Yogyakarta (aka Jogja)
I got in yesterday morning and have been exploring ever since. I’ll be here for 3 days and then fly back to Bali. The first day I saw the Sultan Palace, a traditional puppet show, and a few batiks. I paid a betcha cycler 5,000 Rp (.50) to take me around Jogja for a few hours.
Second day in Jogja, I went ahead and booked an English speaking guide to take me to Borobudur and Dieng Plateau. I hear that Borobudur is a must see at sunrise… So my guide and I headed out at 4am to catch it! Borobudur is an hour drive from Jogja and the Dieng Plateau is 4 hours away (they are both located in Central Java)
The Borobudur Temple is stunning! It is definitely a must see when visiting Jogja. Latif, my english speaking guide was worth every penny – he walked me through every level and talked about the history of this amazing wonder.
Quick Facts on Borobudur (according to my guide):
Borobudur means “Temple on the Hill”. It was built 1,300 years ago. It is the biggest Buddhist Temple in Indonesia! It’s made up of 2 million block stones and there are 532 buddha statues placed throughout the temple.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdizon
Met some fellow travelers from the Netherlands (Hector, Marcel and Marvin). They have been traveling for a few weeks now around Asia. We might meet up later tonight for a beer but we’ll see…. I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow – since it’s my last day in Jogja. I plan on visiting the Prambanan Temple and hopefully Mt. Merapi.
Tomorrow, Sept 1 – marks the first day of Ramadhan. Ramadhan is a month of fasting, Muslims don’t eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset. Jogja is 70% Muslim.
Tags: Indonesia
sdizon
wow sops…..that looks so serene….quick question how’s the water there?? Oh yeah don’t forget to bring me two rocks one for me and aubrey…nah just one rock for aubrey. The food and everything is so cheap that is really cool…well u take care we miss you…
WOW kia-sophia, Borobudur Temple looks aaaammaaaaazing! I can’t believe it’s only been less than 10% of your trip… can’t wait for the rest of the updates 😉
Looks like your having a great time. Keep it going…. KOA says hi…
Sophia,
Great vacation and pics! Looks like your really enjoying your trip and more to come.
The girls enjoyed your pics pics especially the food (yummy). My co-worker is Indonesian and so are my best friends..going to show them your site they will enjoy it.
Send more pics and updates..but don’t pickup any boys will tell your mom..hehehehe :=) .
meditation! great! lol.. we miss u a lot… i always say i miss sophia but yeah.. oh yeah.. jen was here ], yes u heard right JEN WAS HERE FOR 5 days! ha ha.. well anyways.. im still here in SD chilln helping with the move.. i hope u continue ur great adventure safely.. ttyl.
wow..great pics! looks like you’re taking advantage of every minute that you have over there. i know the saying “when in Rome…” but don’t partake in the fasting, there’s too much food to eat!
Ahhhhh Ramadan. I definitely do not miss that…Even if you ain’t muslim, you cannot drink or eat during the day. If caught you will be punished, but then again that might just be a Bahrain thing. Let me know how it is out there. I’m pretty sure all the venues are closed during the day time.
Ohh yeahh, the pics are great. Wish we were there with you to enjoy it. If you get the chance to go to Hong Kong, check out the Buddist temple, it’s ridiculous.
Grrr…that horse cave pic is driving me crazy!!! I can’t see the horse!!!
Hope you’re well & safe. take care! till your next update…muah!
Looks like you are having a great time. Be safe out there and have lots of fun. See you when you get back for sure.
i really hope i can do that someday!!! the temple looks amazing!!!! go Sophie!!!!
Thats nice, you met little girls at the temple. They probably picked you’re American pockets…
Aidy – The water is real nice…just like Guam! I won’t be taking home any rocks for you and Aubrey. The rule of thumb when traveling to any country is never to take away anything from the land =) Sorry girls. I’ll buy you both a souvenir.
Uncle James – Good to hear from you! I’m thinking about taking some Indo cooking lessons…because the food here is so good! Kiss the girls for me.
Jill – So Jen finally made the trip to SD. I got Jen’s text message when I was flying into Jakarta. Give her my love. Miss you girls too!