Yogjakarta Pt 2 - Amazing Borobudur

1 December 2014

On 1 December 2014, we visited the world famous Buddhist monument, Borobudur.  This was part of our one-day itinerary which also included visit to Mount Merapi and Prambanan Temple.  I have done a separate post for each of these places. 

One of many stupas

Signage

Earlier on, the day before to be exact, after checking rates for hiring of car and driver at our hotel, we decided to opt for the contact person recommended by our shuttle van driver.  The hotel staff was helpful enough to call the person and act as our negotiator.  In the end, we settled for Rp350,000 for a 10- hour tour.  The hotel has its own drivers but the rate quoted by the hotel was higher at Rp450,000.

 Borobudur monument lay-out map

Buddha seated atop the hill

The driver picked us up at our hotel at 8am.  We had our breakfast at the hotel before going on that long drive to Borobudur.  Borobudur temple is located in Magelang some 42km from Yogja city.  It took us an hour to reach the site. 

The boys at the stone carvings that depicts Buddha's life story 

We then proceeded to the International Counter to purchase the entrance tickets. We bought the combo package for Borobudur + Prambanan for Rp 1,080,000.  A million rupiah! which is about MYR300 for 2 adults and 2 children.  It's half-rate for children.  You need to show your passports when buying the tickets.

The entrance fee for international visitors, only for Borobudur as at 1st Dec 2014

Stone sculptures

Borobudur was built 300 years before Cambodia's Angkor Wat, between AD 750 to 842 by the Sailendra dynasty.  The temple complex was built on several levels around a hill like a pyramid. 

The many stupas

An explanation on one of the reliefs in Bahasa Indonesia

While the lower levels tell us stories on the life of Buddha sculpted on the stones,  the upper levels contain the stupa.  Each level represent the progression of the soul, as you ascend, you are supposed to leave behind layers of ego, desire and materialistic thoughts.  Well this was what our guide told us - guide fee Rp100000 (MYR28).

Think we found a secret underground passage

Stairways leading up to the stupas

How would I describe Borobudur?  Simply amazing, this is must see for all. 

TIPS:

1) Try to go in the morning - it is cooler and you can avoid the afternoon sun

2) Go for the combo package (Borobudur & Prambanan) as it is cost-saving.  Ticker per person for an adult is about MYR75-MYR80.  It has been increasing every year.

3) The guide service will only be useful if you come prepared with many questions

4) Expect to spend at least half a day here - keep the other half for Prambanan.  Rushing through in 2-3 hours will not do the place justice.

5) The package includes visit to the museum.

6) Be prepared to do lots of stair-climbing.  Those with weak knees may find the climb difficult but there are railings to hold on. 

Yogjakarta Pt 1 - Malioboro Street

On 30 Nov 2014, we reached Yogjakarta in Central Java at about 10.00 am after an overnight bus journey from Bali.  The bus dropped us at its company office  located in a shoplot in town.  As soon as we got off the bus, many passengers rushed to the toilet at the office including us as the last toilet stop was the previous night, 10.00 pm.  Though there was a toilet inside the bus, I never once saw anyone actually using it.  Anyway getting off the bus was a relief.

Busy Malioboro Street - vehicles, horse carts, trishaws, bikes etc

Horse cart on street - a tourist attraction

While waiting for the shuttle pick up to our hotel, we had coffee at a food stall nearby.  We instantly noted the difference in prices between Yogja and Bali.  If we had had that same coffee in Bali, it would have been double or triple the price.  Most of the food items were priced cheaper.  Soon we were hurdled into a shuttle van together with our bags and headed straight to our hotel.  While chatting with the van driver, we got a contact for van for hire. The van driver called his contact via his mobile and got us a quote for a one day tour to Borobudur and Prambanan.  We kept the contact number but did not commit to the tour just yet.

Yogja-styled bus stop - covered room and elevated for easy boarding 

Malioboro's landmark - the railway track that runs across the town

We reached our hotel, located just 15 minutes walk away from the famous Malioboro Street. We could not check in as we were early but the hotel staff allowed us to store our bags in their office.  This suited us fine and so, we went for a walk in town to look for food. 

The trishaw guys - happy that we gave them some business

Fried tofu with spicy sambal - one of the items we had during our Yogja stay

Food was plenty but I couldn't risk the kids eating street food at open food stalls along the walkway, at least not right away.  So while N had his food at a street food stall, the kids and I headed straight to McDonalds in Malioboro Street. The McD outlet was located in a shopping mall, can't remember the name of the mall.

