For the uninitiated, my friend and i went over to Jogja toward the end of March for a little R&R. A mutual friend who is also pursuing her postgrad in USM, Titien, stays there and she had been inviting us over for years so we finally found a suitable date to go over. Titien had previously stayed next to me in uni and was the angel who took care of me when i was down with the blasted pox.
Our flight which had originally been scheduled for 1pm was now rescehuled to 7-freaking-am so we had to be at the airport by 530am. Got to Jogja and Ibu and her lovely hubby, Kris were already there to pick us up and take us to their lovely lovely home where the first thing i did was of course have a long long nap :p
Ibu and Kris have 4 of the loveliest children ever...Ellen (the hot hot babe), Renad, Claudia and the duracell bunny named David :)
Day 1 - Shopping!
Started with shopping along maliaboro street. We had actually wanted to go to the beringharjo old market but it closes at 4pm so we shopped instead along the stalls opposite the market. Everything is dirt cheap...got cute tees for RM8; gorgeous little paintings for RM10 and some purses for my mummy at RM10 as well.
There is also this gorgeous art shop at the end of the street which sells the most beautiful artsy stuff....paintings, carvings, wood stuff etc. I seriously wanted to buy the whole shop!
Anyway after that Kris picked us up and showed us around town....the Sultan's palace, places of worship etc. Then after that we went for dinner. Ibu's favourite restaurant is Colombo so we tried the nasi goreng there...was killer! Oh and they had this es alpukat which is iced avocado....like an avocado milkshake.....soo sooo the yummy!!!!
By the time we got back we were dead tired so believe it or not i was in bed at 8pm!!! That's right...8pm! But to be fair it get's dark at around 530pm!
Day 2 - Borobudur
The sun rises at 5am so i actually woke up at around 530am...more so because David was awake and running around the whole house. LOL! But made myself go back to sleep (was such an effort as you can imagine *wink*) and woke up only around 8pm cos i wanted to get my hair done since it's just so cheap here.
After that we headed over to Borobudur which is about an hour away from their house, Along the way we stopped at Je Jamuran...a restaurant which specializes in mushrooms. Ibu was so sweet...they picked that restaurant since i was vegetarian. And everything was made of mushrooms...even the satay was made totally of mushrooms! Food was absolutely delish!
Proceeded onto Borobudur where we hired a guide who was just very animated and kept injecting his own philosophy into everything...was actually a joy listening and watching him. And part of the 'tradition' in Borobudur is to circumambulate 3 times around the temple and to make a wish....which i did. While the view from the temple is astounding and the temple itself is gorgeous, it wasn't as breath-taking as Angkor Wat. But definitely worth the visit of course.
Oh and after that i got these gorgeous black, granite statues of Buddha, a stupa and a Ganesha. I had actually purchased the Ganesha for Dhinesh but it was just too beautiful that i've decided to keep it for myself....sorry Dhin :p
For dinner we went to Prof Johanes road which is just near the Gajah Mada University to have gudeg which is rice with jackfruit. At first i was turned off by the thought of jackfruit with rice but it was totally delicious!!! And they put this lovely lovely Kurma curry with it....my mouth is watering just thinking of it!
In bed again by 9pm!
Day 3 - Perambanan
Sunday was Palm Sunday so we went to Ellen's campus' church to celebrate mass, and i have to say that it was once of the most beautiful masses i have ever attended! I mean the choir was just absolutely fantastic...i had goose-bumps everytime they sang. And eveything is soo very organized, they have female altar helpers and they use the word Allah freely!
Next was Perambanan which is just 20 minutes away from their house....a very different structure from Borobudur but just as beautiful, although i must say that i preferred Borobudur. I just felt that it was too overpriced at USD13 (Borobudur is USD15) and you can finish circling the complex in 20-30 minutes!
Lunch was Baso which is basically meatballs. But this shop called Baso Telupat prepared it differently....sorta like the pasembur in penang. I had mine with taufu and egg and it was delicious!
Then we headed over to the Spa for some pampering....a facial mani and pedi, body massage and hair creambath...all for only RM100! Can you believe that??! And it took 4 hours! While i did enjoy it somewhat it did make me realise that i'm not really into that whole feminine thingy cos i really thought i could be doing something better with that time!
Anyway all in all it was a great trip and i would definitely go back cos there is so much more to do and see. Plus i already miss Ibu and the family so very much...they made us soo very welcomed and went out of their way to accomodate us...such sweethearts!
Notes :
1. Finding a money changer is near impossible so i would advise you to bring enough. We had to go back to the airport just to change our money.
2. Language can be such a barrier cos they speak a totally different dialect here compared to Bali. So try to get a local to take you around.
16 comments:
How relaxed and contented you look, Saby. And your boobs look pretty happy too. Have you recently become a vegetarian?
Wow the temples look awesome!
im gonna put it on my must visit places list!
PS: I had the Baso (or Bakso) in Bali. It was freaking awesome!!
GB : Yes the ladies are particularly happy, thank you for noticing :p
And yes i've gone back to being a vegetarian and that in itself has helped put quite the glow on my face :)
Kav : Dude you would so so love it la...i bet you, Visithra and Abang Mo would go crazy with your cameras...
heheh i heard my name - jogjas been on my list forever - but i keep going everywhere else first ;p off to vietname in sep for a long trip ;p
what a lovely trip - loved the photos n me no likey that u fueling the i wanna go jogja craze again - sigh i need more holidays ;p
pic of the ganesha n buddha pls - ive always loved both ;p used to collect ganeshas ;p
Vietnam??? Cool! For how long and where exactly??
You will def love jogja la babes...especially the people....just lovely
Will put up pixx of th statues soon...must dig them out o my drawer....hid them there from my mum :(
Sounds like a lovely trip. Did you prebook your guide before going there?
I'm a wee bit traumatised about the jackfruit and rice thingy though... don't think I could ever eat that combo.
love the lovely pictures and the informative photo comments . I should consider Yogyakarta as my next holiday destination .
What a majestic looking place. Too many places to visit - never enough time dammit.
Terra : No dear. We actually didn't bother with a guide since i had my host but after a while we took one....many o thm who are just wandering about at the temple. But if u ever go try to get Agus...really funny guy
Oh and i was very turned off by the thought of it too but i changed my mind at the very last minutei did....it really isn't what u think it is :)
Unicorn : Thanks dear....if you need any trave tips just drp me a line :)
Scurf : Oh i know what u mean dear!!!!
But i'm sure you're busy dealing with the blasted volcano and ash right? :p
Pictures look great
So where is the guy? :)
:p
Off to Hanoi - sapa, halong bay, hue, hoi ann - i think from 25 sept to 7 oct - wanna come ;p hehe
ive heard only nice stuff about jogja - so may go next year ;p
I wan!!!!!!!!!
I love jackfruit - I think combining it with rice sounds like a great idea
I really is quite divine!!!! But have never seen it in any other country...
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