Our first stop in Indonesia was the city of Yogyakarta on the island of Java. We made Yogyakarta our “home base” to explore the Hindu temple of Prambanan and the Buddhist temple of Borobudur before heading to Bali.
We ended up spending fourteen total days in Indonesia: four in Yogyakarta, followed by ten in Bali. Stay tuned for the Bali post, but spoiler alert: Bali was Bali. Still, Rich and I would not have traded our time in Yogyakarta with more time in Bali because visiting the island of Java gave us a lot of context and insight into Indonesia that we would not have had if we had flown straight from Singapore to Bali.
Day 120: Travel from Singapore to Yogyakarta
We spent our last few hours in the totally amazing country of Singapore in the most incredible airport I have ever seen, enjoying a very big breakfast at a luxurious airport lounge.
A Bumpy Flight
We came about as close to missing our flight out of Singapore as we have come to missing one of the many, many flights we have taken. The display board in the lounge did not update to indicate that our flight was boarding until the very last minute, and we walked up to our gate just as it was about to close! We received a very stern look from the airline employee and were the second-to-last couple to board. Sorry! It won’t happen again!
Our flight into Indonesia was bumpy, and our landing (Mom, skip ahead a couple of paragraphs) was terrifying. Flying feels really routine to us now, and this landing was anything but. We came in so fast. The European woman next to me said that in her experience flying into Indonesia, Indonesian pilots really enjoy landing at full speed and then jamming on the breaks. Awesome.
We were really sad to hear about the plane that crashed in Indonesia a few days later and felt that much more grateful that we ultimately landed safely.
A Hot Walk to the Hotel
While in Yogyakarta, we stayed at Hotel Satoria, a hotel by the airport in order to split the difference between the two temples we were there to visit. When we landed and Google maps showed us that our hotel was less than a mile from the airport, we decided we would just walk. How hard could a mile be? We are on an adventure!
Hard enough that this incident qualified as Rich’s least favorite moment in the past 30 days.
Basically, Google maps told us that we could walk along a path that went through an airfield, and security put the kibosh on that. Turning around added a good ten minutes to a very hot, very sweaty walk with no sidewalks. Plus, we had just left Singapore, one of the most luxurious countries in the world, and we were back in a smaller, developing city so the re-adjustment was a bit of a shock to our system.
Now, it’s Rich’s turn to skip a paragraph because I’m about to tell you that he was sweating like an animal! In three years of marriage and one hundred and twenty days of traveling– including walking a mile in Hanoi, Vietnam with all of our luggage after 24+ straight hours of travel— I had not seen him sweat like that. It was bizarre and icky. Maybe stress sweating? He was NOT a happy camper.
(Rich did not skip ahead and would like for me to add that my t-shirt was still drenched with sweat the next day. I’ll neither confirm nor deny.)
So we got to the hotel, checked in, showered, and ordered room service for dinner. All is well that ends well.
Day 121: Visiting the Prambanan
Rich read online that the best time to visit the temples at the Prambanan was at sunset while the best time to visit Borobudur was early in the morning. This advice proved really helpful.
We woke up, enjoyed hotel breakfast (winning!), did some blogging/planning work, then hit the hotel gym– basically, we took advantage of all of the things that make staying in a hotel so relaxing. Then we got ready to tour.
Prambanan Background
Transportation costs were really reasonable in Yogyakarta– adding insult to injury to our decision to walk from the airport– so we took a $4 Grab 45 minutes from our hotel to Prambanan. Upon arrival, we bought a joint ticket for Prambanan and Borobudur for $79 total for both of us. While a little pricier than some of the other temples we have visited, it was substantially less than what we paid for entry to Angkor Wat.
Prambanan is a ninth century Hindu temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia. The temple was abandoned around 930 BC after a volcanic eruption. While the local Javanese people knew the temples were there, the complex was rediscovered by the British in 1811. The Dutch began reconstruction in 1930, and UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1991. Almost a million people visit each year.
Our Visit to Prambanan
Prambanan was one of our very favorite temples we visited in all of Southeast Asia. First, the complex is huge, but when we visited, it was not overrun with other visitors. It was possible to get a picture without anyone else in it or to walk into a room in the temple and be the only one there.
Second, the time of day and temperature were so comfortable. We arrived about an hour before sunset, and the light on these ancient buildings was just so nice.
Finally, vendors were not allowed to sell anything within the temple complex so it was quiet and felt like an important, sacred space.
I am glad that we have visited all of the many, many temples we have visited throughout Southeast Asia, but I would not call most of these visits relaxing. There was something really calm and peaceful about our visit to Prambanan that makes it stand out.
Day 122: Visiting Borobudur
We had grand intentions of making it to Borobudur for sunrise, but that would have involved us actually getting out of bed at 4:00 AM, and, well, that didn’t happen.
We did arrive before 6:30 AM, and the temple was an hour away, so it isn’t like we exactly slept in.
Borobudur, also built in the 9th century, is the world’s largest Buddhist temple. It was abandoned in the 14th century when the Javanese people converted to Islam and then rediscovered by the British in 1911. Like Prambanan, it was also named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. Borobudur is Indonesia’s most visited tourist attraction.
Practicing English
When we arrived at this massive structure, we heard the sound of singing. We quickly saw multiple school groups huddled around their teachers singing bright and cheery morning songs.
We continued walking and were approached by a group of young students. “Miss, Sir, can we practice our English with you?”
Charmed, we readily agreed. The Indonesian children had a whole routine where they told us their names, then asked our names, then asked us a series of questions, “Where are you from? What brings you to Borobudur? Do you think Borobudur is very beautiful? Will you sing us a song?” We declined to sing, but we asked and answered questions with them for at least ten minutes before signing off on a piece of paper to give them a grade (A’s, obviously).
We walked around for another 20 minutes when we were approached by a smaller and older group of students. “Can we practice our English with you?” I agreed, and we spent another ten minutes with this group.
Rich: “We have practiced English twice. I think it’s okay if we say no to the next group that asks.”
The next group approaches, and a young student says, “You look like Tom Cruise!”
Guess who did not say no to these students! You got it: Tom Cruise.
One last note on the students practicing English: remember, it was 6:30 AM in the morning. These students were up, dressed in their uniforms, and at a historical site to practice a foreign language with native speakers. It was pretty remarkable.
Thoughts on Borobudur
We liked Borobudur too, but it didn’t have quite the magic for us that Prambanan had the evening before. On the way out, we had to walk through what felt like a million stalls of people selling things without clear directions on the way out.
We made it back to the hotel in time to eat breakfast and then go back to sleep! We enjoyed an afternoon of getting some work done and reading at the pool.
Day 123: We Didn’t Leave the Hotel
Seriously. I do not have a single picture from this day. We woke up, we went to breakfast, we did some work, we went to the gym, we spent time at the pool, and we ate at the hotel restaurant for dinner.
And it was glorious.
The end.
If it isn’t evident, our stamina for touring started wearing thin. Our hotel was really comfortable, the staff was friendly, and the hotel food was tasty. Spending a day not seeing anything felt luxurious.
I am sure there are many lovely areas and restaurants in Yogyakarta we could have experienced. We loved Prambanan and enjoyed Borobudur too, and for this trip and this leg of our journey that was about all we could muster.
Onward to Bali!