Semarang 2013 Day 2 – Yogya Tour & Day 3: Home Sweet Home

Tried to wake up early cos I wanted to see the sunrise and but was too late. The sun was already up. Open the front door and I was greeted by one hell of a view.

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Mt Merapi in her full glory at our doorstep.

Went along the corridor and took a few shots. To the right the sun was up already but the view was just as amazing. Went back to brush my teeth and to get ready for breakfast and a great day. Breakfast was served poolside alfresco. There was the usual buffet stuff though the variety wasn’t that great.

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Alfresco breakfast buffet.

After breakfast, went back to the room to retrieve our packed bags for check out. We would be spending our night in Semarang due to an early flight the following day. We had booked a driver for the whole day to bring us touring and he had arrived early while we were checking out. It was for a price of about SGD 45 for the whole day for car and driver, pretty good if you asked me. The driver spoke reasonably understandable English and was born in the region and thus familiar. He had even suggested a change in our sequence just to get the best of everything. He suggested doing Mt Merapi first since the sky was clear in the morning and we would get good pictures then. About an hours’ drive and we arrived at location after going through an entrance. There were still many staying beside this active volcano, with the latest eruption just in 2010. The fertility of the soil made farmers stay.

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Standing in front of the smoking Merapi.

The parked his car and we alighted and were free to go to wherever we wanted. There was various stalls that were not opened and a few that operated 4 wheel drives to the volcano. Those were a tad bit out of our budget and we continued walking towards the volcano till we saw a pretty good deal. Pillion riding for on a motorcycle for one of the location for just SGD 2 per person! The “chauffeur” were ladies but they were shy about ferrying us around in their little bikes. It was pretty fun.

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Place where the pillion riding service was offered.
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Rendall on the bike in front.

We were first brought to a location where there was a view deck, and a few posters talking about the eruption and a shed with a burnt vehicle. Around the area were workers at work, rebuilding the area.

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View from the top of a view deck
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Great spot for a bird’s eye view.
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Shed with a burnt vehicle and some information posters around.

After the view deck, the riders brought us to the right hand side of this location, down a small slope to an long empty brown stretch. This was the lava river that formed after the eruption and it stretched as far as 20km away, we were told. An obvious jut was found in the middle of this stretch – a little 10T (or much more??) boulder was spitted by Merapi and it landed some 7km away from its mouth, the location where it was sitting now. That was some eruption I must say!

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So we scaled this little boulder to cam whore.
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Brown stretch of lava bank.
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Information board on the eruptions.
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Stores opened for business. No risk no gain.

After countless shots of the majestic Merapi, we finally decide to go back and the ladies drove us back to the initial location where we first boarded. There we roamed around abit, trying to look for various viewpoints of the mountain. After completely satisfied with the shots, then we boarded the car for the next destination, another hour away from where we were. Borobudur, the site that motivated the visit to Yogyakarta.

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Entrance of Borobudur Temple with a hawker selling hats.
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Grandeur of the temple can be experienced on the way there. View from the gardens in front of it.
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Procedure??
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A flight of stairs before the temple.
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The guide helped with this shot.

Once alighted, we went through the entrance till we reached a ticketing counter that was within a room. There you could get free bottled water and also the place where you could engage a guide which was great so that you would learn more about its architecture and history. We had to pay the entrance fee of about SGD20+ and were each given a sarong to don as a sign of respect for the visit in the temple. Along the way, the guide would share some info on the history of the temple, the cravings of the temple what it meant, the different stages of Buddhism up to the enlightenment at the top of the temple. There were also different postures of the Buddha at the different side facing, comprising of mediation, calling the earth to witness, compassion and cycle of life.

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View of the garden from Borobudur.
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Wall carvings depicting sins of self pleasure with drinking, dancing and smoking.
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Wall carving depicting the birth of Buddha.
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Stupas everywhere.

The guide provided pretty interesting information. He told us that the architect who designed this temple was buried in the hills which can be seen from the temple. The hills formed a shape of a sleeping man and thus represented the architect lying beside the temple, keeping watch over it. He also shared some distasteful dirty jokes that we both felt bemused but turned a deaf year too. Minus point.

