Yogyakarta
- Also known as Jogja -
The cultural center of Java, Yogyakarta (a.k.a. Jogja) is chock-full of temples and delicious food. It is an important hub for Indonesian textiles (batik), has a reigning monarch and palace, beaches, multiple UNESCO heritage sites within reach, and some beautiful Colonial buildings. It also has just enough international visitors that it is fairly easy to navigate as a foreigner while still retaining its authenticity. Jogja feels decidedly Indonesian, although it does have about one street full of hostels, restaurants and bars where you can find other travelers and meet people to do things with if you are travelling alone. What's more, Jogja is far cheaper than other Indonesian spots such as Bali and Jakarta, so great value for money. It is without a doubt one of my favourite cities in Indonesia, and I would love to go there more often.
I've been to Jogja just twice since I moved to Indonesia, and both times were wonderful. There are countless things to see in Jogja, and you can get around easily by car-share app (Grab or GoJek), hiring drivers, or renting a car or motorcycle. This is one of the things I especially like about the city. I have found during my time in Indonesia, that I far prefer travelling around the country with at least another person, as in certain tourist places which don't have the car share apps, or get a few tourists, it can be difficult to get around, and you may find yourself at the mercy of the local drivers, who often charge high fees. But I have never had any problem getting around in Jogja, which in my opinion makes it really stand out for an Indonesian destination.
I've included here photos of some of the places I've enjoyed most in Jogja, although I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg, and there are many more wonderful places in Jogja that I haven't yet visited.
A must see if you go to Jogja: Prambanan Temple is one of two world-renown UNESCO heritage site temples in the Yogjakarta area. Of the two temples, it is closer to the city, so slightly more easily accessible for visitors than Candi Borobudur, although I do suggest you visit both. Prambanan is a beautiful Hindu temple that dates back to the 9th century, reminding visitors that central Java was once shared by not only Muslims but also many Hindu and Buddhists, before the Muslim groups gained greater influence and the Hindu groups of Java moved to Bali in the 16th Century.
Unfortunately the temple complex was damaged in the 2006 earthquake, so some of the structures are no longer intact. That said, it is still very impressive, and the stones that fell remain on the site making for sort of a tribute to that recent history.
Prambanan can easily be visited during sunset, and I suggest trying to be there for a sunset, because seeing the sun set on the temples is truly wonderful.
Candi Borobudur
In my opinion, the big-ticket item in the Yogyakarta area is Borobudur Temple. It's likely that you have already seen photos of this temple on the internet or on inspirational posters, and that isn't without reason. Borobudur is a grand temple in the middle of the central-Javanese mountains about 2-3 hours out of Yogyakarta depending where you leave from and when. It is the world's largest Buddhist temple, complete with 504 Buddha statues, dating back to the 9th Century.
The temple itself is four stories tall and it is advised you enter from a certain corner and move through the whole temple level by level until arriving at the top. There is a cultural, religious reason for doing this, which I don't remember, but in my experience it has been a wonderful practice because the majority of visitors walk straight to the top and start taking photos like crazy, which makes the top level unfortunately quite crowded and not exactly as spiritual as you would hope it to be. That said, the concentration tourists on the top level leaves the passage around the temple quiet and relaxed. It's the place to go if you want to soak up some of the ambiance of the temple itself and surrounding mountains.
On that note, I would also suggest going for sunrise, because the temple gets very busy during the day, and although it's also busy at sunrise, it is more peaceful, and the sunrise over the temple can be quite spectacular. It costs a little more to visit at that time, but I have been both for the sunrise and during the day, and I think the sunrise visit is definitely worth it.
A streetfood vendor selling kue lekker in Jogja:
Jogja itself is bursting with culture, and delicious traditional foods, art, and history, so I believe one could easily spend a few days there alone. It's a relaxed city, cheap, and the intellectual and cultural center of Java, so there are plenty of places to visit - art and batik shops, culinary spots, museums and temples, and even a beautiful palace. I'd recommend taking a few days to walk around and take it all in.
Some foods not to miss include nasi kucing* (rice served in little packets which usually cost 2000 rupiah each, served with gorengan (fried snacks), tempeh and tahu bacem (tempeh and tofu slow cooked in a combination of palm sugar and Indonesian herbs such as lemongrass and galangal), as well as nasi gudeg, which is another very sweet main dish of rice with young jackfruit slow cooked in palm sugar and coconut milk, often served with a boiled egg in the same stewing sauce, tempeh and tahu bacem, and sambel goreng krecek (crispy beef skin cooked in a spicy chili sauce). Yogjakarta's cuisine is very sweet, but even if you're not one for sweet foods it must be tried. I personally love it, because I am a sugar addict, and jump at the idea of eating sweet things for dinner.
Other great Yogjakarta snacks include bakpia*, which is a type of circular pastry filled with a sweet filling such as kacang ijo (green mung bean), keju (sweet cheese filling), or coklat (chocolate)—my favourites are those, although there are many more.
And finally, I like to snack on kue leker when I go to Jogja (photoed above), which is a crispy pancake-like snack which is similar to the Indoesian martabak, (if you've had that before), but far smaller and a little lighter. My favourite filling for lekers is coklat keju, or cheese and chocolate.
I've linked to an Indonesian website with addresses for many delicious leker stands in Jogja (translate via GoogleTranslate). You can see that there are a number of variations on kue leker. When we were in Jogja, we went to Lekkericious Alkid, and the leker I am writing of looks generally like his, rather than the savoury variations with instant noodles, or the thicker versions that look like martabak (although I like those too.) Lekkericious Alkid is near Taman Sari (below), and the Twin Bayan Trees (bottom).
* Throughout this section I link the names of local foods to websites where you can see photos of them. Some of the websites are in Indonesian, but the links are mainly so you can just see the photos, and if you are particularly interested in the dish, you can always translate the site.
Taman Sari
This site is part of the old personal quarters of the royal family of Jogja. Although there is still a palace in use, this part has become open for tourists and is no longer used by the royal family. There were originally many parts of the palace in this area, but the only two royal spaces that are still preserved here are the bathing place of the Sultan and beautiful underground Mosque—which I also visited, and recommend, but do not have photos of. Right in the center of the city, Taman Sari is a nice site to visit to see some of the old quarters of previous Sultans of Jogja, and the entry price is quite cheap.
The Twin Bayan Trees
Last but not least, if you want to visit Jogja like a local, you must visit this pair of trees. Legend has it that one of the early Sultans of Jogja had such a beautiful daughter that all the men in the Kingdom wanted to marry her. So her father set a challenge: the man who could walk through these two Bayan trees blindfolded would be given his daughter's hand in marriage. It was said that only a man pure of heart could find his way between the trees without the power of sight. Perhaps it was his pure heart that guided him straight through. The two were married, and lived happily ever after.
Now I, on the other hand, was absolutely incapable of making it through the trees blindfolded, and almost reached the the far corner of the plane once in my sad attempt to walk through the middle. That said, I have not lost hope in my heart, and we did have a nice time trying it out.
Sorry the photo below doesn't include the trees - it does, however, include the square and a blindfold you can rent for a couple thousand rupiah.
That's it for now. If you have any more places you love in Jogja that I should check out, please let me know.
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