Yogyakarta Tour Tips

RECOMMENDED VACATION TOUR
TIME (WIB/WEST INDONESIA TIME) -> SCHEDULE

LESS THAN 1 DAY TOUR

06:00 - 07:30 Arrival with train or other land vehicles. Finish breakfast and other preparations at the fast services restaurant (Gudeg or Padang restaurants). Arrival with plane from Jakarta should confirm his ticket at the airline counter desk in Adisucipto Airport.

08:00 - 09:30 Visit Kraton Yogyakarta.

09:00 - 10:30 Visit Museum Sonobudoyo.

10:30 - 11:30 Visit Taman Sari including the batik artist around.

11:30 - 14:00 Visit Prambanan Monument & other monuments around. Eat lunch in the journey.

14:00 - 17:30 Check your flight or train schedule. If your next flight is the Garuda Airlines to Jakarta or Bali around 15:00, then you should go directly to the airport. If possible you may visit Borobudur Monument, including Mendut and Pawon monuments.

TWO DAYS AND ONE NIGHT TOUR

DAY 1

07:30 - 08:30 Arrival in Yogyakarta with plane, train or other land vehicles. Go directly to the booked hotel, check in and eat breakfast.

08:30 - 10:00 Visit Kraton Yogyakarta.

10:00 - 10:30 Visit Museum Sonobudoyo.

10:30 - 11:30 Visit Taman Sari including the batik artist around.

11:30 - 13:00 Visit Prambanan Monument & other monuments around.

13:00 - 15:30 Visit the Kraton Ratu Boko and Banyunibo Monument.

15:30 - 17:00 Returns to hotel, rest and preparation for the night tour.

17:00 - 20:00 Free tour or eat dinner.

20:00 - 22:00 Watch the Ramayana art performance at Taman Hiburan Rakyat Sasono Suko or Dalem Pujokusuman.

22:00 - 23:00 Eat supper at Malioboro or free tour, return to hotel and rest.

DAY 2

08:00 - 10:00 Preparation, eat breakfast, check out from hotel.

10:00 - 13:30 Visit monuments Mendut, Pawon and Borobudur, eat lunch.

13:30 - 15:00 Check your flight or train schedule. Visit art village at Yogyakarta - Solo province road on the way to the airport. Remember to always check your time. If you leave Yogyakarta by land transportation, visit Kotagede to shop silver souvenirs, watch or learn the silver-crafting.

15:00 - 17:00 Visit Gedongkiwo to watch Wayang Kulit performance at Agatsya organization.

17:00 - 17:15 Go to the Tugu Station directly if your train leave Yogyakarta around 18:00.

17:00 - 20:00 If you take the night bus to Surabaya or other cities eastward of Yogyakarta, may spend time to visit batik and leather producer or just hanging around at Malioboro. The night bus to Surabaya will depart at 20:00.

THREE DAYS UP TO ONE WEEK TOUR.

You will have enough time to visit most places in Yogyakarta. Feel free to write me for travel / accomodation tips.

Travel Semarang

Semarang lies in the northern part of Central Java. It is a bustling mid-size town with 1.5 (one and half) million population. More a business than tourism destination, it nevertheless has its own charm with contrasting modern mid-rises, Dutch colonial architecture, China town, and small kampongs jut against each other.

The city weather is hot and humid. Wear cotton clothes. You do not need long sleeves shirt, instead a T-shirt and knee-long trousers are comfortable. Some places like mosques (masjid) and temples require polite dress such as long trousers/skirts. Hot pants/mini skirts will attract people attention and might be considered impolite.

Semarang is off the tourist trail and knowing even basic Indonesian will be helpful (and courteous), although younger people can often speak some English.

Tourism Information Centre TIC:
- Jalan Madukoro Blok BB. Tel.: (62)(24) 7608570.
- Jalan Pemuda 147. Tel.: (62)(24) 3515451. Next to Novotel Hotel.

By plane: Semarang's Airport is Ahmad Yani International Airport, quite nearby from the city centre. Daily flights are available to many major cities in Indonesia. Garuda Indonesia, Merpati Nusantara, Mandala Air, Adam Air, Batavia Air, Sriwijaya Air and Jatayu Airlines fly to Jakarta daily. Merpati also has daily flight to Surabaya. Deraya flies to Pangkalanbun and Bandung. There is also flight service to Yogyakarta by Trigana Air/Kalstar. Trigana Air/Kalstar and Indonesia Air Transport also fly daily to Pankalanbun. The airport's only international flight is to Singapore four times a week by Garuda Indonesia.