The 'lesehan' restaurant that we patronised 

Dining Yogja style

Malioboro Street reminded me of Chow Kit Road in KL.  Petty traders, food stalls, budget hotels, street bazaars, busy streets etc.  There was plenty of food to suit our budget.  We were amazed at the night scene in Malioboro Street as the horse carts, trishaw rides and 'lesehan' dining become more visible and alive.  Lesehan is a unique way of dining where locals sit on matted floor with short legged-tables in the middle.  We tried it and it was not too bad. 

Night scene - Malioboro

We tried Yogja's famous nasi gudeg, rice served with chicken, lamb and mashed jackfruit. While eating, we were entertained by street singers including a ladybog with the most mesmerising voice.  People can donate money to these singers if they want to.

Nasi gudeg - the orange stuff is mashed jackfruit

Nasi lemak Yogja-style - quail eggs in sambal morning breakfast at the hotel

Yogja is the place to be if you want to buy shorts, t-shirts, souvenirs, sarong, etc as prices can be bargained.  Definitely cheaper than KL.  On our last night in Yogja, we took the horse cart ride.

Bali Pt 7 - Bali to Yogja by Bus

From Bali to Yogja by Bus

On 29th Nov 2014, we took the overnight bus from Bali's Ubung Bus Terminal in Denpasar to Yogjakarta, Central Java. It was a 19 hours journey that began at 3.00pm in Denpasar and ended at 10.00am in Yogja, Java the next morning.

To give a background, we had actually booked the bus tickets in advance (3 days earlier) in Kuta town. We asked our driver if he could take us to the ticket counter of the bus company we had in mind. Our driver stopped us at an agent office of the bus company, and so we did the booking and paid in full. We also got to select our seats. The bus fare included the following :-

(1) bus tickets

(2) two meals
(3) one blanket and pillow each

(4) ferry crossing

(5) shuttle service from Yogja town to our hotel

The bus we travelled in was an air-conditioned Executive Class coach with ample leg space. To be exact there were 28 seats in total, two drivers, one toilet (only for pissing), one blanket, one pillow and reading light.

We reached Gilimanuk within 5 hours and it took some time for the bus to board the ferry. The moment the bus boarded and stopped, people got off the bus to climb up to the deck above. Here you can either sit and watch the sea, or have a hot drink with instant noodles. You can also use the toilets here, quite decent, which was the first thing we did as the bus never stopped once until now. I am talking about 5 hours of non-stop travel from Bali to Gilimanuk. It was about 8.00pm when we reached the ferry terminal. 

The crossing took about 40mins. It was raining that day so the crossing was slow, I think. It was foggy all around that we could barely see the other ferries that were also crossing. But we could see their spotlights. Most of the seats were wet with rain water.

As for the meals provided by the bus company, the first meal was a pre-packed box of one doughnut, peanuts, water and sweets. They distributed this before the start of the journey, that is once we were seated in the bus. The second meal was dinner proper where we got down at a rest stop and ate rice , gravy, vegetables, fish and chicken with ginger tea. You have to show your bus tickets to the waiter before collecting your food. So, remember to keep your tickets. You can also use the toilets for free. The dinner was late, at about 10.00pm, it took about 2 hours from the ferry exit in East Java to this rest stop.

Bali Pt 6 - Mode of Travel

We arrived in Bali from Kuala Lumpur via AirAsia flight at 12.00 midnight. 

KLIA2 boarding gate

KLIA2

Denpasar International Airport

The plan was to take the airport taxi to our hotel. When we enquired at the airport taxi counter, we were told that the fare from the airport to Kuta is Rp100 000 (MYR28). We noticed many taxi and private car owners standing around to get customers. So upon talking to one guy, then another, we realised that the rate quoted by them is the same as the airport taxi. In the end, we just followed one of the private taxi guys to Kuta town. He helped with our luggage and dropped us at the entrance of the hotel.

Silverbird taxi

We used the Silverbird taxi when we moved hotel, this is a metered taxi.

For our tour of Bali, our driver used a Suzuki APV van.

For our onward journey to Jawa, we took the sleeper bus which departed from Ubung bus terminal in Denpasar. We booked the the ticket 3 days in advance, from a bus company agent in Kuta town. We just mentioned the name of the bus company, and he took us to its agent.

Overnight bus at Ubung Terminal, Denpasar