Wah.. me thinking of Dieng & Borobudor already super rush.and you add Sujuh & chetto tigether...walau eh..can kah? On on the east & another far west...From Dieng to Suwuh & Chetto probably will take 6hrs liao wor..

That is why when traveling to cities wth doubtful health condition, I will only buy & drink bottled drinking water (normaly will lookl for big 5 ltr bottle & carry back to hotel, eat only at any Malls' food court or clean restaurants..Thus, the food I ate in my ealrier trip to Jakarta/Bandung & even in Thailand, Cambodia, & manila all more expensive than KL bcos not dare to eat roadside stalls..all proper restaurants or malls' FC.

rp100K, Just got back from jogja this morning...Not my cheapest back[packing due to lack of research & disregards / sturborn & dunwan to book car earlier from yogyes

Also itineraries got mess by my agent telling me possible of doing Borobudor-Prambanan & Splo (Sukuh & Chetto) within 1 day..charged me Rp550K for that 3 locations but ended up only managed Borobudor & Prambanan bcos I visited almost all the temples surrounding borobudor & Prambanan!!

Visted the followings:

Day1 (1/2 day) - Kraton, Benteng Belanda, Pulau Cemeti ruin, Taman Sari, Merapi mountain (ruin of local houses), parantitis beach ( Rp300K)

Day2: Dieng Plateau - 3.5hrs each way..super long journey. Stop at the destroyed lava mud flow b4 Muntilan town 9A MUST now - Very nice view of Merapi & Sumbing volcanoes)

Day3: Borobudor-Prambanan (Almost all the temples - Pawon, Mengdut, Ptrambanan, Lombonh, Bruhbah, Sewu, Plaosan, Ratu Boko..

Day4: Shoppings at Marioboro (actually- Chinatown of jogja or pancinang) & also short trip to the largest Ambri... Mall (Carrefour)

Photos later

weather just like KL. Unpredictable.. 1st day veru nice sunnny day so do 2nd day but on 3rd day raining from 2pm onwards at jogja.

To visit all the temples, depending on your interest, certain ppl spend hours at each temple. wel..me too, & resulted in no time for all.. Even I missed 2 -3 temples in Prambanan due to lack of time ..I missed Candi Ijo, Plaosan kidul & Kalasan.

At Plaosan (Free), I met wth the retired Archeology profesor which lok more like common pakcik & have a chat wth him on the similarity of Angkor wat & Jawa Timur..well he agreed & gave me a 1/2 hr lecture haha

Before I edit my photos, let me share abit of my videos:

Parantitis beach during sunset, The strong wave reminded me of kuta and the volcanic dark sand..Water is suprisingly clean and clear although not crystal clear.



Sikidang Volcano crater hot boiling mud/water...BTW, I almost burnt my hand bcos wanna try how hot the mud flow from one of the natural longkang created by the volcano.. ..The sulfur smell also caused me Nausea, & dizzy from almost 1/2 hr inhalinh this dangerous gas



Borobudor 4th level. I can't goto the top level bcos the workers still cleaning up the stupa from Merapi ashes



Tested the 2nd most famous food in Jogja - Lotek (Jogja famous for Gudeg- as posted by pangurban earlier) - Also from the 2nd best Lotek - Bu Niang- (Something like gado-gado but abit different. They served gado-gado too but Lotek is much better.



Photos itineraries coming soon...

Only that particular Volcano crater. Anyway, you can't really see the extend or the shape of the crater due to collapsed rims & also spread of this crater, You can get better view of volcanoe craters by visiting Bandung Tangkuban Prabhu or Bali Kintamani..

Another mud volcano nearby that big boiling hole.



Another video.. of Daily jogja folk & their special fun park..taken at the car rental agent at Jl Pasar kembang..there are lotsa car rental agents there..

This post has been edited by stimix: Mar 20 2011, 04:25 PM

OK- My photo itineraries of day1:

Arriving at Jogja airport, one of the smallest int airport haha..Only One entry wth 2 Immigration counter.. Really long que if you last going down. Nice Merapi Volcano from the plane:



Hotel 1001 Malam, located in the middle of a tiny small lane between Jl Sosrowitan & Jl Pasar kembang. within walking distance to Malioboro. BTW, no TV but free internet avg onlt 1mbps..Ok-lah ..Unique room


Walked to Jl Pasar kembang bcos closer to Hotel to get the best car...well not really a good deal..bcos got Rp300K on 1st day (1pm till ~ 9pm), Rp450K to Dieng on 2nd day & wasted 3rd day supposely Borobudor-Prambana-Solo but missed Solo!! - Rp 550K darm!! 1/2 of my Rp3.5mil on tranportation..darm..

