Indoland! (4)

First of all, I realize this is very very long overdue, so let's just get on it.

Next up in my list was Solo and Yogyakarta. Me and my friend stayed in my auntie's house in Solo. Whilst in Solo we went to Danar Hadi batik museum, which had various kind of batik, domestic and international design, including some of Danar Hadi's own batik design. the museum was laid out very nicely and we also saw batik tulis (hand drawn batik) and batik cap (stamped batik) being made. Unfortunately we were unable to take any pictures of the batik collection, only the process of making batik. We then went to a shopping centre to get some batik, where I bought some batik for my family.

We also went to Candi Prambanan (Prambanan Temple) which was a Hindu temple. There were 100+ temples but most of them were not standing anymore. There were still a few standing even after they were knocked down by an earthquake but they were able to be built again. It was so hot that day, weird to think about how hot it was when I'm in freezing England right now. But we still managed to go up and around a few of the big temples, and of course take some pictures.

Hand drawn batik in progress

Stamp for the stamped batik

Ruins of the temples

A few of the temples that are still standing

In Yogyakarta, we went to quite a lot of places since we stayed there for a few nights. The great thing about travelling around Indonesia is that you can get good hotel rooms with low budget (compared to UK). The hotel that we stayed in cost less than £20 per night (twin bed), had an en suite bathroom and equipped with TV and A/C, and located in the city centre. In UK that would easily have been at least £50, depending on which city it is.

Anyway, on the first day arriving in Yogyakarta we went to Taman Sari Water Castle which was a royal garden back in the days, however some parts of it were closed so we only went around for a bit. We went to have some ice cream from this hip cafe which I forgot the name, but they had good variation of ice cream which were tasty. We then proceeded with exploring the city by walking along Malioboro at night, had dinner, rode a neon-lit powered-by-foot car with crazy sound system and ended the night by trying to walk between two massive trees blindfolded, starting the walk from a distance. Apparently if you manage to walk between the trees, you're gonna get the love of your life *lol*.

Entrance to Taman Sari

Doing the mainstream shot

The next day we went to Tebing Breksi, which was a white cliff with quite a lovely view at the top. It didn't require hiking or anything, we just had to climb some stairs. There was a man carving on the cliff, which looked pretty but sort of a shame to break the cliff away. Afterwards we went to Candi Ratu Boko (Ratu Boko Temple) and watched the sunrise from there as it was located in quite a high ground. We managed to take some quite photogenic pictures as well while we were there, thanks to our friend who took us around Yogyakarta. A trip is always made so much better when you have a friend who lives in the area you're visiting, because they know all the good places to visit and even to have a meal. That night we went to The House of Raminten, which had a peculiar set of menu but the food was really good. The place was quite well known so we had to wait a while to get in, but it was worth it.

Waving flag

Sunset at Candi Ratu Boko

We then went to Hutan Pinus Imogiri (Imogiri Pine Forest) on the following day. It was such a pretty place, a forest full of very tall pine trees with a few hammocks hanging in between the trees. There were ones with 2, 3, 4 or more hammocks on top of each other as well. We wanted to try going on the hammocks but the price was quite steep, considering we were just gonna go on it, took pictures and went down again, so we decided not to. We went up one of the tree that had a ladder and a platform at the top. It was quite high up and didn't look that safe, but we went for it anyway. It was quite scary at the top, but the view was worth the climb. Afterwards we went to a place close by, which I've forgotten the name of, but it was another place with scenic view. We didn't spend too long there because there wasn't much to do.

I wonder how tall these trees are

When there's a climb, there's a view

Pricey hammocks

On the last day, we went to Candi Borobudur (Borobudur Temple) which was a Buddhist temple and was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. We decided to get a tour guide while going around the temple, because when we went to Prambanan Temple, we saw people walking around with tour guide and it seemed like the explanation from the tour guide would make the visit much more interesting. Having a tour guide in Borobudur Temple was a right call, because the tour guide gave so much information and history about the temple (and beyond might I say) and after he finished we were still able to go around by ourselves. It was such a hot day, that the stones that were directly under the sun were too hot to sit on. One of the interesting thing that the tour guide said was, he wished that visitors would try to walk around the temple rather than climb right up to the top, because then the load on the temple would be distributed more. Whereas currently visitor prefer to go up the stairs straight to the top of the temple. Also, some part of both Borobudur and Prambanan Temple have collapsed in the past, and they had to get experts to put the stones back together in the order they were before (because there were carvings on the stones that tell a story). I found this to be quite incredible, because I can hardly distinguish between the carvings!

To end our Yogyakarta trip, we went to Ullen Sentalu museum, which was quite a cool place because it was located in a place you wouldn't expect, almost like in a forest and quite hidden. I think that is their selling point. The museum shows a history of the royal family of Yogyakarta (if I'm not mistaken, the memory is a bit blurred). The visit is a guided tour and we weren't allowed to just wander off by ourselves. The tour guide was very enthusiastic and friendly so I'd definitely recommend the place.