By train: Semarang is connected to Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya by trains. Interestingly, there is no comparable railway service to Yogyakarta, although a railway line exists. The Argo Muria express connects Semarang to Jakarta, and with its relatively new equipment (2002), is very comfortable. The downside is the very early departure (5.00 AM!) to Jakarta. Overnight trains are also available. The fastest train between Semarang and Jakarta takes around 6 hours. Bandung and Surabaya are also connected to Semarang with air-conditioned eksekutif class trains.

There are two main railway station in Semarang, Stasiun Tawang and Stasiun Poncol. On the northern main line, between Semarang and Pekalongan, the railway line follows the coast line, providing passengers with beautiful views of the Java Sea.

By car: Semarang can be reached by car from Jakarta. It takes around 10 to 12 hours depending on the road traffic. You can choose to leave early in the morning from Jakarta to arrive in Semarang the next 12 hours. Over night drive is faster yet more challenging and even dangerous for "Pantura" non familiar driver. Pantura derives from "Pantai" which means Beach and "Utara" which means North.

From Jakarta you can take the route eastward via Cikampek toll road. Go along the toll road until your reach Cikampek toll gate, take left and you are in "Pantura Road". In Pantura road you have to follow the direction sign to Cirebon, Pekalongan, Kendal, Semarang or Surabaya as those cities are eastward from Jakarta.

You will pass small towns like Patrol, Jatibarang, and relatively bigger ones like Cirebon. Before entering Cirebon, you can take the toll road instead of taking into Cirebon traffic if you do not want to drop by in Cirebon. After exit from the Cirebon toll road, you will drive eastward along Losari and then you will pass Tegal, Pemalang, Pekalongan and Kendal before you arrive in Semarang.

Gas station are abundant, you can see them almost every 5 or 10 kilometers along the road. They have toilet facilities. Pay Rp1,000 (US$ 10 cents). Beware of small or old gas station, they have poor lighting and terrible toilet. Choose a newer and bigger gas station with good lighting parking space and clean toilets. Please make sure that you have locked your car and do not leave your valuable unattended.

By bus: Many bus services from Jakarta to Semarang. You can choose to go in the day time with air conditioned (A/C) from Pasar Rebo Bus Terminal in East Jakarta, Kalideres Bus Terminal in West Jakarta or from Lebak Bulus Bus Terminal in South Jakarta. The overnight bus with A/C are also available with good services. You can choose bus operators such as: "Rosalia Indah", "Kramat Jati", "Raya", "Safari Dharma Raya" as the good reputed bus serving Jakarta to Semarang. Sometimes the bus route is Jakarta to Solo via Semarang, you can choose them too, but please remind the bus driver's assistant (usually male, a person who check your ticket onboard the bus) to wake you up in Semarang.

There is also the executive-class tourist bus Joglosemar, that connects Jogjakarta, Solo and Semarang (hence the name). Joglosemar picks up tourists from specific hotels and provide snacks and water for your trip. Considerably pricier than other executive buses, it is more comfortable and provides a friendly service throughout the journey.

By boat: Jakarta - Semarang (vice versa) traditionally travelled via railway, northern coast road ("pantura") or by plane. A trip by a sea vessel is uncommon due to its rare schedule and length of journey that takes too long compared with train (approx 6 hours) and over night bus (9 hours).

Tourist Destinations:

- Sam Po Kong Temple, Jln. Simongan No. 129, Phone: +62 24 7605 277.

The beautiful Sam Po Kong temple (Gedung Batu) was built to respect the Muslim Chinese commander named Cheng Ho of Ming Dinasty who visited Semarang in the early 15th century. It was extensively renovated in 2006 to celebrate the 600th anniversary of Cheng Ho's voyage to Semarang.

- Northern Semarang has a lot of old Dutch colonial buildings. This was where the old walled city located. The wall is no longer there, but many of the old building remains, especially in the area called Kota Lama (The Old Town or Oudstadt). On certain months, this part of Semarang is flooded by the rising tide (called "rob" in Javanese).

- Tanjung Mas. A busy, important port during Dutch occupation (from 17th century to 1945).

- Gereja Blenduk, Jalan Letjen Suprapto 32. The name means "domed church". A beautiful Protestant church built in 1753, it is the oldest church in Semarang. It has a baroque organ, a rarity in Indonesia.

- Stasiun Tawang. The oldest major railway station in Java, completed in 1870.

