Always wanted to go to Indonesia. No joke, had been planning this trip for about six years? I was thinking Bali, beaches, bars (…of course), but then I downloaded a Lonely Planet guide with the sunrise over Borobudur on the cover and I immediately fell in love with the beauty and romance of Java. Suddenly it was non-negotiable. If I was travelling to Bali, I had to find a way to sneak a side trip into my itinerary. Even if I could only be there for 48 hours, I had to make it to Yogyakarta.
Yogya-what-a?
Yogyakarta, also known as Jogjakarta or Jogja is the capital city of Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, on the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an important centre for classical Javanese fine arts and culture such as ballet, batik textiles, drama, literature, music, poetry, silversmithing, visual arts, and wayang puppetry.
Wikipedia
Thank you, Wikipedia. Jogja is a cultural hub and the tourism capital of Java and yes, it is still ruled by a Sultan. It is home to a number of its own sights, but I was actually primarily using it as a base to explore the wider region. However, I had to get there first…
Mission impossible? Getting to Yogyakarta
If the plan was just to travel to Bali, there would have been a little less drama. It is tourist central, with multiple airlines dropping off thousands of clubbers, beach-hoppers and Eat, Pray, Love-rs several times a day. Though you can’t fly direct from the UK, there are lots of options via Asia and The Middle East. Getting to Jogja? Much less choice – and it’s hard to make it with less than 2 stops. From the UK you could:
- Fly to Bali, get a separate return to Jogja (low cost carriers such as Lion Air and Air Asia make this trip alongside the bigger airlines like Garuda, so there is a bit of choice)
- Connect via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur (again, both legacy and low cost options)
- Book a multi-city ticket from your origin destination. Generally less choice, sometimes more expensive, but you do get the protection of having your trip all on one ticket.
Note: I flew in into JOG (Adisutjipto airport), but YIA (Yogyakarta International airport) opened at the end of March 2020, so check who is flying where…
I took option #3. Restricted by work, the only time I could manage two weeks off to make the trip coincided with the double-header of Christmas and high season, meaning flights were EXPENSIVE. I ended up finding the best deal with Garuda, Indonesia’s national airline, with the trade-off of flying at 10pm on New Year’s Eve (so, I rang in 2020 somewhere over Europe, sharing a polite handshake with my seatmate). Flying on the days either side would have added hundreds to the price, so NYE it was. I also had to have a brief overnight in Bali (flight landed after 11pm) before continuing the next day.
My final flights:
LONDON – MEDAN – BALI (overnight) – YOGYAKARTA – BALI (for 10 nights) – SINGAPORE (re-booked) – LONDON
Tip: I’d found the flight a few quid cheaper on various OTAs (Online Travel Agents), but having read online that Garuda had a bit of a reputation for changing and cancelling flights, I decided to give them a call and book over the phone. If they were going to mess with my flight, I wanted to be first in line to be looked after directly, not via an intermediary. Good call, they totally cancelled my return flight. 5 mins on the phone, I was rebooked via Changi on a Singapore Air A380. Result.
From taking off in London at 21:10 on 31st December 2019 to landing in Yogyakarta at 07:40 on the 2nd January, the journey took about 36 hours. I didn’t just cross timezones, I crossed a DECADE. Like I said, it was a mission.
Where I stayed
This little side trip was only for 3 nights, so naturally, I needed 3 hotels. 3 hotels???!!!
Hotel #1
The first doesn’t strictly count. My flight from London landed in Denpasar after 11pm and I need somewhere to have a quick overnight layover before my 7am flight to Jogja the next morning. I chose Hotel Solaris Kuta because it was clean, very close to the airport and relatively cheap (<£15). I was there for about 6 hours, long enough to shower, sleep and watch a K-Pop dance show on MTV involving salad(?).
Hotel #2
The hotel I booked in Jogja for 2 nights was the Grand Marto. I chose it because it was in an area fairly central to the main attractions, was well reviewed and again, relatively cheap. I was also attracted by the decor – lots of dark woods, the style seemed typically local Javanese, rather than a soulless corporate you could get anywhere. They let me check in outrageously early, it was spotlessly clean and only about 10 minutes in a Grab from the main drag of Malioboro Street. It was a great base to rest my head between attractions, but when I returned exhausted (and a little bit sick) from my sunrise trip to Borobudur (3am pick-up!), the forecast threatened rain and I realised I was going to be stuck hanging out there all day…it just didn’t feel that cosy.
Hotel #3
I felt bad checking out after only one night (though I did pay for 2) because they were just so nice to me, but I got a stupidly cheap day-of deal for the faceless corporate a 2-minute Grab ride around the corner. The Lynn Hotel by Horison may have lacked local charm, but when the apocalyptic rains came, I was tucked up in a king size bed, eating chips and watching Fast & Furious 7 on telly. Authentic? No. But when you are tired and feeling very ropey, it is just what needs to be done.
