Day 2
Sprang out of bed at approximately 3.30am, I quickly washed up because I was meeting the driver at about 4 am. His name was Hermon, a really nice and honest chap to which I later came to appreciate his integrity and genuine heart (PM me for his number). After an hour and a half of driving, we finally arrived at our destination. It was somewhere near Borobodur Temple (I can’t recall the place because it was recommended by Hermon) at the top of a small hill with an impeccable view of the sunrise. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t exactly favorable on
that day which affected the beauty of the sunrise. After which, we headed down to Borobodur Temple to visit the magnificent temple. With regards to the ticket fee, I’m not pretty sure as I’ve forgotten about it but one thing I know is that instead of purchasing a single ticket to Borobodur, you could purchase dual ticket (one for Borobodur the other for Prambanan) at a lower price. Better yet if you’re a student, flash your student pass and you’ll get a discount (a huge one apparently).
Borobodur Temple
I can’t exactly put a finger on the magic of Borobodur temple, but it gave out a very positive vibe… Somehow being there, you feel like there are no worries at the moment and a hidden voice that calls you to meditate at the top of the temple. Indeed, there were lots of people up there meditating (some tourists some locals). Probably the most amazing temple (no kidding) I’ve visited, it is definitely a good place to reflect on life. With a Gopro attached to my monopod, I shamelessly tried doing a video of me Temple Running around the vicinity. While shameless filming myself doing retarded actions, a group of students came and approached me. We then had a talk about the magnificent temple and as they introduced themselves they invited me to a farewell party that would take place in the next week. Unfortunately, because I’m only staying for a while I had to reject their generous offer. I guess that’s the beauty of travelling alone. You meet new people, exposed to their culture and gain new perspective in life just by interacting with them. Though not someone who randomly hit on strangers for conversations, this particular encounter has helped me to open up to strangers. With that said, it felt really good to be able to converse with people from different part of the world.
Goa Pindul
The next stop that would require an hour and a half of travelling would be the Goa Pindul Cave. The main activity here is cave tubing but the other activity that you could request for is the cliff jump (4m and 10m). Clearly the cave tubing isn’t enough for my satisfaction…
Feel the sensation of an adventure in the river inside a cave using a lifebelt. While going through the dark valley in the cave with stalactite and stalagmite, you will also have a story about the journey of Joko Singulung looking for his father.
Upon registering for my slot, which cost about 120,000 IDR, I left all my belongings (including passport) at Hermon’s car. Though uneasy at first, I’m glad I trusted his integrity to safe keep my valuables. The trust between us led to a beautiful friendship later on. Moving on, I changed into my beach shorts and wore the life vest and shoes that they provided and set off via motorcycle to the cave tubing area. Sited on a float, the staff pushes you while swimming through the cave. Wouldn’t say it’s a fantastic experience (because you’re basically just sitting there doing nothing while he pushes) but definitely a different one entering into an uncertainty of darkness ahead of you. The ride was pretty short and after arriving at the final stop, I requested for him to bring me to where the fun takes place, which is the CLIFF JUMPING (OH YEAH).
SPOT ME (10m)
I was then taken to this stranded piece of wilderness, which HONESTLY, I thought I was going to be silenced here. It definitely looked like the place where people silence u and then bury you there. After 15 minutes or so of waiting, the staff finally came with my float and there we set off to the cliff jumping area. Because the water current was pretty strong, I rafted down the river with my ass bumping onto some rocks on the bed of the river. Did I mention also that the water isn’t clear and pure? It was super muddy and if you’d take a look inside the river, you’d see nothing… Upon reaching the secret spot, there were many Indonesians; I was probably the only tourist that isn’t an Indonesian. Filled with excitement, I skipped the 4m jump and proceed straight into the 10m jump. After the jump, other spectators greeted me with applauses. I guess they didn’t know I had balls of steel (Just kidding). Anyway, for my subsequent jump, my Gopro came off from the monopod (WOAH) but thank god I caught it before it sank into the muddy water. At this point in time, I had the least motivation to carry on what I was doing and not helping it, the weather decided to be mean and rained on me. I then headed back to the admin area to wash up and left for Prambanan Temple.
Prambanan Temple
The journey to Prambanan Temple took another hour or so from Goa Pindul. Though cited as an attraction, I felt that Borobodur tops the list if you’re looking to visit some temples. Nevertheless, perhaps because Prambanan was having some ongoing construction then, it didn’t appeal to me. With that said, if you’re in Yogyakarta and aren’t sick of temples, Prambanan might be your place although you should visit it before Borobodur so you wouldn’t be disappointed. As with all other temples, the temples in Yogyakarta are smoke-free. Which means if you want to take a puff, do so outside the temple or risk getting caught and paying fine.
Among any other days, I’d say today was the most happening for me albeit being very tired from waking up early and spending most of the time travelling.
Day 3
Drained out from the previous day, I slept through morning only to wake up at 12pm in the noon. I wouldn’t say it’s a wasted day because I catered more than enough time for this trip thus; today was a pretty chill day for me. For people who known me long enough, I love walking. At this particular day I walked around the city under the sweltering hot sun for about 10km in total to shopping malls. The major shopping mall that you should patronize is the Royal Ambarrukmo Plaza. The largest shopping mall in Yogyakarta, it has many international brands such as Starbucks, Quicksilver etc. Being in a developing environment for a while, the plaza is a change in environment that brings you back to the city-feel. The second mall that I stopped by is the Lippo Plaza Jogja, which is a relatively new mall. There wasn’t any crowd here due to its new existence but you could find some good buys here at the departmental store. I bought a LINEN long sleeve for just $17 SGD!!! WOOOHOOO
For street wear shopping, you could head down to Jalan Demangan Baru Yogyakarta, which I happened to chance upon while getting lost.
A pretty chill day for me, getting lost in the beautiful city was nothing short of amazing… I guess it’s true about what people say.
The best way to explore a city is to get lost in it
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