YOGYAKARTA

Jul 6, 20195 min read

JOGJA, I HAD THE BEST TIME. So here I’m gonna share with you my weekend trip itinerary and expenses which I hope will be useful for y'all who wants to visit this city just for the weekend.

Day 1 - Taman Sari, Nglambor Beach

First stop, Taman Sari Water Castle. A little bit of history, this place was a former royal garden palace for the Sultans of Yogyakarta. So only the Sultan will visit this place for a recreational break. (Fun fact: The Sultan will stay at the garden for months, not just a day trip). At first the place looked like ruins and it was torn down pretty badly from the outside, until I was told that it tumbled due to an earthquake which pretty much destroyed the foundation of the palace. The places are pretty scattered in different areas, so I recommend to get a local guide to bring your around for a historical tour of the place, unless you only come here for photos.

Thankfully, we were approached by a humble being, Pak Sumardi (cause we probably looked lost and we couldn't even find the entrance lol). Feel free to contact him if you need a guide, he doesn't charge us a single cent, but make sure to tip him anyways :) (I'll put his number on the bottom of this read with the rest of the information)

Next, we begin our journey to Timang Beach, because we were curious to try the manual-operated gondola. The beach was gonna be a 2-hour ride from the city so we expected ourselves to be there by sunset. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived (5.30pm), the entrance officer told us that all the activities at TImang Beach ends at 5pm so we ended up on another beach called Nglambor Beach.

The sky was so clear we could even see shooting stars, spot them! (warning: super cheesy photo coming up, wasn't my idea, sorry☹)

We ended the night by having the famous GUDEG MERCON IBU TINAH for dinner, we waited in line for around 30mins. Rating= 8.5/10! It's freakn spicy i cried yet i didn't stop cause it was good.

Day 2 - Borobudur, Amanjiwo, Merapi

Our alarms were set at 3 freakn am because we need to drive up to the Borobudur Temple to catch sunrise. We bought the sunrise tickets from Manohara Hotel before walking over to the temple to find a good spot. They gave us flashlights because it was pitch dark we couldn't even see the temple. Btw, it was cold!

After the sunrise experience, we were just dead tired. We had a nap in the car to recharge and then continue our drive to Amanjiwo for lunch. The place felt so peaceful just upon entering. We only stopped by for lunch but the kind staff showed us around the area and even the rooms which made us wanna stay (one day amen). FYI, do book a reservation with them first if you plan to come for lunch/dinner as this place is not open for public so it's kinda private and secluded, there are also minimum charges for the food so make sure you check with them first.

After the fancy lunch, we were ready to get down and dirty (literally). Next stop, we headed for Mount Merapi to travel back in time during the devastating volcanic eruption that happened on the 5th of November 2010 that killed over 300 people that lived in the area. Houses were burnt, animals were killed by the volcanic ash clouds that only left behind ruins of melted objects. FYI, the Merapi is still an active volcano.

We were soaked AF. Our journey back to the city was super unpleasant because we were cold and starving. On a positive note, our simple meal tasted like heaven in our mouth. This one's called Mie Nyemek Bu Siti at Jln. Sisingamangaraja.

LOOK AT IT:

Day 3 - Goa Jomblang, Goa Tanding, Goa Pindul

Our morning call was at 5am because the driver has to pick us up at 5.30 SHARP. We didn’t shower, hell no, not that early, we were gonna get dirty anyway, #savewater.

For those who wants a little thrilling adventure during your trip to Jogja, this shall be on your list: Goa Jomblang!

After that, we head to Goa Tanding for a dark cave adventure. Honestly, this would be the worst part of the trip for me because i'm claustrophobic and this place is the exact definition of it. If you are like me, you might wanna find an alternative place to go because you'll be under a cave, pitch dark, with bats flying over you (yup, for real). Instead, maybe you can go to Timang Beach (because apparently almost everyone that we met at Jomblang went to Timang right after since it's close).

On the other hand, if you're into caves, rocks or learning about surfaces of the earth, i think this place would give u a "national geographic" feel. The guide will tell you how this cave was found and explain the different types of rocks that exists in this cave. (Or maybe i'll just tell u). This place was initially found by accident by locals who were about to dig a well for their family. After trying to dig so deep, they found out that there was a cave underneath it containing crystal rocks and stalagmite rocks that are still active.

After that, we went for a river adventure! We went river tubing at 2 places, Pindul Cave and OYO River. I personally liked the river more than the cave since it's "less cave" lol and it's super open so you're basically exposed to nature. We also passed by a Eucalyptus field owned by a famous Eucaplyptus Oil (minyak kayu putih) manufacturer company and i thought it was amazing because the leaf gives out a very uplifting scent. And that, was our last adventure for this trip. Here's a clip of the fun:

To end our last night, we took a becak to the city centre of Jogja: Alun Alun and Jalan Malioboro, to try some local delicacies and experience the local night walks.