Getting to Yogyakarta/Jogja was a tedious journey. Mr g and I had both narrated our "adventure" to quite a few people. It's just unbelievable for this to be happening in reality. Instead of taking about 5 hrs to reach Jogja with 1 transit flight, we took a FREAKING 17 hrs! With 17 hrs we could easily fly to the other side of the world, yet Indonesia is so near us. It just didnt make any sense at all. All THANKS to MALAYSIA HOSPITALITY AIRLINES (MH) for allowing this to happen!!! They actually CANCELLED our 2 separate bookings WITHOUT informing until we were in front of the check-in counter at Changi airport and KL airport. Moreover, they still dare to address them as a hospitality airlines. What was most maddening was that they gave us the excuse of not having our contacts! Oh please, we booked the tickets online thus how was it possible for them not to have our contacts. What's more? Our flight got delayed in KL for an hour which caused us to miss our connection flight from Jakarta! As consumers, we ARE very disappointed with their HOSPITALITY!

However, along the way we were very lucky to meet a Indonesian Chinese couple at Jakarta airport who were also in the same plight as us. They helped us in getting on the last plane to Jogja, if not we would have to wait overnight at the airport for the earliest plane the next day. On a brighter note, perhaps this was a blessing in disguise because we got business class seats! HOHO! That was our maiden experience on a business class cabin!

We had wasted ONE WHOLE day travelling and it sort of disrupted our itnerary. In the end, our trip became very RUSH! Sight~

Nevertheless, this was a memorable trip for us. As if we were being transported back throught time. Many of the monuments we saw were magnificient!






Borobudur
Built over a period of some 75 years in the 8th and 9th centuries by the kingdom of Sailendra, constructed out of an estimated 1,600,000 blocks of volcanic stone, dredged from the river and assembled solely by human labor, the nine-terraced temple is a representation of the transition towards nirvana and is famed for its 1,500 intricately carved reliefs, covering a total length of five kilometers end-to-end. The volcanic Mount Merapi, one of the most active volcanoes on Java, can be seen steaming on the horizon directly north of the site.

The first archaeological study of the site was initiated in 1814 by Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore. First restored in 1907, the monument suffered from neglect and war and was once more in effect rebuilt in the 1970s under the guidance of UNESCO, who designated Borobudur as a World Heritage Site. The massive restoration process involved the removal and refurbishing of over one million blocks, rebuilding the foundation and adding drainage systems.
(WIKI TRAVEL EXTRACT)

Some students from East Java doing their practical test of interacting with tourists.

Photo taken with the local.

Taking their local bus

Their buses were actually in much better condition than we what we expected. Taxis there are expensive, around the fare rate as Singapore though a little cheaper. However, to travel long distance in taxis is definitely a no-no for your pockets.

Prambanan
Prambanan is a collection of massive Hindu temples (candi) built by the 10th century Mataram Kingdom, rulers of central Java and defeaters of the Sailendra Dynasty. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, in most any other country constructions on the scale of Prambanan would be quickly designated as a national symbol, but in Indonesia they are somewhat overshadowed by the even more awe-inspiring bulk of Borobudur just next door. The two sites are quite different in style though, with Prambanan being a collection of sharp, jagged pyramids instead of the vast horizontal bulk of Borobudur, and both are well worth a visit. (WIKITRAVEL EXTRACT)

Prambanan is still under reconstruction after withstanding numerous earthquakes for a thousand years.

Batik Industry
Indonesia is very famous for their batik.

A woman painting the batik.

Taman Sari Water Castle

Taman Sari means beautiful park. It is about ten minutes walk from the Sultan's Palace south-west ward. Sultan Hamengku Buwono I in 1757 built this park. He created a new style that was a combination and a mixture of Javanese and Portuguese architecture. Taman sari was once a beautiful and sophisticated water-park. The area around the park eastward to the city quarters called "Kampung Segaran" was once full of water. This place is now called Suryoputran. Segaran is a Javanese word means a man-made ocean or an artificial sea. Every time the Sultan visited the park, he went there by rowing a private canoe through the suspension bridge called "Kreteg Gantung" which lay in front of the Palace gate, southward or northward of Kemandungan. The remained building that was once connected by the suspension bridge can still be seen nowadays. Besides water transportation, there was also an underground passage or alley from the Sultan Palace leading to one of the park buildings which called Pasarean Ledok Sari. The castle once has a place for relaxation and entertainment as well, a unique mechanism of defence. (Abstract taken from http://www.geocities.com/in_yogyakarta/places_of_interest.html)

Underground.

This was a swimming pool in the past

Yogyakarta City

They have lots of things to shop there. hahaz.

Kaliurang Mountain

Our guide.

The lava trail left behind by the Merapi mountain in 2006.

The air was very cool. Mr loves it!

Merapi Mountain from afar. Beyond Description~~~~

Kaliurang Mountain

Kaliurang lies at the foot of Plawangan hill on the southern slope of mount Merapi, some 28 km northern of Yogyakarta. (http://www.geocities.com/in_yogyakarta/places_of_interest.html)

Climbing this mountain was exhausting! About 1800 meters!

Beautiful waterfall. The water was icy cold! Shiok!

On our way home

Going home.