- Simpang Lima. a vast square at the heart of Semarang. At night, you can eat, drink, or just bring yourself wandering around Simpang Lima. edit Semarang has a very good landscape, some says best landscape thanks to its coastal area in the northern part of the city with Tanjung Mas as its international harbour and hilly area in the southern part streching from Candi area to Bukit Sari with picturesque Mount Ungaran at the background.

Before you get into hilly area named Bukit Sari, you will see on your left Taman Tabanas Gombel where you can stop by, drink tea and see Semarang's view from the hill. It's view is really beautiful and romantic during the night time.

- Gunung Ungaran with its tea and jasmine plantation, Gua Kreo / Kreo Cave with its interesting stalactite and stalagmite and of course Marina at Tanjung Mas are the alternatives for those who has more than 2 free days in Semarang.

- Monuments Lawang Sewu Tugu Muda, is one of Semarang's landmark. It is situated westward off Simpang Lima, one of the 5 streets crossing Simpang Lima named Jalan Pandanaran. This monument commemorated the 5 days of fierce battle (October 14-19, 1945) between Indonesian freedom fighters and Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender their weapons.

There are some Dutch colonial buildings around Tugu Muda; the most famous one is Lawang Sewu which means A Thousand Doors. It was built as the headquarter of the local railway company. During World War II, it was used as the Japanese army's headquarter. The building is now empty and in a dilapidated state (and notoriously haunted), nevertheless it is still considered as one of Semarang's most prominent landmark.

- Museum Ronggowarsito, Jln. Abdurrahman Saleh No. 1, Phone: +62-24-7602389, 8AM-2PM, except on Monday. Javanese culture and art. Rp2.000 (Mar 2008).

- MURI, Indonesian National Record Museum. Jl. Setiabudi no.179 Srondol. Website: Muri. Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8AM-4PM.

- Nyonya Meneer. Jamu (traditional Javanese drink) Museum. Jln. Kaligawe. Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10AM–3PM.

- Mandala Bhakti. Military Museum. Jln. Mgr.Sugiyopranoto Semarang.

- Amusement Park Istana Majapahit. Jl. Majapahit 288-290. Opening hours: daily, 06.00 AM -09.00 PM. Facility: swimming pool, children playground, small train, cultural centre (puppet show/wayang).

- Lele Park (Kampoeng Wisata). Kecamatan Tugu. Open daily. Facility: children playground, cultural and art shows, animal shows.

- Marina Beach. North Semarang. Facility: swimming pool, children playground, beach volley ball, water sports.

- Ngaliyan Tirta Indah, jalan Raya Ngaliyan Kecamatan Ngaliyan. Facility: swimming pool, beautiful plantation, flower garden, sports centre. Puri Maerokoco and Kampoeng Laut.

- Tawangmas PRPP, a clone of TMII (Jakarta). Facility: cultural and art shows, boat, water bike, small train, fishing pond.

- Sodong, 20 km from Semarang. Facility: beautiful plantation, fishing pond, swimming pool.

- Mangkang Zoo, located in the West Semarang. There a lot of animal preserve there but it lacks of attraction.

Source: Wikitravel

Semarang

Semarang is a city on the north coast of the island of Java, Indonesia. It is the capital of the province of Central Java. It has an area of 373.67 km² and a population of approximately 1.5 million people, making it the Indonesia's fifth largest city. Semarang is located on the northern coast of Java at 6°58′S, 110°25′E. The northern part of the city is built on the coastal plain while the southern parts, known as Candi Lama and Candi Baru, are on higher ground. Two rivers run through the city, one on the east side and one through the west side, essentially dividing the city into thirds.

A major port during the Dutch colonial era, and still an important port today, the city is known in Indonesia for its large ethnically Chinese population. The name of the city, Semarang, may have originated from the concatenation of the words "asem" (tamarind) and "arang" (rare). Another version is that Semarang is originated from Chinese word Sam Po Lang (San Bao Loong), meaning "the city of Sam Po" (Admiral Zheng He).

Semarang's history dates back to the ninth century, when it was known as Bergota. By the end of fifteenth century, a Javanese Islamic missionary from nearby Sultanate of Demak with the name of Kyai Pandan Arang founded a village and an Islamic boarding school in this place. On May 1, 1547, after consulting Sunan Kalijaga, Sultan Hadiwijaya of Pajang declared Kyai Pandan Arang the first bupati (regent) of Semarang, thus culturally and politically, on this day Semarang was born.