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Sleeping architect seen from Borobudur.
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Cute statue of a lion – Smiling or Angry? Eyebrows reveal the feelings.
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Panorama at the top level of Borobudur.
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Panorama of the view from the top of Borobudur.
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Busy cam whoring while Rendell the iphone photographer was busy snapping away.
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Rows and rows of stupas. Buddhas can be found in them.
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Buddha in a mediation posture in a shelter.
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Another Buddha statue in mediation posture.

This temple had me comparing with Angkor Wat which I visited years back. I remembered Angkor Wat as somewhat bigger in area, but with much empty spaces unlike Borobudur which was quite compacted. Although both were Buddhist temples, each offered different styles of design and definitely worth a visit each. If required to make a choice between the two, I would choose Siem Reap for the variety of temples in a localised area though.

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Borobudur from the diagonal.

Spent quite a while for shooting more shots though the more we shot, the more the pictures seemed to look the same. Oh well. More is better mentality. After finally leaving, the route was arranged such that we were made to walk through rows and rows of stalls that were all closed. It was a wonder why there weren’t many tourists at that time of the day. After the stalls, we then came to a place where there were a couple of food stalls and since business wasn’t bustling, the waitress tried to grab the people that were just exiting. And usually the first stall often got the most customers, us amongst them.

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Had to try their Mee Goreng.
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Nasi Goreng was not too shabby too.

Our next and final stop was another UNESCO listed Prambanan Temple, some 2 hrs away. One the way out of Borobudur, we alighted outside the compound of Mendut Temple by the road, and took some shots. It was a small temple so we decided not to spend too much time (and money) on that and proceeded towards Prambanan.

The tickets costed almost SGD20 but the whole area didn’t look as big as that of Borobudur but the towering temples could be seen from far. Similarly we were given a sarong to wear before entering the temple compound but this time we didn’t ask for a guide. There were multiple towers but there was one in the middle of the compound that had a queue. We proceeded to line up too after taking some photos of the surrounding.

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Medut Temple.
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UNESCO sign atop the Prambanan name.
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Various temple in the compound.
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Lingam and yoni all over.
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One of the towers where you can climb up the stairs to look into a room.
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Joined the queue. There was a warning sign on the visit.

There was a large sign that informed visitors of the structure of the temple being unstable, up to a point where number of visitors were strictly controlled and everyone who entered was given a helmet each. That took a while and finally it was our turn. This Shiva temple was the biggest tower in the compound and there were steps to climb to move around. The temple was different in terms of architecture compared to Borobudur, a beauty on its own. There were also various wall carvings too.

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Shiva carving on the wall.
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Climb a flight of stairs for access.
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Nice stairway stone statue.
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Door overhead carving.
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Room where Durga resides in the temple.

Took about an hour to finish walking the complex but we roamed around the complex to shoot photos.

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Panorama of the Prambanan Temple
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The last attraction before returning home.
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And of course we have to wait for sunset right?

We waited for quite a bit for sunset and did our shots. Satisfied, we walked out and there were rows of stalls selling stuff and food. We visited one to get our dinner. Across the store where we dined, there was a shop that sold wood crafts and a wooden craft man and he was hard at work. Though we wasn’t really interested in his wares, we striked a conversation with him and understood that he came from Bali. He came here to earn a living and was able to speak good English, a consequence of an island full of foreign tourists.

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Craftsman hard at work.
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Gado Gado
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Tahu Goreng, somewhat different from the one in Singapore.

Night had fallen by the time we boarded the car. It was the fasting month and it was also time for him to break fast. However, he was very service oriented and continued to drive us to the Joglosemar office for our trip back. Booked the next available bus, which is a smaller van compared to the one we arrived in. The traffic back wasn’t really good either and it took another 3hrs before we finally arrived in Joglosemar in Semarang. From there, we took a taxi back to our Ibis hotel in Semarang. It was a simple hotel and it was really cheap. There ain’t wifi in the room though so Rendell has to go to the lobby to use it. On the other hand, my laptop could be wired for internet but it was not working. The IT guys came up and replaced the cable and the internet came alive! Ordered some room service since the dinner wasn’t really filling.

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Simple modern room.
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Rain shower with funky coloured tiles.
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Adequate and clean toilet.

The town looked pretty boring as we attempted to walk around. It was more of a business town then a tourist town and virtually all the shops were already closed. There weren’t anything fantastic to watch and so we went to sleep.

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View from the room.

Awoke early the next day since our fight was 1040 in the morning. Went back to the tiny airport. There were some shops at the airport, selling tourist souvenirs and local food to bring home. There were also 2 different locations for international and domestic flights, but fairly closed to one another.

