Tag: temples

The Wonderful Indonesia Series: YOGYAKARTA – A Relaxing Weekend In Indonesia’s Special Monarchy Region

Hello & long time no post! After about a month of being quiet, I am back. I just came back from a big trip somewhere far & I cannot wait to share more details about you guys. For now, it’s time to catch up on some backlogs. Today, I will revive my Wonderful Indonesia Series. In the past, I have shared with you details about my trip to Bali, Nusa Penida & Komodo. Today, I will bring you to another amazing place in Indonesia – YOGYAKARTA.

Borobudur Temple – one of the 2 big temples you will see when you go to Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Last August, my friends & I went on a relaxing weekend trip to Yogyakarta in Indonesia. Yogyakarta, in the local terms Jogjakarta or Jogja, is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta. It is the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarch. The city has a long history in terms of arts & culture. Nowadays, the city is the center of Indonesian education. Many youngsters move to the city to finish their degrees. To the tourists, it is the home of the world-famous Borobudur & Prambanan Temples.

Join me as I share with you the details of this quick but relaxing weekend getaway in one of Indonesia’s most beautiful cities.

Flight Tickets

I didn’t have plans of going to the city & country this year until my Indonesian friend Yudi, whom I met on Its The Ship 2018, invited for a weekend trip in Indonesia. Last June, I managed to book a return Cebu Pacific Air piso-fare ticket to Jakarta for ₱2,471 for an August long weekend. I immediately contacted my friend Yudi & we decided to spend the trip in Yogyakarta. I booked my Jakarta-Yogyakarta-Jakarta ticket with Indonesia Air Asia for only ₱3,155 return.

Overall, I spent ₱5,626 for 4 flights from Manila to Yogyakarta (via Jakarta) & back. Not bad, not bad at all. Actually, I posted reviews about 3 of these 4 flights. Check out the flight reports here: Manila (MNL) to Jakarta (CGK) with Cebu Pacific Air, Jakarta (CGK) to Yogyakarta (JOG) with Indonesia Air Asia & Yogyakarta (JOG) to Jakarta (CGK) with Indonesia Air Asia. I decided not to cover my flight back from Jakarta to Manila as I was asleep most of the time.

last minute joiners

Yudi & I have been in constant communication about the trip & tried to plan where to go or what to do. About 2 weeks into the trip, Dallin & Lord decided to join us for the trip. Dallin is Yudi’s friend while Lord is a Singapore-based good friend of mine who runs the LordAroundTheWorld blog. Lord was responsible for me joining Its The Ship 2018. He also joined us for a few days in Melbourne last April. Lord & I met in Yogyakarta Airport & we eventually met the other 2 guys in our hotel in the city.

Gallery Prawirotaman Hotel

We took a break from the hostel / dormitory life & decided to stay in a hotel in Yogyakarta. It didn’t hurt much cost-wise since accommodation in Indonesia is cheap compared to other cities in Southeast Asia, way cheaper than Manila hotels. We picked Gallery Prawirotaman Hotel & paid IDR 1,736,836 (₱6,511.39 reflected in my statement) for 3 nights in a 28 sq m superior room for 2 people.

This 4-star hotel is centrally located in Jalan Prawirotaman II where nice hotels & restaurants are located. The nearby Jalan Prawirotaman is the hipster street of Yogyakarta. The hotel is fab & well-designed. It has an inhouse fitness center, swimming pool, spa, art gallery, bar & restaurant. The hotel staff was accommodating, helpful & friendly. The hotel WiFi connection was fast & reliable.

We got a spacious superior room with a private balcony & a view of the city. The room has impressive lighting, lots of space & has an ‘office corner’ where guests can do some work. The hotel is clean & well-maintained. Buffet breakfast is included in the room rate. I am happy to say they have a good variety of dishes in the 3 mornings that I had breakfast.

We had a pleasant stay at Gallery Prawirotaman Hotel; we were able to take advantage of the hotel amenities. Food was good, the service was top notch & the location was perfect. I recommend that you consider this hotel when going to Yogyakarta.

Getting Around Yogyakarta

We used my friend’s car to go around the city. There was no need to hire a private car charter or to take public transportation, Grab, Gojek or rickshaws to go from one place to the other. There are multiple options in going around the city, but the best way in my opinion is to rent a motorcycle for a day or two or to rent a car & drive around for the whole duration of stay. The highlights of the city like Mount Merapi, Borobudur & Prambanan Temples are located far from the city & far from each other.

places visited

Let me warn you. All of us went to Yogyakarta with no plans or anything in mind. I didn’t do any research & I asked my friend to plan out our itinerary. Apparently, they also didn’t plan anything. We ended up going to the places we only feel like visiting. Most of the time was spent eating in nice restaurants (wait for the post about this!) & in our hotel. We were there to take a break & relax. Anyway, check out the places we went to.

JALAN MALIOBORO

Jalan Malioboro, commonly known as Malioboro Street, is Yogyakarta’s major shopping street. This street is the best place to go shopping & have the local street food. At night, the long strip transforms into a busy market with all sorts of stuff you can think of. Both locals & tourists flock this street every night. Warning! Prices can be expensive, especially if know that you are tourists.

