I have always wanted to go to Jogjakarta, a classic city situated in the island of Java, Indonesia. Unfortunately, everything is just about me and my excitement. None of my friends were that interested to begin with. It's just really hard to find a friend (and time) to travel these days, especially at this age where everyone is getting really busy with everything.
But then, a friend of mine Shiukuri had a plan to go to Jogjakarta as well. He wanted to meet his friends there and I was like "Can I come along?" So, we bought the tickets and planned the itinerary exactly a month before the departure date. Be prepared because I cramped my five days of everything inside this post!
Day 1
The flight ticket costed about RM300 return, some said it should be cheaper but since I bought it only one month earlier (not six months!), I believe it was reasonable. It took about 2 hours flying from Kuala Lumpur to Jogjakarta.
Finally, we arrived at the Adisutjipto International Airport. First thing first, we searched for the local telco because Internet is damn important since we have to contact our Airbnb host here via Whatsapp.
My accomodation in Jogjakarta was a bless. Who would have thought a house that seemed so humble from the outside could offer you these...
I'm not going to lie, it was so spacious. The host, Pak Sony only accepted 1-2 guest per stay. Privacy at its best!
This was the view from our room. Since there were no other guest, the swimming pool was ours for four days.
This is inside the room. Beautiful, isn't it? It's all Airbnb! It is situated in Maguwohorjo, a place situated about 15 minutes from the town.
Our first destination, Candi Prambanan! As a huge fan of ancient ruins, I couldn't get any more excited when I saw these...
For those who do not know, Candi Prambanan is a Hindu temple complex featuring structures with stone spires and sculptures.
Basically, the temple is dedicated to Trimurti which is the expression of God as a the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer.
There were detail sculpturings on the walls that tell you a lot of stories. Too bad, I did not understand a single shit!
Then, we went straight to the famous Malioboro town to meet Shiukuri's friend, a local guy named Tommy. Since we were starving and we were craving for the local cuisine, Tommy took us to a restaurant that sells Gudeg, a traditional Jogjakarta food.
Gudeg is really a hit here. Basically, it is rice eaten with young unripen jackfruit (nangka muda) that has been boiled for several hours with palm sugar and coconut milk. You also can choose additional sides from chicken, duck egg, cow's skin, tempe and sambal.
(Psstt.., it's really sweet. Might be too sweet for some people)
Day 2
We went straight to the majestic and magical Candi Borobudur.
Unlike yesterday's Candi Prambanan which is a Hindu temple, Candi Borobudur is actually a Mahayana Buddhist temple.
It is regarded as the biggest Buddhist temple and one of the greatest monuments in the world.
The weather was a little bit cloudy on the day. If you are lucky enough, you could witness the magnificent Mount Merapi from the top of the temple.
The area is well-protected and preserved. I heard it is more beautiful if you managed to catch sunrise or sunset here.
It's afternoon and we were done with exploring the temple already. We took a local mini bus, an old-fashioned bus to go back to the town to meet Tommy there.
Tommy and his friend, Okka fetched us up in a bus station and took us to eat Soto.
Just like Gudeg, Soto is like Elvis here. We have a boat noodle-style soto in a stall just nearby the paddy field. It was raining heavily, I ate the hot soto facing up to the green scenery of paddy field. I seriously couldn't ask for more!
Next, they took us to the famous House of Raminten. I have never heard of it but seriously you have to sit your ass in the waiting area before you got served. Actually, the House of Raminten is a restaurant opened up by a transgender icon of the city. You can see her face everywhere at the restaurant.
Funny thing about this restaurant is everything in the menu sounds a little bit kinky. It will make you giggling out of sudden.
I ordered Susu Perawan Tancap, susu is milk, perawan is a virgin lady and tancap is to jab or stab. It is a fresh milk (Lord knows I hope it's not a breast milk), with ginger and cinnamon powder.
I wanted to have it because it sounds and looks funny. See, even the cup is a boob-shaped with a nipple. Kau rasa? It tasted so good I finished all. Then, they told me normally the drink is for people who want to have a very good sex. Gulp. I never looked at milk or anything white the same again after that night.
Day 3.
The initial plan for the day was going for tubing in a cave called Goa Pindul and gondola riding in Pantai Timang. However, it was raining heavily and we have to postpone it.
We were heading south for 2-3 hours hoping the rain will stop (it's a very long journey) until we arrived at the Pantai GunungKidul.
It was raining heavily! The wave was so fierce, like a single-storey tall, the wind was blowing like a mamak hi-tech fan, the clouds were darker than my future, the alarm was triggered to force people get way from the beach.
However, Tommy took off his shirt and ran to the water. I was like, damn this boy is a wild beast! Shiukuri and Okka followed him. I was hesitated to get into the water because I don't want to die. For 10-15 minutes, I just watched them from a mile away. Then I thought to myself, "Stop being a pussy for once, you'll never come back here again". I ran to sea and took my first swim in the sea under the mad Jogja weather!
We were starving. We were heading to a restaurant, I can't remember the name, that sells 27 different types of local sambals.
I ordered this Nasi and fried eels. Unlike those freshwater and saltwater eels or unagi that you have always had in sushi restaurant in Malaysia, these eels were so tiny like snake babies. Dia takde potong-potong, dia goreng berekor-ekor terus. Jadi, you makan satu keluarga dia terus hahaha.
After we had dinner, we had some roasted corn and local tea at the mountain-top stall in Bukit Bintang. The view is breath-taking where you could see the entire city from.
Day 4
I've had a very good night there! We had breakfast served by the host. Since it's Monday and both Tommy and Okka were working, we took Go-Jek to get to Puncak Becici.
It's one of the highest point of the city. For those who suffers from fear of height, I'm not recommending this to you. You climbed up the ladder to get into the top of the tree. From there, you can enjoy this view.
It's better to be careful sebab pokok tu memang tinggi kalau jatuh mesti mati. Kalau tak mati, patah kaki. Climb at your own risk because insurance is not provided.
Heading down, we stopped by at the Hutan Pokok Pinus. The place looks like the typical set for Indonesian band to shoot for their music videos.
We went to the famous Malioboro to meet Tommy for the last time. He took us to experience the city's street food.
Day 5
Woke up as early as 4am. Actually it is a bit late because we were supposed to go to the famous Gunung Merapi.
The legendary Gunung Merapi is an active volcano which is last erupted in 2006 killing a lot of civilians.
To get there, you have to go by jeep. There is no other way other than book yourself a jeep tour. It is a bit expensive but for an experience visiting an active volcano, why not?
The road to get up there is so rocky. It's like someone is shaking your body repeatedly for 30-40 minutes. Don't take any meal before you go up or you will be ended up vomiting.
Luckily we arrived before the sunrise! Look at those silhoutte-shaped clouds!
I have had a blast traveling to Jogjakarta. The geographical area of Jogjakarta enables you to experience an unforgettable journey in the special region of Indonesia. Aside from its famous historical places, you can visit its town, cave, beach, mount, waterfall and volcano. The place literally offers you everything. Ancient ruins, busy city, friendly folks, diverse cultures, good smells and weird foods, haven't I tell you it offers literally everything?