1st stop - Venderburg Fort - Old Dutch fort wth walled parameter at the end of malioboro- Entrance rp2K..museum abit boring wth story of jogja struggle against Japanese.


2nd stop- Jogja Kraton Palace - Entrance ticket Rp12.5K/pax. BTW, the guide is a must here bcos the ticketing guy just sukak-sukak called one..lucky the price is up to me, I gave Rp10K..well, she dun look happy but still accept.


3rd stop - Pulau Cemeti (Ancient Sultan meditation place which is in ruin now) & taman Sari (Sultan bathing place just like those ancient Balinese pool)..These two places is much better than Kraton!! Worth the rp7000 entry per pax..BTW, another guide bcos going there is not easy, hv to paas-thru lotsa kampung houses that were built after centuries of neglect! Even the artificial lake from Kraton to Pulau Cemeti & tmn Sari already covered by kampung houses built on top of the ancient lake!! From Pulau Cemeti, there is a tunnel that connected to an underground mosque & also to tmn Sari...

Pulau Cemeti ruin:


plan of the ancient lake (in blue) that Sultan & gundiks used to sail wth their perahu to Tmn Seri ..now this lake is full of kampung houses:


the tunnel to tmn Sari is below these few similar nicely designed ancient roof:


After the tunnel, walked abit and arriving at Tmn Sari - Ancient Royal bathing house...I can imagine what the Sulatn did wth his Gundiks here...all naked kua

Still on 1st day. After Tmn Sari, I asked my driver to go North to Gunung Merapi or more like ground zero of 2010 Merapi eruption at Kaliurang area...so kesian and right now, few road barriers already started and local resident collecting tolls for those going there..darm...Well really reminded me of Bali..ollegal toll collectors!!..I can't remembered how much i paid liao bcos all paid by my driver and I paid him at end of the day...but 1 thing for sure, all those illegal parkings & toll;s cost me rp45K at end of day 1 darm.. ..Wth the most at Paratitis beach- Rp10K!!

The destruction on the foot of Merapi..Actually already almost 800-900 above sea level- Merapi covered by thicj cloud so not visible:





Next Parantitis Beach..super long journey from Northern most of jogja to the Southern most of Jogja..I think ~ 2hrs..BTW, just like Bali, due to the heavy traffic & no highway, expecting >2hrs for ~ 60Km distance and 3.5-4hrs for a mere 120km distance..no joke.

Lucky we reached just on time to view the sunset. It's a volcanic clack sand beach & wave similar to Kuta..very strong and every mth sure consumed atleast 1-2 victims according to my driver. No swimming hor..Only for pro-surfer.




2nd Day To Dieng - On the road as mentioned by pangurban- a new attraction just before Muntilan town (Famous for Pandan tapai. They called it tempel ketan). The muntilan town having one big Chinese temple and the main street is indeed a Chinatown.

The destruction here was from the overflowed of the volcano mud flow from the river..lotsa houses esp opposite the river affected. At the height this road was closed and so do the whole Muntilan town!! And everytime heavy rain, this road will be closed till NOW! bcos the mud is still overflowing!

Anyway, this is also the best location to capture the best view of Merapi & mt Sumbing (Near to Dieng..or Dieng actualy located 1/2way to Mt Sumbing!)
Mt Merapi from Muntilan mudflow


Mt Sumbing..check the buried houses:


More destrcution from the lav flow:


On the way back from Dieng- luckily sky was clear and got this best Merapi view...just like Mt Fuji..

2nd Day - Dieng Plateau. Temperature like Cameron, My GPS showing avg altitude of 2000mtr from sea level...Going there took us 3.5hrs..passing thru so many big towns and one city - Wonosobo (or Hutan mainan -direct translated from jawanese )..The whole Dieng Plateau hv been harvested for ages and every corner of the volcanoes holes have been cultivated till the summit...No real forest here!!