TAMAN SARI WATER CASTLE

Taman Sari used to be the garden of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta. It used to be the sultanate’s hiding place, also his place of rest & meditation. The water castle is now one of the city’s top attractions with only a few buildings left from the old times. Locals also started to reside in some of the castle buildings / grounds.

MERAPI LAVA TRAIL TOUR

My friends & I drove about 1.5 hours away from Yogyakarta center to Mount Merapi & take the lava trail tour on a 4 x 4 jeep. Mount Merapi is an active volcano located in the border of Yogyakarta & Central Java. It is a popular tourist destination because of its lava & boulder trails brought by the volcanic activities.

There were 3 options for the lava trail tour. We opted for the shortest one. The tour & the bumpy ride around the lava trails took about 1.5 hours. I’m sorry I forgot how much we paid for the whole tour. It wasn’t that much. Was it worth the time & effort going to the volcano grounds? It was alright; not much interesting things to see. I won’t do it again in the future.

BOROBUDUR TEMPLE

My main reason of flying to Yogyakarta is to see the world famous Borobudur Temple. This UNESCO World Heritage Listed Site is the world’s largest Buddhist temple built in the 9th century. The temple is also famous for its round stupas containing a unique Buddha structure inside.

Most tourists go to the temple during sunrise / sunset, but we opted to go there during midday. An entrance ticket is required to enter the temple grounds. Lord & I opted for the US$45 combined entrance ticket for Borobudur & Prambanan Temples.

PRAMBANAN TEMPLE

Prambanan Temple is another UNESCO World Heritage Listed Site found in Yogyakarta. This Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva was built in the 10th century. This, together with Borobudur Temple, are the main attractions for people visiting Yogyakarta.

We got a combined entry ticket worth US$45 per person (for the 2 temples) to access the temple grounds.

This pretty much sums up my Yogyakarta weekend with friends. It felt good seeing them again after a while & spending quality time over good food & drinks & amazing scenery. Nothing much really happened, it was all about taking a break from our daily routines.

Have you been to Yogyakarta? How did you find the city? Is it a place you’d love to go back or maybe a place you’d love to visit? Post your thoughts in the comment section below. Do you have any questions about the information mentioned above? Send them to contact@thewkndtravel.com & I’ll respond as soon as I can. Please also help me in promoting my social media channels – Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Thank you for taking time to read this post. Watch out for the list of restaurants you shouldn’t miss when in Yogyakarta – that’ll be the next post about this amazing city.

PS. Photos were taken using my HTC U11.

Throwback Thursday Treat: Temple Hopping In Siem Reap

For the past few months, I took you to my previous trips in Ho Chi Minh City, Taipei (flying there again tomorrow!), El Nido (twice) & Koh Lipe, Thailand. I’ve been to relatively a lot of places already but I am a bit struggling with the details so I am doing it one at a time.

This Thursday, I’ll take you to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Siem Reap is not the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia (Phnom Penh is) but it is definitely the most famous tourist destination in the country. It is the gateway to Angkor, the seat of the Khmer Kingdom during the 9th-15th centuries. This place caters to all kinds of travelers all year-round – from the backpackers to the luxury vacation goers. The city is more than just ruins & temples, it also boasts super nice & accommodating locals & very rich history & culture.

With Majo, my Siem Reap buddy, in Bakong Temple (1 hr drive from the center)

Last 16-22 February 2015, Majo & I were fortunate to visit this beautiful place for 5 days & 5 nights. We got our round-trip tickets for ₱4,469.50 in one of Cebu Pacific Air‘s low fare sale. We’ve been to a lot (when I say a lot, I mean, that’s about 15 of them) of temples during the trip. I will give more details about the trip below.

Accommodation

Majo & I treated this trip as sort of a relaxing one so we chose a decent & well-reviewed accommodation. We stayed in The Siem Reap Hostel. It is located about 10 minutes walk from the Pub Street. It is located a few meters walk from Hard Rock Cafe Siem Reap. The hostel has both dormitory & private ensuite rooms. [Update – The Siem Reap Hostel has ceased operations.]

Our room for 5 nights in Siem Reap!

We got the private room for 2/3 people. It features 2 spacious beds, private balcony, shower & toilet & a cable television. We paid $30 per night. The rate also includes free airport pick-up, free Wi-Fi access & buffet breakfast for 2. Buffet choices include bread, jam, coffee, tea, milk & fresh fruits. Breakfast is not included for guests staying in dormitory rooms. The guest can pay only $2 to avail the buffet.

The hostel has an on-site restaurant with delicious & reasonably-priced food. They have one of the best chicken rice, pad thai & lok lak I’ve tasted in my whole trip. It also has a bar where they have the 50-cents draft beer during happy hour. It has a spacious common area & a swimming pool on the ground floor, billiards area & cinema room on the 2nd floor & the yoga area on the 3rd floor. Guests are also allowed to use the computers on the ground floor for research & booking tickets / accommodations for upcoming trips.

