Tag Archives: yogyakarta

Southeast Asia Series: Walk and shoot in Candi Prambanan

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Lesson # 2 for the 57-hour Southeast Asia Challenge: Patience is key. Smile and everything will be alright. 

Time ticked. Every minute was important. Once lunch was finished, we walked towards the exit of the airport and approached the TransJogja Bus Station.

At the door of the small station, I saw the Bahasa Indonesia word: Masuk (which means “in.” It’s nice to know how their language was similar to our own Filipino language. In Filipino, “in” is translated as “PASOK”  which means to enter).

The fare to Prambanan is 3,000 IDR (Php 14.17 or $0.32). With all our bags with us, Ate Macon and I stood at the station waiting for TransJogja Bus-1A Prambanan. We were the only foreigners there while the rest of the passengers were locals.

About 15 minutes after, the bus arrived. It’s a coaster-type of vehicle. Thank God it’s airconditioned! It was fun riding Yogyakarta’s public vehicle. It gave me more insights about the locals’ lives.

An old Indonesian couple smiled when they saw me taking photographs. Maybe, they were wondering: Why are they riding public transportation when most of the tourists are hiring vehicles?

Candi Prambanan (or Prambanan Temple- candi means temple), our first stop in Yogyakarta, was just 20 minutes away from the airport. The TransJogja bus dropped us at the station, which was meters away from the entrance to the Prambanan Temple.

Bechak (Indonesia’s version of pedicab) and taxi drivers were offering us a ride but the gate seemed near. Being thrifty won over the comfort of traveling to our destination.

But there’s a challenge: Candi Prambanan was on the other side of the road so we have to cross the main highway with our backpack and stroller. What could be more thrilling/scary than crossing the street without a pedestrian lane? Yes, they don’t have any pedestrian lane. (It reminded me of my challenge in Vietnam as well). But we have survived and successfully reached the other side of the road.

What seemed near was far in reality. The positive thing about walking to Prambanan was stopping whenever we want to take photographs.

One of the street scenes that caught my interest was the architecture of the Masjid Raya Al Muttaqun, a mosque located at the south of the Prambanan Temple. Since it was not part of the itinerary and I’m not a Muslim, I just saw what’s on the outside but saw this post of Fairuz, who wrote about the interiors and history of the mosque. (Just use Google Translate).

We continued our walk towards the gate. It took us around 10 minutes to the gate of the temple and another 10-minute walk to the ticket counter. We paid $13 (Php 552.00 or 117,000 IDR) as entrance fee to the Prambanan temple. The staff at the counter then directed us to the locker area, where we left our bags. Thank goodness! And the locker was free of charge.

An Indonesian with umbrellas then approached us. I thought she was selling old-looking umbrellas. The language barrier was there but then we learned that it was for rent and not for sale. For 5,000 IDR (Php 23.00 or $ 0.54), we were saved from possible heat stroke. It was scorching hot in Prambanan.

Reaching Prambanan Temple was tiring but when we saw the temples, we were rewarded.

Candi Prambanan was regarded as the biggest Hindu Temple in Southeast Asia and one of the most beautiful temples in the world. The UNESCO recognized it as a World Heritage Site in 1991. The temple traced back its history in the 10th Century.

Legend has it that the Prambanan Temple was made out of a desperate love of Prince Bandung to Loro Djonggrang. Theirs was a love-gone-wrong story.

The Prambanan Temple has three main temples dedicated to: Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. Before getting to the primary yard where these temples were located, we saw the ruins caused by the 2006 earthquake that has struck Java.

After a few clicks, we moved to the main yard where the temples were.

The sculptures on the walls were believed to depict the story of the Ramayana. Here are the other sculptures that I saw.

I entered one of the temples. The entry point was narrow and dark. The first thing that I saw was the statue of Hindu god Brahma (the creator).

 

Goosebumps. I didn’t stay long and went down.

We walked to a nearby tree to rest. Locals, whom I believe were clean-up staff of the park, started talking to us in Bahasa. We just smiled and told them that we’re Filipinos. Filipinos have similar features with Indonesians. That’s why most of the time, they thought that we’re locals. They then pointed us to the exit.

From the exit, I saw Mt. Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia. We walked further and saw Prambanan in a different angle. It’s picturesque in whatever angle you view it. But for me, I liked this view from the exit. It would make you want to come back.

Surely, I will come back, Prambanan. Next time, I want to see you when the sun is about to set and watch the Ramayana Ballet.

I took my last glance on this temple. And yes, it’s definitely one of the most stunning temples in the world.

On our way back, we decided to take a bechak for the experience of riding one and hide from the sun. The drivers gave us high prices but we haggled hard until one of them agreed to 10,000 IDR (Php 46.00 or $1.08) for the two of us. So it’s 5,000 IDR each (Php 23.00).

Whew! The challenge continues. Yes, we’re taking another local ride from the Prambanan Station to Malioboro, where another adventure awaits us.

Southeast Asian Series: Transit to Yogyakarta

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Every hour matters. Four hours of sleep on a comfy bed was already a blessing. At first, I was thinking that my travel buddy, Ate Macon and I should just sleep at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. But I guess, both of us were not yet prepared for that. Despite being sleepy, we have to force ourselves to get up and catch the Aerobus scheduled to depart KL Sentral at 5:00 am.

Staying at MyHotel Sentral was a good choice. As soon as we exit the mini-hotel, we were just a few steps away from the Aerobus and successfully boarded it. The fare is 1RM cheaper than AirAsia’s Skybus which I’ve tried during my arrival in KL. The fare of Aerobus is RM8 (Php 110.87)  while a ticket of Skybus costs RM9.

