The Wonderful Yogyakarta

• Prolog

Indonesia consists of hundreds of distinct native ethnic and linguistic groups, with the largest and politically dominant ethnic group being the Javanese. The population is unevenly spread throughout the islands within a variety of habitats and levels of development, ranging from the megalopolis of Jakarta to uncontacted tribes in the east. A shared identity has developed, defined by a national language, ethnic diversity, religious pluralism within a Muslim-majority population, and a history of colonialism and rebelion against it. Indonesia's national motto, "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" ("Unity in Diversity" literally, "many, yet one"), articulates the diversity that shapes the country. Indonesia's economy is the world's 16th largest by nominal GDP and the 8th largest by GDP at PPP, the largest in Southeast Asia, and is considered an emerging market and newly industrialised country. Indonesia has been a member of the United Nations since 1950.[b] Indonesia was an organizer of the Bandung Conference[18] and was the founder of Non-Aligned Movement; and also the founding member of Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, East Asia Summit, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Indonesia is a member of the G20 major economies and World Trade Organization.

Yogyakarta is the best place for me in Indonesia, it’s hard for me to start with them. Not only because each place is different, they are also charming in their own way. If you ask me what I truly love the most about Jogjakarta, then it's most likely the humbleness of the overall, and the people. Even I’m not the pure boy from there because I born in Tangerang, but my parents born and grow up at there and that place is still be my hometown. As an Indonesian myself, I must say that I find Indonesians to generally be friendly (and it's normal to sometimes meet the insane-rude jerks), but Yogyakarta peoples still the best that I’ve ever seen when do my traveling. This post is going to be your guide to travelling in Yogjakarta, and if this is your first time planning a trip here, I hope this post can help you plan a good one. This is certainly not a complete list because I'm here on a limited time and I do need more to surf Yogyakarta and around.

Tugu Yogyakarta

• The Interesting Place

Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko temples

Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia and once featured as one of the top 7 wonders of the world. I have been here 3 times in my life and while I normally give up and has the least interest towards cultural site craps, Borobudur is an exception. It is beautiful, it is pretty and most importantly, it is rich (cultural value wise). Ticket price for Borobudur runs at IDR 30k/person (locals and Indonesian citizens) and IDR 135k (international tourists). You can book the Borobudur Sunrise package to experience the gorgeous sunrise with Borobudur in the frame (make sure you have a good wide lens to capture that) just like the ones you see on Google.

If you visit Prambanan temple, they also provide this package to have a little tour of "Ratu Boko", it's a different area and you need vans to take you there (but since I bought the package, there's a travel car). Ratu Boko provides super gorgeous sky view as well as the hills, they were bluer than water and greener than Iceberg lettuce.

Borobudur

Prambanan

Ratu Boko

Alun –Alun Yogyakarta

Alun-Alun Yogyakarta is certainly the top notch night entertainment in Jogjakarta. Forget about the night clubs and alcohols, you can party here with a lot of joy, togetherness, musics and perfect ambience. Alun-Alun Jogjakarta is divided into two: the north and the south Alun-Alun. The southern part is certainly where the "more fun" part is, and also the home for the "Mysterious Trees". The old belief mentioned that whoever succeed in passing the alley in between the two trees can get whatever the wish they have, some also said that the person must have a good and pure heart.

Alun-Alun Yogyakarta

Benteng Vredeburg

Benteng Vredeburg is like the mini and better-organized version of Jakarta's Fatahillah and built by the Dutch government back in 1765 when Indonesia was still under them. Inside the complex are white ports and traditional houses and locals treat the complex as their very own local park where they can chill around with their friends here sitting on the grass. It might be smaller, but I personally prefer this than Fatahillah. Benteng Vredeburg is located around the Malioboro and near to Kraton Yogyakarta and Gedung Agung.

Benteng Vredeburg

Malioboro

Malioboro is the largest shopping district in Yogyakarta here you can find traditional clothings, accessories and hand crafts in this area. I recommend going by night for the ambience is quite different (and better IMHO), it's a lot more free but in a good way, music everywhere, people dancing on the street like there's no tomorrow. It's just a refreshing scene to the eye!