Hostel’s bar & restaurant beside the swimming pool

The hostel also has a tour desk where guests can inquire about day trips they can take. If you are looking for friends to share tuktuk for the temple tours, you can just write your name & room number on the board & meet them in the lobby the following day for your tour.

What I really like about this hostel is they give back part of the proceeds to the local Khmer community. They help a group of tuktuk drivers by offering fixed-rate temple tours with these drivers readily available outside the hostel. Note that they give the tour fee drivers & they don’t get anything from it. They also help a local Khmer village by giving them livelihood. One staff told me that the hostel pays for their school & their English classes.

With Quentin, a French solo traveler we met in the waterfall tour. He joined us the following day for the Angkor Wat Sunrise / Small Circuit Tour.

I would highly recommend everyone to stay in The Siem Reap Hostel. It’s not just a hostel, it’s a hostel that helps the local Khmers. For updated room rates, check out this link.

Currency

US Dollars ($) are widely accepted all over Siem Reap, or shall I say all over Cambodia. The conversion rate at the time of writing is $1 = KHR 4,075.64. Make sure your US Dollars are new & crispy; some locals do not accept dilapidated notes. Locals normally use their local currency for small changes like 50 cents.

Temple Pass

Each tourist is required to purchase a temple pass for your to gain access to each temple. During our visit, a day pass costs $20, a 3-day pass costs $40 & a 7-day access costs $60. As of 1 February 2017, the government decided to raise the rates of these temple passes. The new rates as are as follows: $37 for 1 day, $62 for 3 days & $72 for 7 days. Expensive, eh?

Our 3-day temple pass worth $40 that time~

Note that these temple passes are non-transferable because it has your photo in it. You don’t need to use the pass for 3 or 7 consecutive days. The pass is valid for 30 days after your first use. Since we were there for 5 full days, Majo & I decided to get the 3-day temple pass worth $40.

Temple Tours & Places To Visit

As mentioned earlier, The Siem Reap Hostel offered temple tours through the group of tuktuk drivers they help. The rates & temples included in every tour are posted on the board at the ground floor at the back of the restaurant / bar area. Majo & I decided to take the following day tours

Note: These temple tours do not include meals. You can either bring your own food or ask the driver to stop by a restaurant along the way. Make sure to bring a big bottle of water, a cap / umbrella & a towel because it can be really hot during the day.

Grand / Big Circuit ($15)

Preah Khan

Neak Pean

Ta Som

East Mebon

Pre Rup

Small Circuit / Angkor Wat Sunrise ($15)

Angkor Wat was the seat of the Khmer Empire. It is considered as the world’s largest religious complex & is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bayon Temple is the central temple of Angkor Thom. It is also known as the temple with smiling Buddha.

Baphuon Temple

Ta Prohm is the famous location used in the movie Tomb Raider.

Banteay Srei, Banteay Samre & Rolous Group ($20)

Banteay Srei & Banteay Samre | Banteay Srei is a temple dedicated to Shiva; a temple made of red sandstone.

Bakong Temple

Lolei  was under renovation when visited the temple grounds.

Preah Ko

Phnom Kulen Waterfall Tour ($32)

Visited the reclining Buddha on top of a hill.

The place where the Buddha is located.

Phnom Kulen Waterfall with the tour group turned good friends. The waterfall is located 2 hours & a few minutes hike from the Siem Reap center.

Another photo of the waterfall – this time without the people 😂

We also went to The River of a Thousand Lingas (no photo). It is a series of sand stone carvings in river beds & banks. It is located in the slopes of Phnom Kulen.

Pub Street & Siem Reap Night Market

Pub Street with the gang! Crazy fun night 🍺

If you are into restaurants & bars, then Pub Street in Siem Reap downtown is the place to be. The place is characterized by affordable to a-bit expensive restaurants (for dinner) & bars (for drinks). This is also where you’ll find most of the backpackers & tourists who are up for some fun night life. Majo & I (plus our new-found friends) went here for a few nights to have dinner & drinks (plus some crazy partying). The parties in the bars extend up to the streets at late night. Good times!

On our last night, Majo & I went to Siem Reap’s night market to buy some goodies for our families & friends here. The night market is a few blocks from the Pub Street. The prices of items were somewhat expensive – touristy I guess.

Majo & I were unable to go to most of the places in downtown (museums, halls, etc) because we concentrated on exploring the temples in Angkor & the nearby towns. It believe it was alright, the temples were really beautiful. Siem Reap is a place one should not miss! 🇰🇭

Pre Rup sunset 😍

Have you been to Siem Reap in the past? What was your favorite temple? Anything or place I missed that you want to suggest to the other readers? Feel free to comment below or send me an email to contact@thewkndtravel.com. You can also send me a message on Facebook, drop a comment on Instagram or send me a tweet on Twitter.

Thank you for reading & have a great day ahead. 😎

PS. All photos above were shot using my HTC One M8 & HTC Re.