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Goodies from the Inaugural flight. Certificate, Mascot soft toy and a paparazzi style photo.
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Small airport of Semarang.

This was my first trip travelling with this old friend of almost 20 years. It was really fun as there were many things that we caught up with one another during this trip. He made the itinerary which suited our travelling styles and was easy-going the same way that I was too. I loved taking pictures and he was far more a cam whore than I was, I discovered! Well, memories like these are worth the digital storage.

Semarang 2013 Day 1 – Inaugural flight to Semarang and Marlioboro

Started the day early as the inaugural Silkair flight to Semarang from Singapore was jetting off at 845am, which means we had to get to the airport for check in really early. My travel mate Rendall joined me at the carpark (walking distance from his home) and my dad sent us to the airport before going to work.

Though it was an inaugural flight, there wasn’t any fancy stuff going around the counters, check in was business as usual. However, before boarding the plane, we were each given a bird-in-a-cultural-costume soft toy and a certificate to commemorate the taking this flight. Flight time was about 2 hrs and over in a snappy shuteye and soon we landed in an unfamiliar Semarang city of Central Java. That was when we experienced something that was not expected in the usual flights. From far we saw  a fire engine parked by the lane side and as the plane taxied towards the gate, the water cannon salute was given (where the fire engine activated the hose so that the plane could pass under it). It was pretty thrilling to experience that the first time. On top of that, there was also a red carpet decked out to welcome first Silkair guests, felt like a VIP (just a little). Of course we took pictures, who could resist?

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Red carpet treatment for inaugural MI 102 SIlkair to Semarang
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All set and ready for an adventure
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Small Achmad Yani International airport

Got off the airport and boarded a taxi to Joglosemar office in Semarang for our trip to Yogyakarta. Asked to go on meter and it was just a couple of dollars. The Joglosemar office was located at the same building location as the Semarang Tourism Information Center, to the left hand side of the building. There was also a small stall that sold foodstuff and drinks. We proceeded straight to the office where there was already a customer. Small counter so we just waited till it was our turn. There were 2 options with various timings and so we took the one next available which was a 20 seater luxury coach (something like those coaches that you take to go Genting) and it came with tiny packed lunch. They weren’t really good at English but we figured.

There was some time and so we visited the Tourism Information Center. Went in the entrance but did not see anyone around. Someone then came out from another room and asked if we needed help in which we mentioned that we needed some maps and information. She went on to lead us through the door into another bigger room where there seemed to be a library and place where they keep the brochures and stuff. They were very helpful in pointing out the various attractions available in Semarang and maps for Java and Semarang. After getting what we required, we excused ourselves and went back to the sitting area outside to wait.

As time drew closer and closer, we got a little concern if we have been missed at all. There were coaches arriving and parking at the busy main road since the internal parking space was full of mini buses already and we weren’t sure which were the buses. As the drivers and their assistants reported back to the offices, we tried to ask them but got a confused response. But this didn’t last long and soon enough, the office staff and the drivers came out to call for the various destinations for the buses. There weren’t many passengers but we just sat at the allocated seats first.

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Joglosemar office for buses to Yogyakarta
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Si Podang within the Tourism Information Center – The soft toy was a smaller softer version of this mascot.
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Counter at the TIC
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Packed lunch consisting of water and bread
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Paddy fields along the way.
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Logging activity
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Incredible jam.
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A bus stop maybe?

Yogyakarta is about 130km away on Google map and I thought the trip would just be around 2hrs if not less. It took about 3.5hrs. The bus had to make a few more stops collecting/depositing cargo goods and passengers. After about a 30mins drive, we were finally on the continuous movement towards our destination. However, as expected, the roads were all single lane in each direction and loads of heavy vehicles took this lane for transit. Therefore instead of moving at a highway speed of 80km/hr, we were probably 40km max on busy roads and frequently at standstill too. But I guess there weren’t any faster way there since this was the only road.

Finally we arrived at the office in Yogya. From here we were supposed to get a taxi to our hotel but as we walked to the main road, there were no taxis in sight. We walked along the road and soon reached a food stall and thought we should have a bite. It was a road side burger stall so we each bought a burger.