Malioboro is where Mirota Batik is, a huge shop where you can purchase clothings, gifts, food, beverages, beauty products, it's sort of a department store/gift shop. Mirota Batik is also the home of Raminten, a local restaurant that's popular to locals and tourists for its one of a kind Cabaret show (on Friday and Saturday night) featuring Yogyakarta's version of drag queens. Malioboro is just charming at night and photo below is the common scene of people having fun dancing to gamelan on the street!

Malioboro

Merapi

Merapi is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia and during the non-active years, locals take advantage and create the "Merapi Lava Tour" where visitors can book the Merapi tour and enjoy a short to long haul Merapi jeep tour including the visit to affected sites post eruption. I will talk about Merapi in a different post, but let me tell you something, I find it naturally beautiful.

Merapi

• The People Activity and Culture

The Ramayana Ballet

The Ramayana Ballet is a dance and theatre performance held on an outdoor stage against the backdrop of Prambanan Temple. The play is based on an ancient Hindu love story and follows the tale of King Rama and Princess Shinta. Over 200 dancers and actors perform in this epic. Recommended for people who enjoy performances and want to see a real spectacle, with Javanese dancing and eye catching costumes.

Ramayana Ballet

Wayang kulit and Gamelan

One of the main cultures of Yogya is the Wayang Kulit, which are leather puppets used for shadow plays. Wayang means theatre, while Kulit means skin, and it refers to the construction of the puppets that are carefully chiseled with very fine tools and supported with carefully shaped buffalo horn handles and control rods.

The showing of Wayang Kulit will always be accompanied by the traditional sound of Gamelan. Gamelan is a musical ensemble featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Sometimes a vocalist is included.

Wayang Kulit & Gamelan

Batik

Making Batik is also another strong culture in Yogya. Batik is a cloth that traditionally uses a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. Most of this Batik designs also make use of motifs, an element of a pattern, an image or part of it, or a theme. A motif may be repeated in a design or composition, often many times, or may just occur once in a work.

Yogya is known for the origins of Javanese Kraton Batik (Javanese Court Batik). It is the oldest batik tradition known to Java. This type of Batik has earthy color tones such as black, brown, and dark yellow (sogan), sometimes against a white background. The motifs of traditional court Batik have symbolic meanings. Some designs are restricted: larger motifs can only be worn by royalty; and certain motifs are not suitable for women, or for specific occasions.

Batik

Culture Ceremony

1. Sekaten : A traditional ceremony famous in Yogya is the Sekaten. It kindles the spirit of struggle and has developed religious values in shaping noble and moral character of the nation and has a clear flow history. It has become one of the official ceremony Palace Cuisine, Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat and is held each year in order commemorate the birth of Prophet Muhammad SAW.

Sekaten

 

   2. Grebegan : Another event is the Grebegan. Every 1st Syawal, the Palace of Yogyakarta out one “ Gunungan” called Gunungan Jaler. Gunungan consists of a series of vegetables, fruits and snacks are arranged in such a way or a cone-shaped mountain. Gunungan is a charity king to his people. Therefore, people are always scrambling to get a part of the mountains which is believed to have good luck.

This ceremony expresses praise and gratefulness to God by the Muslims after having completed their fasting duty in the sacred month of Ramadhan. At 11.00 a.m. the ceremony begins with a parade of Kraton guards in their colorful uniforms. Troops led by their commander in chief. They march from Siti Hinggil through the Pagelaran to the Southern square and then wait for the Gunugan procession. This ceremony is held at Alun-alun Utara Yogyakarta.

Grebegan

3. Labuhan : Another main traditional event is the Labuhan. This ceremony is a ritual offering meant to preserve a long sacred relation between the Sultan of Yogya as the direct descendant of the first ruler of the second Mataram Kingdom. By tradition, this event is always held one day after the Sultan coronation. The ritual is conducted in accordance with the long years of inherited tradition. Usually, the ceremony is attended by a lot of people, most whom want to get blessing from the Creator of the world.

Labuhan