Yogyakarta (aka Jogja)
Sunday, August 31st, 2008I 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.
sdizon