It took us an hour to reach the Low Cost Carrier Terminal. It’s 6:00 am. Our flight is at 7:00 am. It was a wise decision to use AirAsia’s web check-in. But what I disliked about it was that I cannot choose my seat since the seating arrangement is assigned when you check-in online. I used to select a window seat but this time, I was assigned in between two seats. Great. (insert sarcasm here).

Good thing, the LCCT Terminal has a good number of food kiosks at the waiting area. So we filled our hungry stomachs before departing KL.

photo by macon

When our flight number was called for boarding, we lined up along with other passengers who were mostly Malaysians and Indonesians. I guess we’re the only Filipinos who were boarding that flight to Yogyakarta.

It was dark and drizzling outside. Guess what, we have to run in the rain. They didn’t have umbrellas to accompany the passengers. Oh well.

Here’s a map of the transit: Total Distance: 971 miles (KL-Jogja)

 

THE FLIGHT TO JOGJA

Hay, I didn’t get the window seat but at least I can sleep. Travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Yogyakarta was around 2 hours and 25 minutes. Yogyakarta, Indonesia is 1 hour behind Malaysia. Malaysia and the Philippines are in the same time zone.

I got to rest my eyes for an hour. My seatmate was so noisy. She was giggling with her other companions. It was really disappointing that I didn’t get the window seat. Silhouettes of volcanoes started to appear. Since my seatmate was also shooting, here’s the only shot that I got. I think it’s Mt. Merapi.

The plane landed at the Adisucipto International Airport at around 8:35 am. When I was about to get my bag, my other seatmate on my left helped me to get it from the overhead cabin. Yes, there were still good people.

After the long line out, Ate Macon and I alighted from the plane. We cheered like kids, “Yey!”

photo courtesy of macon

photo courtesy of macon

Finally, we’re on our second leg of the Southeast Asian Challenge: Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Yogyakarta is pronounced as [Jog-ja-karta]. From the airport, I’ve already noticed how they incorporated their art through the architecture of the airport. The rooves were made of terracotta tiles.

The arrival area was small making it crowded for the numerous passengers that have just arrived.

IMMIGRATION

Ate Macon easily passed the immigration because of her SG workpass. On the other hand, I was still asked some questions by the immigration. Only few Filipinos visit Yogyakarta. It’s not the usual destinations for Pinoys who are on a holiday. So what are the questions? Just the basics: What are you doing here? Are you alone? I said, “No.” I then pointed to my companion. The key here was to answer confidently. Don’t stutter. Don’t be afraid and everything will be alright.

MONEY CHANGER

Since I didn’t have any Indonesian Rupiahs (IDR) with me, I had to change a few bills at the Airport. The foreign exchange rate here was small so I only changed a few USD to IDR. Their rate: 1 USD is equal to 8,000 IDR. The going rate was 1 USD= 9,185 Rupiah. I changed 50 USD which gave me 400,000 IDR. In Pesos, my pocket money was Php 1,839.08.

In Indonesia, one can be a millionaire! :)

After we left the money changer counter, I went on to find their Tourism desk to ask for maps. They gave out a card-like map with the size of a bond paper.

photo courtesy of macon

Hoards of taxi drivers and tour operators approached us and asked if we want to avail of their tours. I was determined that we do it the DIY way for Prambanan. I’ve researched well enough. PTB friends FlipNomad and FramelessWorld Bino Caina (Thanks Flip and Bino!) gave tips as well on how to commute from the airport to Prambanan, our next destination.

Ate Macon was hungry so she decided to eat first at KFC. I wanted to try local dishes so I did not eat. My mistake. I forgot that our itinerary was jampacked that day.

To be Continued….

*This is the first post of my Indonesia Series, part of the 57-hour Southeast Asian Challenge

Southeast Asia: The 57-hour Challenge

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57 hours around Southeast Asia? Are you kidding me? Impossible? Crazy?

This may raise your eyebrow but yes, it was possible. It was one of my craziest trips to date. But why 57 hours? Here’s the story.

My trips always begin with seat sales because I want to maximize my budget and make travel affordable.

Around October 2011, I saw the teaser of AirAsia’s zero fare seat sale. I was firm to explore other countries that don’t require visas. Fortunately, being a Filipino has its perks. Southeast Asian countries (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos) don’t require visas for Filipinos. I did not let the chance passed and booked flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. It cost me Php 4,000 for the four segment flights.

Originally, my route was Clark to KL then from KL to Yogyakarta and back to KL. Then from KL, I planned to take a bus to Singapore. The trip was scheduled on March 27 until April 1, 2012.

2012 came in. As February approaches, I realized that my youngest brother would be graduating from college in March. I was torn between pursuing the trip or canceling it. Mama won’t allow me to be absent on his graduation. And yes, family’s important.

Thank God for another round of seat sales. I was able to fix my route–Clark>KL>Yogyakarta>SG>Manila. Whew! I believe that it’s better to grab opportunities than regret them later.

So what’s the challenge? To have an enriching experience in 57 hours around Southeast Asia with a Php 15,000 budget.

Let me share what I read recently from my favorite novelist Paulo Coelho in his novel, Aleph: “I started traveling like a mad thing. The great lessons I learned had been precisely those that my journeys had taught me.”

“Travel is never a matter of money but of courage. I spent a large part of my youth traveling the world as a hippie and what money did I have then? None. I barely had enough to pay for my fare but I still consider those to have been the best years of my youth…”

Here’s the map of my Southeast Asian Challenge:

How did I deal with the immigration officers of all countries? This was one of the questions posted by one of my readers. I would share these stories in my succeeding posts. :)