1st stop..Arjuna temple complex consist of 4 temple + 1 incomplete ruin in front of the entrance:


2nd stop - Can Gatut Kaca not far from Arjuna


3rd stop b4 Sikidang Volcano crater, Candi Bima..suprisingly big & higher than Arjuna but only one single candi:


4th stop Sikidang Crater- I inhaled to much sulfuric fume here...the after effect...Feelinmg nausea & dizzy..Hope no side effect..now & in future ...Well, the scenery not really great and you can get better volcano view by visiting Tangkuban Prahu, Bromo or even Kintamani in Bali..but one thing great..You get up close to the volcano hole itself..till the boiling mud 7 walk inside the crater floor..haha




And last stop - Telaga Warna...Due to lack of sun (Cloudy), I can only see 3 different colour- Green, black & abit blue..nothing great...There are 2 cave and another lake there...Also climbing to the Dieng Theatre is one of my regret esp after inhaling too much sulfur fume - nausea & dizzy..sigh

3rd Day: Borobudor & Prambanan. I tried to cheat them by imposing as local from Riau and my driver as my relative (Well he is Jogja Chinese although can't speak chinese haha)..too bad, the guard insist on my indon IC and I told him I left at hotel..Sigh..No choice, I paid for my driver tiocket 9rp12,000 and mine - Rp135K or US$15..damn...

Anyway, once in a lifetime, no choice to pay for this wonder of the world...Well my 2nd wonder of the world after Angkor Wat..at last







Thereafter, I used my GPS and lead my driver to not so wkellknown Pawon temple few KM away..small temple indeed but well preserved (ticket is similar to mengdut temple ticket- rp3000


on the way back, you can't miss Candi mengdut which is actually not bad & huge too..We visited on the way back from Dieng a day b4 actually:


thereafter..another 2 hrs journey from borobudor to Prambanan wth one hour seaching for food at jogja..time wasted and at this point, I told myself, i gonna miss Solo dy..damn the agent telling me possible Another Rp 117K per pax...darn..I almost finished my cash by now...

Prambanan (Hindu)..Very tall & huge complex consist of ~ 6 candi plus 3 more (All buddhist - built for the hindu King's Buddhist wife!~ 300M apart i.e Canid lombong, Candi Bubrah & lastly the ruin of candi Sewu....The architecture really reminded me of Angkor Wat 7 as huge & probably taller than Angkor Wat!!




Candi Sewu ruin- from the back..the front entry much beter but lazy to walk liao ..Distance of 1KM from Prambanan temple..no joke..


And the 1/2 recontructed Candi Lombong got on thing I missed during my Angkor Thom & wat visit: the infamous Lingga & Yoni ..yeah....Linnga - Male penis, & Yoni- female pvt part base...

From Prambanan, we continue to another..wel, for me probably the most impressive temple complex- Candi Plaosan, where I met wth a retired gajah Madja lecturer...His house frontingthe candi and got good explanation of the candi & surrounding history.. ..Well, for sure, Angkor Wat, Myson-Champa (Danang, Vietnam) Lembah bujang & the javanese all related to each others in the past.. One big Nusantara.. Currently only Balinese and handful of Javanese still maintainmed their hindu similar religion.

Plaosan impressive...:


Back wall of Plaosan


Another side view from another Plaosan temple:


From Plaosan, we went to Ratu Karo - probably the ancient ruin palace of the Hindu King..Well, I dun really like this place & the entrance ticket is not cheap- Rp20k/pax..Plaosan was free...darn..



I missed Candi Ijo (Hijau) & Kalasan after this..sigh...

Food that my driver recoomed me:

1) Gudeg Yu Djum located near the South pintu Gerbang Kraton, The egg is the secret recipe..cooked 2 days to perfection, The sweat chicken & sambal justy a side dish to the egg! If just the egg, rp5000 hor..This is the 1st gudeg in whole of java Tengah!!




2) Lotek- The best & 1st was teteg but it was closed, so my driver brought me to the 2nd best- Bu Niang - i luv it...very nice, I posted the video of how the make Lotek earlier..


3) Bakmi Jawa Goreng Pak Din..more like Jawa char Kueh teow..not cheap Rp17K..The most famous in Jogja..comes wth keroncong band..haha

Inside this Bakmi Goreng, there is another famous drink - The Bajigur..mixture of coffee, santan, milk & pieces of roti...Taste like bubur cha-cha to me..


Malioboro street view or for the local chines, it is part of Jogja chinatown or pancinang:

Well, not cheap, I regretted not booked direct from m;sia..No matter how I bargain wth the agent, I stioll can't get the direct price from the driver bcos of teh agency fee..the driver told me they hv to pay ~ 30K -50K as commission to the agent!!

My Jogja- Merapi- Parantitis cost me Rp300K, my Dieng - OK - Rp460K and the supposely Borobudor-Prambanan- Solo cost me Rp550K and I still miseed Solo!! sigh..the driver felt sorry and repay me by fetching me to the airport for free yesterday Morning ...BTW, taxi from airport to Maloboro area cost Rp50K.

