Three Days in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

This series of ten posts comes from a three week trip to Indonesia. I traveled to the islands of Java, Bali and Lombok with G-adventures. Along the way, I saw incredible cultural sites, enjoyed delicious foods, met great people, and took in beautiful views. Here’s the story…

Eight Hours on a Train

We boarded the train in Bandung for an eight hour trip to Yogyakarta. The train station was easy with a quick security check and only one or two trains departing. Our whole group grabbed seats in the same car.

The train had rotating seats. I always prefer to face forward to avoid motion sickness. Other groups turned them around so four seats faced the center. We needed to bundle up for the journey since the AC was turned way up during the ride. I saw a few travelers digging more layers out of their rucksacks and using beach towels as blankets.

The views from the train were beautiful! I certainly took at least 200 pictures and drained the battery out on my camera. The best pictures came from the vestibules where the glass didn’t leave a glare. I just couldn’t get enough of the bright green rice fields, tall palm trees and blue skies.

Many of the rice fields were built into the sides of the hills. Farmers create terraces to facilitate irrigation and flooding the fields. When they plow the field for the new seedlings, they add another layer of mud to reinforce the walls.

The rice paddies surrounded small villages. Small brick and concrete homes were sprinkled around the fields and clustered together. Women hung laundry to dry on lines between trees and brightly painted homes and kids flew colorful kites. As we passed each village, we spotted the rounded tiled or shiney metal domes on the mosques.

By late afternoon, the train pulled into the Yogyakarta station. It was busy for the holiday but traffic still moved with its swerving and controlled calmness.

About Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta has a long history as an independent kingdom. From our CEO, Bebez, we learned that Yogyakarta is also known for being one of the friendliest areas of Indonesia with a great deal of tourism in the area.

Less than half a million people live in Yogyakarta but the traffic is still nonstop. The city is home to many universities, contributing to the cultural development of the city. As in the rest of Java, the people of Yogyakarta mostly practice Islam. From the balcony of the hotel, we counted at least 25 mosques, taking in the sunset serenade of the Call to Prayer.

Where We Stayed

In Yogyakarta, we spent three nights at the KJ Hotel. Our room on the 5th floor had a great view overlooking Yogyakarta. There wasn’t actually a 4th floor at our hotel, or in many buildings in Indonesia, due to the Chinese superstitions regarding the number four. But the view was still excellent at sunset overlooking the city.

Just a few blocks from our hotel, we walked to a popular restaurant area. I enjoyed the walk, taking in the smells of the street food and cautiously crossing the street. We went to a restaurant called the “Playground” for dinner. The place had a lively atmosphere with fun seating; like swings and low set tables. I had a delicious plate of Javanese fried noodles with curry sauce, chicken and veggies. Yumm.

Borobudur Temple – Largest Buddhist Temple

A two hour drive from Yogyakarta, we visited the largest Buddhist temple in the world, the Borobudur Temple, built in the 9th century during the Sailendra Dynasty. The site declined in importance in the 14th century when Java mostly converted to Islam.

Interested in the site reignited in 1814 when a British ruler learned about an abandoned temple deep in the jungle from local inhabitants and sent a crew find it and begin to restore it. Restoration and conservation projects have been carried out since to improve the drainage, replace broken or looted pieces and remove vegetation. Now Borobudur Temple is an important UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The structure suffered damage in 1985 when eleven bombs were detonated in the stupas on the top, destroying nine of them. The guide explained that “several local terrorists” were imprisoned in the 90s over the incident. Two volcano eruptions also caused damage. The structure temporarily closed for cleaning.

Our local guide, Pak Tris, led us around the temple. He explained that the site no longer holds religious ceremonies so there’s no need to cover. It’s more of a momenment now. After walking around the outside, he took us up the three levels that represent the three realms in Buddhist beliefs. It’s crazy to think this whole structure was built without mortar. Each stone in the structure is a separate piece and fits together like a giant puzzle.

The first level represents the world of desire or our normal living world, called kara-dhatu. This area contains many reliefs depicting the history and important beliefs of Buddhism. In all of Borobudur there are more than 2,600 reliefs.

The middle level, rupa-dhatu, symbolizes the world of forms. This realm focuses on meditation, awareness and improvement. This level contains more reliefs and more than 400 Buddha statues sit in the recesses in the walls.