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Burger store
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Cooking in progress.
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Famished!
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Inside the tiny local bus
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That’s me and Rendall behind me with the helpful taxi driver

After food, we continued along the road often looking behind to see if there were any taxis. Then we saw a chance in the form of a bus and it stopped for us. We asked the guy at the door if this went to the place where we wanted and he nodded. Then we found ourselves seated amongst the locals. Aboard, we met a taxi driver on his off days who could speak English and he advised us the payment of the fare to the door guy who got us boarded, which was pretty cheap but we didn’t have the change and ended paying 10k Rupiah. He was also kind enough to show us the place to alight, which was the same place where he alighted. Interesting experience there.

Once off, our bargaining skills was put in practice with the haggling of price for trishaw cyclist to bring us to our hotel. Based on our thumb sucking ability, we asked for a mere 20k to our hotel. From there, it was a breezy, squeezy (2 guys with backpacks) 15mins ride to the hotel. To be honest, we felt really bad that the distance was really far and in the end, we paid 30k instead, which wasn’t too much more anyway.

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Mini local bus that we took
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Snapping away while sitting on a trishaw.

Reached the hotel and checked in at the Jambuluwuk Hotel. The room that was given to us was pretty clean and spacious. The view wasn’t fantastic but it was one of the tallest buildings around. There were other rooms facing the Merapi volcano and that would probably have the best view, facing both sunset direction. We weren’t planning a long stay anyway so it didn’t really matter. After a while we proceeded to the Malioboro shopping street for dinner and walkabout, an easy 15mins of walking. The weather was somewhat cooler than Singapore, making the stroll breezy.

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Recept area
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Room
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Bathroom with a tub.
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Malioboro street with food stalls before the sunset.

There were quite a few food stalls and we dropped by one stall that sold some fried pancake like food (Roti Bakar), not sure of the name as it was in Indonesian. Though we didn’t know Indonesian, our finger pointing and charade skills managed to get us through. Wasn’t satisfied and bought some fried stuff from another stall. Then continued walking along the street, lined with many shops selling many touristy stuff that repeated frequently. Not very interesting if you aren’t interested.

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Frying in progress.
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Crispy and a tad bit oily. Quite filling too.
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More fried stuff from another road stall.
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Night shot of Malioboro, where streets were busy with tourists and locals alike.

Bought orange juice from a fruit drink stall from a shop but unfortunately, it was more water than juice, tasted pretty bad. We continued into Malioboro mall and visited a noodle restaurant searching for some Indo Mie. We didn’t really get that but some other noodles. Nothing much to shout about except that it was cheap and we were filled. We also weren’t interested in the mall stuff and left soon after.

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View of the mall interior, something like a Singapore oldstyle rural mall.
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Indo noodles.

 

Walking back to the hotel was just as simple. Explored the hotel for a bit, there was a small business center, a pool and a spa. We were looking for a bar with a live band but there wasn’t anything on a Monday night. Went back to the room, spent some time on the wifi before going to sleep, ready for a more exciting day the next day.

Escape Plan to Semarang in July 2013

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Semarang in July 2013:

Total duration 3D2N
Singapore is 1hr behind Semarang, Indonesia.
Flight time is 2hrs direct flight on Silkair (won a pair of free tix for its inaugural flight!) from Singapore to Semarang
Morning flight on 29th Jul and arrival in Semarang also in the morning.

Day 1 Yogya Night market on Malioboro street
Day 2 Borobudur, Prambanan Temple, Mt Merapi
Day 3 Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was triggered from the winning of a pair of tickets to Semarang which is close to the UNESCO Borobudur that I very wanted to visit. I was joined by a good old friend who volunteered to his time to travel with me (since not everyone was really interested in Indonesia and taking 3 days of precious leave for this) and also doing up a flawless itinerary that ensured affordable fun.

Budget nature: Easy on the wallet 

Winning the tickets helped to reduce the overall costs by a bit but the cheaper route was to fly direct to Yogyakarta instead. There are, of course, other cheaper budget airlines that fly there and thus the win is of not much significance. Travelling in Indo is cheap by international standards and with proper planning it can be achieved easily. We did it under SGD$300 all in.

Complexity: DIY possible for the novice

Some planning is definitely required but it is not too difficult to travel. Some difficulty in communication might be expected but heading to Yogyakarta is not difficult. Prearranged drivers would make traveling to various stops at Yogya easier and save up on some time but expect to pay a little bit more for the hassle free travel.