Well, when I was there in the middle of Afternoon, it's about 23C. at nite probably ~ 17C. I dun bring any light jacket just wear round tee. still can stand. If really can't stand cool weather, probably a light jacket will do.

Gonna update 1st pg info soon

BTW, for my 5D4N (3 pax) not so budget cost in Jogja:

Transport (Avanza/Xenia) 3 days - Rp1,300,000 or RM455
Entrance tickets + illegal tolls (Crazy...worst than Bali) ~Rp1,200,000 or RM420 (For 3)
Airport tax- Rp300,000 (RM105)
Misc batik shoppings, makan (Avg Rp70K X 2 X 4) etc ~ Rp900K or RM300
hotel 3rd person surcharge..sigh# - Rp360K - RM126

Total spent ~ RM1,400. excluding airfare (RM180) & prebooked hotel RM436...Actual total ~ RM2000 for whole trip

The driver, not really good as a true pro-guide-lah...Even I hv to explained to him the greatness of Borobudor, Prambana & giving him a brief lecture on hindu empire of South East asia..haha..Turned up, I guided him on temples tour haha!

I paid him for Borobudor bcos I wanna disguise as his relative from Riau/Medan but the Borobudor guard dun buy my story , Thereafter, Prambanan, I sked to fool the guard liao Guides are not a must at Borobudor & Prmabanan but they might offer you the service...I was told can be ~ 70 to 100K rupiah!

At kraton, guide is a must but up to you to give. At pulau Cemeti & Taman Sari, which have to snaked thru kampungs, you hv no choice but hire a guide...I pd him Rp20K although he told me normal ~ ro50K!!..The walk around Pulau Cemeti/ Tmn Sari is pretty far.

Yeah my est include those illegal tolls, parkings & entrance for 2 adults & one school children. (School children, you can bring library card & etc. They will photostate the card b4 givinmg you the 50% discount

Well, once in a lifetime visit to one of the wonders of the world..That's one of my dream since young.
Yeah due to the transportation nitemare & lack of higjways just like in Bali, going from one place to another is not easy & you spent $$$ on transportation cost + slowing down the journey..Imagine 120KM distance needs 3.5hrs..

Another thing I like about Jogja- This is the bestplace for budget shopping esp Malioboro...probably the best in indonesia interm of price & one-stop ctr..much better than the overatted Bandung factory outlets * even Bali...T-shirt selling at Rp12.5-30K (RM4- RM12) and batik from Rp30K-Rp100K, key chain an souvenirs from rp1000 nia..dirt cheap...

Not forgetting my driver introduced and brought me to reasonable clean & famous restaurants ...Ohhh I forgotten...The famous oleh-oleh from Jogja - BAKPIA..thier version of tambun biscuit or Tausar pia



This post has been edited by stimix: Mar 23 2011, 07:25 AM

honestly the bakpia nothing close to Penang famous Him Heang or Ghee Hiang tambun pia but very cheap only rp7000 or RM2.50 per box..

The extend of Jogja promoting their Bakpia is a culture shock to me..everywhere you go you can see this bakpia. & in malioboro, there are few such bakpia outlets. Alos on that street, there is one traditional Chinese Bakery shop reminding me of yesteryear m'sian Chinese bakery .. I also chatted with one local Chinese there..suprisingly she still can speak fluent mandarin when most of the younger generation local chinese already lost touch wth the languarge esp in Jakarta, Bandung & Jogja..My driver, a chinese also can't speak chinese haha..but very good in recommending nice local food..

BTW, In borobudor/Mengdut, I grabbed these..Only Rp50K or ~ RM18...Worth it...& dirt cheap for such a Lava stone sculptures..On the way trying to escape from those sellers (simiolar pest encoutered in Bali)...One lady actually offer me Rp20K (RM7) for 2!! but 1/4 smaller than the one I hv...darn..should negotiated to rp30k or Rp40k



My Rp94K or RM33 long slave Batik from Batik Beteng (not Malioboro)..still dirt cheap if compare to KL..



This post has been edited by stimix: Mar 23 2011, 11:30 AM

The dutch church not bad. Kinda missing few itineraries by skipping Semarang & Solo....haizzz..

Wah that bakery lagi antik..

That's why I regretted not to book earlier haizz...I booked from those drivers agents, that's why it's expensive. Lotsa agents there but drivers very seldom..I should hv flag few drivers calling out for me after I booked wth the agents

Dun forget their famous ole-ole - Bakpia!....actually more like Tambun phneah /Tausar phneah here