Top 5 things to do in Yogyakarta
Full disclosure. Though the inspiration for the trip was to see the UNESCO World Heritage sites at Prambanan and Borobudur, I did actually have grand plans to do some other activities in Yogyakarta itself. However, 36 hours of travel followed by back-to-back sunset and sunrise tours – and then the rubbish weather – got the better of me. So, sorry I didn’t get to do everything…
Prambanan and Borobudur
The main reason for my trip to Central Java was to realise my vision of replicating that perfect Lonely Planet sunrise over the stupas at Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world. And then there’s the Hindu temple complex at Prambanan… Both spectacular, both deserve their own posts, don’t you think?
The Kraton
The Kraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat or Palace in Yogyakarta is the royal complex. Not just a cultural and historical attraction, it is essentially a walled city that is still home to the Sultan and his family. You can explore with or without a guide and, though there are mixed reports on the quality of the artifacts and general upkeep, I was still keen to check it out. I enjoyed Topkapi Palace in Istanbul and this was giving me similar vibes. Plus, there are daily performances – Javanese dance, music, shadow puppetry – in the inner pavilion. Sad to have missed this.
Taman Sari
Sad to have missed this too (…but going to see water features in the bucketing rain seemed kind of crazy). Close to the Kraton, the Taman Sari or Water Castle was built as the private pleasure gardens of the sultan. The complex is only partly preserved and features a network artificial lakes and waterways, including the very instagramable pools where the concubines used to bathe to ‘prepare’ themselves for the sultan.
Malioboro Street
My first taste of downtown Jogja, I had my Grab drop me at the mall, did a quick circuit (and made a coffee pitstop), before talking a walk. If you want to buy ANYTHING, you’ll probably find it here. Food, clothes, a lot of souvenirs, a lot of tat. It’s buzzy and bustling, worth checking out – I wouldn’t necessarily give it more than an hour, though. I was there at lunchtime, I’m told that the evening offers a bit of a different vibe – I did have my eye on a street food tour. Next time.
Cultural activities
Silversmithing, handmade batik, traditional gamelan music, puppetry… Yogyakarta truly is a cultural and creative hub. But, after taking salsa lessons in Havana and samba and forró classes in Brazil, my go-to cultural travel activity has to be dance. I may not be great at it, but I do really enjoy it. I really fancied trying the Javanese dance workshop with Backstreet Academy, but settled for watching the experts at the Ramayana Ballet at Prambanan instead. Given that classical Javanese dance is characterised by movements that are controlled, elegant and refined (3 words that have never been used to describe me), it was probably for the best…
Top 3 tips for Yogyakarta
I might only have spent a short time in the region, but that was still long enough to learn a few things that might help you plan your own trip. In other words, I made a load of silly mistakes so you don’t have to.
Tech bits
Actually, not just for Jogja, valid for the rest of Indonesia. Download the Grab app (I used Gojek more in Bali – same Uber-like concept – I think it just depends on where you are, you’ll find both on your friendly neighbourhood app store) because it is so convenient for nipping back and forth, and super cheap. My hops around the city were all around 35,000Rp (a couple of pounds) and I made it all the way to Prambanan (about 45 mins-1hr drive) for 100,000Rp – a fraction of what the organised tours were charging. As a solo female, I felt safe taking them, even at night. Order on the app, pay in cash (2024 Diva here: just came back from Malaysia and made all my payments by card via the app, just like Uber) – just make sure you have data on your phone as you can’t always rely on there being wifi.
Speaking of… pick up a pre-paid SIM to avoid running up massive roaming charges – you can arrange through Klook or look for official booths at the airport (pricier) or around Malioboro. Telkomsel and XL are two of the better known options, but there are many others. Despite travelling with 2 phones, I epically failed at this task and ran up a bit of a bill trying to rescue myself with Google maps before I saw the light.
Weather
Avoid rainy season, if you can! Jakarta, also on Java, was heavily flooded while I was there – to the point of devastation. Though Jogja was not as badly hit, the torrential rain really did disrupt my plans. I pretty much swam from Prambanan to the ballet and missed out on a few activities thanks to a mini monsoon. It did rain a little on Bali and Lombok, but nothing too disruptive. Java rains were next level.
Plan your time.
Is Yogyakarta doable in 48 hours? YES. However, staying out late at the ballet then getting up early for sunrise at Borobudur seriously messed with my body clock. Even if it hadn’t rained, I probably would still have lost an afternoon recovering.
If I had my time over (…and no rain), day 1 might have been the same, perhaps with dinner and drinks in the evening. Day 2? Kraton and Water Palace followed by a dance workshop late afternoon and an early night. My flight was at 4pm on day 3, so I definitely could have fit in the sunrise tour (we were back by noon) before leaving. But then Backstreet Academy had street food tours and a chocolate workshop. And a company called Via Via had some quirky, alternative day trips. Then there was shopping. OK. I could have done another night.
The end bit
However long you have to spend – and despite the weather – Yogyakarta is definitely worth the diversion. Sunrise at Borobudur was one of my all time travel highlights – ALL TIME – and I was disappointed not to experience more of the city and culture. More posts to come (yay, lockdown!). It was a big trip and I have a lot to say…
