Travel Diary: The Unforgettable Jogjakarta

It's almost the end of the year, and I decided one more trip wouldn't hurt. Going abroad wasn't an option - I had a tight budget to follow. That's why a short trip in the country, namely around Jogjakarta, was my decision. With 2 of my friends, we started our 4 days- 3 nights trip on September 17, 2015. 

Day 1 - Arriving in Jogjakarta

We rode a train to Jogja. It was a 6-hour trip, and was already exhausting in its own way. Upon arriving at the station, we walked all the way to the hotel, which luckily was near and only 10-mins away. It was midday when we arrived. The sun was straight above our head, we were burning to the core. But we survived the heat, and rested for a while in our comfy hotel room. 

We stayed in a non-star hotel in Jl. Mataram, which was only 5 mins walking distance to the ever-so-popular Malioboro, the heart of Jogja's tourist center. This place was our go to place whenever we felt like eating or finding souvenirs. 

After taking a short rest, we walked to Malioboro. Fort Vrederburg Museum was our first destination. But unluckily for us, we arrived a little too late, the place was closed for the day. We only managed to take some pics outside the museum, and continued our journey to Tamansari, further away from where we were. 

None of us had been to Tamansari, nor did we know the exact place. We refused million offers from becak drivers to take us there, since we felt very adventurous and were full of energy; we wanted to walk. This ambition led us to destruction, somehow. We didn't arrive in Tamansari, but somewhere around the area, or as I might say, we were in the right place but not in the right entrance. Long story short, we decided to go back feeling slightly disappointed. It's almost dinner time. We were hungry and we wanted to eat. The walk back to Malioboro was painful - my legs almost gave up halfway. Excruciating 20 mins walk later, we finally found ourselves back in Malioboro, and had yummy gudeg for dinner. 

-End of day 1: leg cramps. happy nonetheless.

Day 2 - Borobudur Temple

Long before the journey, I had stated that the only place I truly wanted to see in Jogja was Borobudur. As an Indonesian, I was so ashamed with the fact that I had never been there, whereas all my expat friends have seen it at least once. I didn't care about other places, but it was Borobudur I must visit. So that's our main destination for the second day. We knew going there early in the morning wasn't a good idea. Thus we walked (again) to Keraton (palace) to check out the place in the morning. It was okay, nothing noteworthy. 

After a failure to find the correct entrance to Tamansari the previous day, we accepted the offer from a becak driver to take us there, and shortly after we arrived in the right place. We were ripped off, of course, having to pay more than what we had agreed on, but we let it go. At least we didn't have to walk ourselves to death. The 'real' Tamansari was beautiful. The local guide said it was a resting place for the sultans, a villa, really, where all his concubines and daughters had a holiday. We listened to a lot of interesting history behind each room, and took tons of instagrammable pictures. 

Tamansari - A romantic place to be (?)

It was almost 1 pm, we had to be on our way to Borobudur. We needed to take the right TransJogja bus to Jombor, and we must find a bus station to do that. The nearest station, of course, was in Malioboro. Ah, another walking journey, and we easily got lost. Another becak driver came to our rescue, taking us back to Keraton, where we continued our journey on foot to the station in Malioboro. My sunscreen had worn out by then; we were sunburnt, and we didn't give a damn (or maybe we did, a little). At least we got to Jombor safely, and from there took a non-AC bus to Borobudur. It was almost 3 pm when we got there. Perfect time to see the magnificent temple, right? Or so we wished. We were on the top of Borobudur, trying to savour the moment, indulged in the beautiful scenery and complex architecture, when all of a sudden it started to rain.The trip was cut short but on a birghter note, now I can proudly say I've been to Borobudur, and I loved it.

It was a dream come true. Yes, my dream was quite shallow.

-End of day 2: getting lost was never a pleasant feeling, but you learned something from it, like, don't forget to bring sunscreen everywhere in case you have to walk hundred thousands steps a day, or having a hat and sunglasses with you can save you at your worst bad hair day. 

Day 3 - Pine forest, Parangtritis, Ratu Boko

On this day, we didn't have to walk everywhere to reach our destination. It was a first. We rented a car for the day, along with the driver, and could finally give our legs a rest they badly deserved. We went to Imogiri, where there's a famous pine forest, definitely a favorite spot for photographers to take pre-wedding pictures. The road there was long and winding, it was scary eventhough I wasn't behind the steering wheel and was thankful I didn't have to. Our adventure continued on to the nearby place, taman buah Mangunan, a so-called fruit park with no fruits what so ever. Despite the lack of actual fruits and trees, we got to see a breath-taking view, mountains and villages with a river in the middle of them all, I felt like I was a part of a painting. It seemed like a painting, and it was gorgeous. I snapped few decent pictures, took several selfies together, and mainly enjoying the view while I could, breathing the fresh air I couldn't get in Surabaya.

Leaving the mountain behind, we headed to a lower place, Parangtritis, not to swim in the beach, but to visit the dunes, which I hadn't known existed prior to that day. There was nothing much to see, really, but sands, just like the name, but it was a different view anyway. After the dunes we went down the beach, initially expected to be able to ride an ATV, but again, mother nature decided to rain on our parade, like, literally.

sand dunes! 

may be the best candid moment someone took of me

It was only 3pm when we left Parangtritis. We had plenty of time left before we had to go back. Thus, we decided to go to Ratu Boko, another temple near Prambanan. Ah, temples never cease to amaze me. No matter how small they are, they always have thousand stories behind them - the history freak inside of me cheered gleefully at the sight of Ratu Boko. We stayed until the place was closed. As the sun set and the sky turned orange, we too, must leave.

Before going back to the hotel, we had a quick dinner in Nanamia Pizzeria, a place personally recommended by a colleague. They serve great stone-grilled pizzas with affordable price. We went home feeling content and pleased. 

-End of day 3: A car trip is definitely better than a foot trip (what?), but each has its own charm. No more legs cramps, but period kicked in. Duh. 

Day 4 - Saying Goodbye to Jogja

This was our last day. Our train was scheduled to leave at 4.30 pm. We had half a day to spend. After we surrounded ourselves in cultures and histories for the last few days, we went back to our root as a city person and moved our butts to the biggest shopping mall in Jogja, Ambarrukmo Plaza. We took Transjogja bus to get there, which was very cheap and surprisingly pleasant. After a few bus changes, we arrived. I did a quick shopping for clothes and batik, had brunch together, bought some bread and drink for the long journey home, and went back to the hotel to pick our luggage. 

We walked for the last time in Jogja to the station, and finally left the city, back to Surabaya. 

-End of day 4: I wish we had more time to see more of Jogja.

Did I enjoy Jogja? To say I enjoy it will be an understatement. I'm very willing to come back, that's for sure. Jogja has a lot to offer and I'm charmed by it. Even until now, I can't believe I could visit so many places in just 3 days, mainly on foot, and survived. Though the weather wasn't on our side the whole time, I could say my days were well-spent. Jogja really is a special place to be. I recharged my energy, fuelled my positivity bar, and now I'm ready to kick ass on Tuesday, hopefully. *fingercrossed

Lastly, lemme give you another picture of me. Taken by a talented photographer friend. Thanks, mate! ;)