In 1678, Sunan Amangkurat II promised to give control of Semarang to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a part of a debt payment. In 1682, the Semarang state was founded by the Dutch colonial power. On October 5, 1705 after years of occupations, Semarang officially became a VOC city when Susuhunan Pakubuwono I made a deal to give extensive trade rights to the VOC in exchange of wiping out Mataram's debt. The VOC, and later, the Dutch East Indies government, established tobacco plantations in the region and built roads and railroads, making Semarang an important colonial trading centre.

In the 1920s, the city became a center of leftist and nationalist activism. With the founding of the Communist Party of Indonesia in the city, Semarang became known as the "Red City". The Japanese military occupied the city along with the rest of Java in 1942, during Pacific War of World War II. During that time, Semarang was headed by a military governor called a Shiko), and two vice governors known as Fuku Shiko. One of the vice governors was appointed from Japan, and the other was chosen from the local population. After Indonesian independence in 1945, Semarang became the capital of Central Java province.

The population of Semarang is predominantly Javanese, though with smaller numbers of people from many regions in Indonesia. The city is known for its large ethnically Chinese population. The main languages spoken are Indonesian and Javanese.

As a result of its large ethnically Chinese population, the city boasts several Chinese temples. These include Sam Po Kong (Gedung Batu), built in honour of the Chinese Great Admiral Zheng He who visited the area in 1405, and Tay Kak Sie Temple. Blenduk Church, a 1753 Protestant church built by the Dutch, is located in the old town (called "Oudstad"). Tugu Muda (Youth Monument), a monument to heroes of Indonesia's independence struggle, is located in front of Gedung Lawang Sewu and Semarang Cathedral, at the end of Jalan Pemuda, one of the city's major shopping streets.

Semarang is home to several notable universities and high schools. A notable state-owned university at Semarang is Undip or Diponegoro University. Other notable universities are Soegijapranata Catholic University and Sultan Agung Islamic University. Among the other schools is Karangturi, a national private school which has facilities for children in Kindergarten through senior high school. Karangturi is known for having a high proportion of Chinese-Indonesian students.

Source: Wikipedia

Prambanan

Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple compound in Indonesia, located approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta. The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the largest Hindu temples in south-east Asia. It is characterised by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples.

It was built around 850 CE by either Rakai Pikatan, king of the second Mataram dynasty, or Balitung Maha Sambu, during the Sanjaya Dynasty. Not long after its construction, the temple was abandoned and began to deteriorate. Reconstruction of the compound began in 1918. The main building was completed in around 1953. Much of the original stonework has been stolen and reused at remote construction sites. A temple will only be rebuilt if at least 75% of the original stones are available, and therefore only the foundation walls of most of the smaller shrines are now visible and with no plans for their reconstruction.

The temple was damaged during the earthquake in Java in 2006. The complex appears to be structurally intact, damage is significant. Large pieces of debris, including carvings, were scattered over the ground. The temple has been closed to the public until damage can be fully assessed. However, some weeks later in 2006 the site re-opened for visitors. The immediate surroundings of the Hindu temples remain off-limits for safety reasons.

The compound is assembled of eight main shrines or candis, and more than 250 surrounding individual candis. The three main shrines, called Trisakti (Ind. "three sacred places"), are dedicated to the three gods: Shiva the Destroyer, Vishnu the Keeper and Brahma the Creator.

The Shiva shrine at the center contains four chambers, one in every cardinal direction. While the first contains a three meter high statue of Shiva, the other three contain smaller statues of Durga, his wife, Agastya, a risi, and Ganesha, his son.

The shrine of Durga is also called the temple of Loro Jonggrang (slender virgin), after a Javanese princess, daughter of King Boko. She was forced to marry a man she did not love, Bandung Bondowoso. After long negotiations she eventually agreed to the marriage, under the condition that her prince should build her a temple ornamented with 1000 statues, between the setting and the rising of the sun.

Helped by supernatural beings, the prince was about to succeed. So the princess ordered the women of the village to set a fire in the east of the temple, attempting to make the prince believe that the sun was about to rise. As the cocks began to crow, fooled by the light, the supernatural helpers fled. The prince, furious about the simple trick, had changed Loro Jongrang to stone. She became the last and the most beautiful of the thousand statues.

The two other main shrines are that of Vishnu, to the north, and the one of Brahma, facing to the south. In front of each main temple is a smaller candi on the east side, dedicated to the mounts of the respective god - the bull Nandi for Shiva, the gander Angsa for Brahma, and Vishnu's Eagle Garuda, which serves as the national symbol of Indonesia (cf. also to the airline Garuda Indonesia).

