Yogyakarta Places
Here are some of the photos I took with my phone - I'm using Ninetology U9 Z1+. Yeah Ninetology. Maybe some people are skeptical about the quality of the phone (it's Malaysian) BUT honestly so far I'm quite happy with it, I mean the quality of the photos is generally good and sharp, which is my main concern of buying a camera phone.
Welcome to a virtual tour around Jogja!
Gorgeous roses at hotel lobby. Our stay at Grand Aston Hotel was great.
And the breakfast, the view, the service were also very satisfactory.
Mount Merapi.
Palace of Yogyakarta has authentic Javanese architecture. Overall it's very simple, down to earth and humble. The extravagant and luxurious design of this roof was newly built.
The city was struck by earthquake and volcanoes so generally the houses are either one or two-storeys. View from my hotel room.
Affandi was a renowed Indonesian artist. He transformed his house into part of his artistic masterpiece and playground. Every building was one of a kind.
This is Affandi and his little cafe. The room upstairs was his bedroom.
Sunset of Yogyakarta. Also it's because there are generally no tall buildings so I could really witness this beauty from my hotel room.
Borobudur! Ahh! To think that I had finally been there, it's a dream come true.
In fact this trip wasn't only for fun and food. We met an Indonesian doctor who is very passionate about traditional Indonesian herbs and medicine. We were brought to see his hospital - where only traditional medicines will be used in treatments. Imagine building a hospital. The time and the effort... it's huge.
Einstein Batik.
The streets near the Tamansari / Water Castle are full of hidden gems:
little art shops and boutiques, and street art!
little art shops and boutiques, and street art!
Traditional Javanese Gamelan at the lobby. In fact Javanese women are very elegant and demure.
A lady was drawing intricate batik patterns.
At Cinema Bakery and Cafe. Saw my name on a movie poster. Hehehehehe.
Guilty pleasures.
Gorgeous street art. I wish somebody can tell me what they mean. =(
Nasi Padang. Many dishes were placed in front of the guest and you can pick what you want to eat.
Only the eaten ones will be charged.
The traffic in Jogja is no joke. As a KL driver myself I think it's even more challenging to drive there. Motorcycles are everywhere and the roads are very narrow.
This post wraps up my whole experience in Yogyakarta. It's only been 6 days, but because of the great hospitality shown I was able to tour around the town, try the most authentic local cuisines and know some really friendly local people. It's my first time in Indonesia and I didn't expect it to be so different from Malaysia. And I realized that my Bahasa Melayu was extremely poor! Their language and food are quite different. For example, guess what is wortel? It means carrot in Indonesian language. And I also learnt some other terms like jamur (mushroom), toko (shop), universitas (university), mobil (car) and telpon (phone). Another thing that surprised me (well, quite) is their food. I thought all Indonesians like spicy food but Javanese have a sweet tooth. Seriously these are some of the things that you won't know until you travel.
Traveling is always fun. It reminds me that the world is big and I shall never stop learning.
I heard that it's becoming a popular tourists' destination. Hopefully it will remain authentic, raw and unpretentious as it is now for many years to come.
Thank you all pak and ibu for the great hospitality.
Thank you for the eye-opening moments, Jogja.
Yogyakarta Travel Diary
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