The highest level represents nirvana, having no desires in the realm of formlessness and is known as arupa-dhatu. This simply designed level contains 72 large stupas with life size Buddha statues inside. From the top, we could see above the green jungle in all directions.

Throughout the beautiful monument our guide, Pak Tris, pointed out the repeating symbols. He explained that Buddha’s life story, illustrated in the reliefs, demonstrates karma and love for both humans and animals. The steep steps demonstrate suffering and humility. And the lotus flower is a symbol of purity.

Local Street Food in Yogyakarta

I love to try street food whenever I travel. What better way to connect with the local food and culture? To avoid any tummy issues, I followed our guide’s lead.

A Bit of Everything Lunch

For lunch one day, several of the more adventurous eaters followed Bebez to a hole in the wall down the block. Here the food was already prepared and displayed behind a pane of glass.

I was most excited to try gudeg, young jackfruit. This Yogyakarta speciality is made by steaming the fruit with sauces and spices and then squeezing and drying it out. It had a sweet taste but balanced well with the rest of the plate.

The place also served krecek, which are thick  pieces of cow skin stewed in a spicy red sauce with hard boiled eggs cooked in soy sauce. The plate came complete with rice, chicken and tofu as well.

The lady cooking provided bowls of water to rinse your hands before eating. Being new, I just ate with a fork but experts mixed it up and ate with their hands. The whole meal cost 45,000 rupiah, or about $3.

“Lamb Soup”

Bebez spent two days talking about his favorite place for lamb soup. Several others in the group and myself set off and followed Bebez to his spot but everyone else turned around when they saw we were going for street food with valid concerns about potential tummy issues.

As it turns out, this popular dish got lost in translation. The stew, tengkleng in Indonesian, is actually made with goat meat, both on and off the bone.

Many locals lined up in front of the tent for their bowl of tengkleng. First, we picked our pieces of meat. Bebez choose legs and brain while I choose the most plain piece I saw. Then, we chose how many chilis we wanted and the server grinds them in our bowls. Finally, he chopped the meat and poured over broth.

So then, we found a seat to eat our stew. There were a few busy wooden tables but we kicked off our shoes and sat on a big mat on the ground. Personally, the meat was too chewy for my taste, although the broth over rice was delicious.

Village Biking Trip

We spent the afternoon on bikes, starting out in the city center of Yogyakarta and then pedaling through the nearby villages. The first stretch on the main road had me very nervous. Our guide told us to just relax, don’t panic and keep looking forward. I shouldn’t have been surprised that this was no problem. With the controlled chaos on the Indoneisan roads, the motorbikes and larger vehicles just curved around us and we were on smaller streets in no time.

Soon we turned pedaling down a quiet street and entered a seemingly endless labyrinth of narrow streets connecting the villages. Houses were packed together with patios out front. Some had workshops or small store fronts. Then, the sides of the path were clear of buildings and there would be open fields. The adjoining fields grew crops of soy, corn but mostly rice.

We heard the Call to Prayer in the afternoon. Many kids were gigglings and playing in the street. Adults waved “Halo” and energetic children reached out for high fives. We peddled through the villages of Tanjung, Mredo, Widoro and Tembi. As we biked along, the yards had different fruit trees; huge spikey jackfruit, colorful mangos and papayas.

Tofu Factory

We stopped at a small tofu factory. The smokey two room warehouse was filled with buckets of soaking soybeans. One of men working was deep frying squares of tofu while another squeezed the liquid off of fresh tofu. Both were in constant motion around the factory while lit cigarettes dangling out of their mouths.

Batik Art Studio

One of our last stops was a batik art studio. This technique is one of Indonesia’s most adored cultural traditions with centuries of history, accomplishment and respect. In the initial step, artists apply wax to areas of the cloth. When dye is added to make the cloth darker, those areas are untouched. This process may happen once or repeated to include more colors. In the final step, the artist boils the cloth to remove the wax.

Purawisata Ramayana Ballet

One night I attended a traditional Hindi ballet with two others in the group. We hopped into a rickshaw and arrived early at the theater. We got a quick tour backstage before the show. The female dancers were all preparing in one room. The men put on their costumes and applied their makeup on the back patio. One small boy stood on a chair while an older one wrapped him into his ensemble.

