Yogyakarta

in and around yogyakarta!

after bali, yogyakarta (same as jogjakarta... to locals, simply, jogja) is the second most important tourist destination in indonesia. before leaving for jogja from jakarta, i was a bit worried that i might have a hard time going to borobodur. aside from securing hotel duta guesthouse accommodation through agoda, i didn't bother looking for info on how to get to borobodur. i was traveling alone so hiring a van was out of the question and because of that, i might have to brave local jogja commuting.

to my pleasant surprise, borobodur tours can be arranged thru local guesthouses and hotels, similar to what they do in bangkok. i booked it and the lovely ladies in hotel duta told me that i needed to be up early, around 5 am, because the tour starts at 5:30! the package tour included breakfast (hard boiled egg, bread, strawberry jam, butter, banana and mineral water), taking you to borobodur and mendut in the morning and prambanan temples in the early afternoon. i shared the van with a french couple but we didn't chat at all.