it was lunch time I decided to try one of the restaurants
recommended by Lonely Planet (Bedhot) which is really good. Since I passed
dozens of shops renting scooters near the train station I considered to hire
one and become more independent. Driving a scooter means to become part of the
madness
Right
opposite of Bedhot in Gang 2 you find Gecko Tours, I kind guy rents out
scooters for 60,000 Rupiah a day. Since I planned to stay In Jogja for 2 days I
rented it for 48 hours. It seems to be usual that they do not offer any insurance
which makes you pretty much liable for any damages caused by you to the vehicle
and others, so consider wisely. Though I recently (on Koh Samui) decided not to
take the risk I did this time. You need to have some basic trust in the guy
renting the scooter and I think the owner of Gecko’s is trustworthy. I used the
rest of the day to check my orientation sense guided by a poor map I received
in the hotel lobby. Though central Jogja’s roads are more or less designed as a
chess board it turned out to be quite hard to hit the right road and estimate
distances correctly.
On day two in Jogja
I finally could escape the downtown madness of downtown Yogyakarta. Since I was
so impressed by the magnificent view to Gerung Merapi on my arrival I decided
to go to the same place where I saw it first and take some pictures. Locals
told me that the cone is at this time anyway only visible at sunrise and
covered by clouds for the rest of the day. Believe it or not, getting so close
to an active and volatile volcano is a strange experience indeed. I stood up at
four in the morning and took the main road to Mungkid which offers some views
to the mountain at Sleman. There is an iron bridge which offers a free view to
the silhouette at sun rise. After I shot some pictures I decided to take one of
the side streets to get even nearer, which turned out to be impossible from
that direction. Literally from all spots I passed it was either covered by
trees or buildings.
Sights:
Borobodur:
I love to
visit World Heritage sites; I would almost say I collect them. There is no
journey without an intensive check of the UNESCO website. Beside of the history
of the place which is omnipresent the surrounding area is amazing. The site is
located about 40km north-west of Yogyakarta, about an hour to drive with a
scooter. Watch out for the “Borobudur” sign in Mungkid and follow the (poor)
signage. Don’t be afraid to ask the locals in case you get lost, as mentioned
before they are very helpful. Though I
arrived very early (about 07:00 AM) it was already too late to capture pictures
with Gunung Merapi in the background. All that was left to see was the tip of
the cone. The rest of the surrounding area is covered in a mysterious mist
which gives the place a magical aura.
Entrance
Fee – 230,000 Rupiah / Parking (Scooter) – 3,000 Rupiah
From
Borobodur I went via Salaman to Purowejo and further to the coast line near
Temon. I passed beautiful rice pads and plantations and picturesque scenes of
Indonesia’s daily life away from the downtown madness. Endless meadows, wild
rivers and almost remote villages made my day. The coastline itself was disappointing.
Giant breakers made it impossible to swim; furthermore the beach was covered by
some sort of black ashes.
Prambanan:
Prambanan,
the Hindu counterpart to Borobodur covered by the jungle for ages and partly
reassembled in the 20th century also belongs to the Unesco World
Heritage list. The main buildings of Candi Shiva Mahadeva are almost fully
restored. Most impressive is the fact that the giant structure is built without
the use of mortar in between the blocks. The surrounding area looks a bit like
a giant 3D puzzle waiting to be finished. The area is less flooded by annoying
merchants and the facilities are in top condition. If you do not have time to
visit Borobodur, you should definitely go to Prambanan. It is conveniently
located only 12km north-east of Yogyakarta and accessible by public transport.
By scooter it takes about half an hour, just follow the main road to Solo.
Entrance
Fee – 207,000 Rupiah / Parking (Scooter) – 3,000 Rupiah
Gunung
Merapi – Kaliurang View Point:
Well, I
think volcanoes do not like me that much. After Fuji San (who was shrouded in
clouds when I visited Lake Ashii), Sakurajima erupted when we already left the
island and Tangkuban Prahu was also covered my rain clouds a couple of days
ago. Today I went to the view point just 4.5km south of the summit of Gunung
Merapi and guess what, you could see nothing.
But putting
the jokes aside, it is a very strange feeling being so close to a volcano which
is blamed for the death of thousands and which is assumedly responsible for the
abandoning of this region by a complete advanced culture about thousand years
ago. With a queasy feeling I kept the Evacuation Route sign in a corner of the
eye. Basically
it must be a spectacular site to visit in dry season or in very early morning
hours. The lava run (dried pathway of lava streams) is not that
Entrance
Fee – 3,000 Rupiah / Parking (Scooter) – 2,000 Rupiah
Not an
attraction by name but for me the best thing about the scooter trip is the independence
from tour guides and fixed time tables. Once you enter the traffic you quite
fast get used to it. You are more or less only limited by traffic lights and
your own hesitations. All other rules more or less do not apply.
Since I found out that it is not possible to book and pay a Lion Air Domestic flight online within 48h before departure (they do not accept credit cards in that time frame) I went to the ticket counter at the airport. It was very easy and convenient, I could buy a ticket for the same night (to Bali) and pay cash (487,900 Rupiah, about 30€ which means 12€ less than online).
Next stop.... Bali!
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