The Hindi show told the story of King Rama and his wife Sita. We had a synopsis printed out and could almost follow the story with the live music and dancing. I enjoyed the expressive dancing and the humor between the characters. The dancers performed small stunts with jumps off the roof and with fire. The costumes were beautiful with bright colors, jangles, wraps and headdresses. The show was great, even though I was exhausted from a whole day touring around Yogyakarta.

City Tour by Rickshaw

We made the most of our time in Yogyakarta by taking a tour of the city in a rickshaw. Ellie and I had the best time singing karaoke with a golden, sparkly speaker and microphone while getting zipped through the traffic. The view from a rickshaw was glorious, once I got used to being exposed front and center to the busy streets.

Batik Factory

On this tour we visited a batik factory. Compared to yesterday’s batik place, this was more of a factory than a studio. More people were involved. The first two sketched the design in pencil. The next man applied the first layer of wax with a stencil and many ladies seated in the center carefully redrew lines with a wax dripper. Dozens of sheets hung in the back while they dried out between the dyes. In the gallery, I bought a small piece of batik art to bring home.

Twin Banyan Trees

There’s a legend about a wish being granted if you can walk across the field blindfolded and walk through the gap between the two trees. It seems easy but it isn’t. Two people in our group that tried, couldn’t. Nor could the giggling group near us at the trees.

Sultan’s Palace

The Sultan’s Palace is the home the tenth sultan of the region. He and his family live in the palace. Some in our group caught a view of a princess walking through the courtyard with an assistant holding her umbrella.

The complex has seven gardens of the seven steps in their beliefs. There is a large pavillion for ceremonies where guests sit on the floor around lowered tables. The simple museums contained examples of the Sanskrit writing, some old table decor, important chairs, portraits of past sultans and batiks textiles for special ceremonies.

Many school groups were also visiting the Sultan’s Palace while we were there. Their teachers had clearly instructed them to practice English with tourists. The kids had quick interview questions prepared; asking us where we were from and what have we eaten in Yogyakarta. Next, they all wanted a picture, so we answered their questions and took a picture with them in return.

Water Castle

The Water Castle was built by the first sultan in 1758. He was rumored to have 78 children with all his wives and concubines. The grounds included a small castle, garden and meditation area. An elegantly carved gate opened into the bath area with a few pools for the Sultan to relax.

Local Market

Our last stretch on the tour took us through a local market. Rows of stands sold fruits, veggies and meats. At the last stall Ellie and I picked out a few small treats to try; a sweet custard treat, a pastry with a spiced potato filling and a savory-sesame covered roll with a nutty sweetness inside.

Prambanan Hindu Temple

We visited the Prambanan Hindu Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in time to check out the site and then enjoy the sunset. The temple was built by the Sañjaya kings in the 8th and 9th century. It was mostly abandoned and subsequently destroyed by an earthquake. Later, when the Dutch colonizers realized the site existed, they started some reconstruction efforts. Originally there were 240 towers. In the last hundred years, 22 towers have been rebuilt.

Our guide, Supri, was the most animated and expressive docent around. Supri took us on an energetic ride through the history as he pranced from one relief to the next. He told local legends about a princess and a poor builder. There was some spiritual intervention, some trickery and then they all turned to stone. His excitement for the history of the site and the Hindu stories was contagious.

The three largest towers at Prambanan were built for the three Gods; Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Shiva, the destroyer (or transformer). Each has a smaller tower directly in front of their tower for their sidekick or transportation. These towers are for Hamsa, a swan for Brahma; Garuda, a bird or kite for Vishnu; and Nandi, the bull or cow for Shiva.

All of these towers were originally built without cement or glue. The pieces were shaped with interlocking sections like puzzle pieces. Now, the reconstruction use more modern techniques.

Before leaving the temple, we caught the sunset. Even though it wasn’t a particularly colorful evening, the towers created beautiful silhouettes across the landscape.

Birthday Celebrations in Yogyakarta

I enjoyed celebrating my birthday on our last day in Yogyakarta. I woke up with a birthday text message in Spanish, English and Indonesian from our leader and warm words throughout the day. Later that night we had a delicious dinner at Easy Garden with a glass a wine, a rarity in this mostly Muslim region. I had yummy plate of chicken satay with peanut sauce, rice and veggies. As a final surprise, my group sang “Happy Birthday” and we shared a heavenly chocolate cake, which we finished on the train the next day on our way to Malang.