The bas-reliefs along the twenty sides of the temple depict the Ramayana legend. They illustrate how Sita, the wife of Rama, is abducted by an evil ogre. The monkey king Hanuman brings his army to help Rama and rescue Sita. This story is also shown by the Ramayana Ballet, regularly performed at full moon in front of the illuminated Prambanan complex.

The temple complex is surrounded by more than 250 individual temples of different sizes, called Pewara, believed to have been offered to the king as a sign of submission. The Pewara are arranged in four rows around the central temples, according to the rank of the people allowed to enter them. While the central row was accessible to the priests only, the other three were reserved for the nobles, the knights and the simple people respectively.

Ganesha, God of Knowledge, son of Shiva

Not far to the west are found Candi Kalasan and Candi Sari, and to the south the Ratu Boko on higher ground. Each provides further clues and details of the Prambanan complex and some of its mysteries.

Source: Wikipedia, World of Heritage UNESCO

Cap Go Meh in Muntilan

Better late then never, I should write this article in February, but may be all of you had known that I was living in Bronze Age without internet for few months, lol. As I told you before, the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration is 15 (fifteen) days, and the day 15 is called Cap Go Meh (in Hokkian or Fujian dialect).

In Indonesia, the Chinese culture had been oppressed by Soeharto (the 2nd President of Republic of Indonesia) (1966-1998) so basically no celebration at that time. Until that suppressing law was reformed by Gus Dur (Abdulrahman Wahid, the 4th President of the Republic of Indonesia) (1999-2002).

In present time you'll be able to see many celebrations at local temple. The picture above was taken at Fu An Tang (Mandarin dialect) or Hok An Kiong (Hokkian dialect) in Muntilan, the small city located in Magelang Regency in Central Java Province - at the middle of Yogyakarta city and Magelang city. Many Chinese or local culture will be performed each day until the Cap Go Meh evening.

Amazingly the participant is not only the Chinese or Sam Kaw (Three Religion) disciples, but even the local Javanese and Moslem was participating. And this is the real performance of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika or Unity in Diversity, the slogan written at Garuda Pancasila (the national symbol of Republic of Indonesia), I think. :D

Above is kind of cat or animal dance (I'm not pretty sure). The dancers were in state of trance, while their guardian (the man in black suit) incites a prayer in Arabic language.

And here is the 'Liong Kui' or Dragon headed Tortoise (Turtle with Dragon head). At the golden scale of the turtle, written name of donator. And if you see the gold money piece at the upper side - that is where the biggest donator's name written. Personally I found out this Liong Kui was not sensational enough, not as sensational as the reported by Metro TV (one of the top and good television channel in Indonesia), which reported that the 'Liong Kui' is the biggest in East Asia.

At left below is the Dragon King, the Chinese culture believes that dragon kings rules the seas. The North Sea rules by North Dragon King, the East Sea rules by East Dragon King, and so on. (But I really don't know which one is this guy.)

If you noticed the difference, above picture was taken at daylight meanwhile below picture was taken night.

And there was a Barong or Barongsai (Lion Dance) performance at night which caused the temple was really crowded by curious visitors. Most of them look to enjoy themselves, watching something which some of them understood and some of them not.

Last but not least, I do hope that this traditions will be repeated every year forever.

Happy Chinese New Year (Hey, this is the day fifteenth; you do not need to say the regards anymore by tomorrow). :D

Borobudur

Borobudur is a ninth century Mahayana Buddhist monument in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome is located at the center of the top platform, and is surrounded by seventy-two Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa.

The monument is both a shrine to the Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path circumambulating the monument while ascending to the top through the three levels of Buddhist cosmology, namely, Kamadhatu (the world of desire); Rupadhatu (the world of forms); and Arupadhatu (the world of formless). During the journey, the monument guides the pilgrims through a system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the wall and the balutrades.

Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the fourteenth century decline of Buddhist and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. It was rediscovered in 1814 by Sir Thomas Raffles, the British ruler of Java. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage, where once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak (Waisak) at the Borobudur monument, and it is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.

But frankly speaking, I think quite many of the statues were stolen. Comparing the first and the last time I had visited Borobudur, I feels like so many statues was beheaded. Anyhow I can't be very sure because the first time I visited Borobudur was more than 20 years ago. And now I can just hoping the authority will be able to take a good care of this great monument for a long - long time.

FYI the entry fees is Rp 10,000 (ten thousand rupiahs) for each person and Rp 1,000 (one thousand rupiahs) for each camera you bring inside and car parking fee is Rp 5,000 (five thousand rupiahs), and it takes about 1 hour from Yogyakarta city. Have a nice trip. :D

Source: Wikipedia, National Geography Indonesia