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Yogyakarta - new found destination for excitement Part 1

Yogyakarta (also known as Jogjia) has become increasingly popular in recent years. Located just over a 2 hrs flight from Singapore, this place is extremely accessible and hence a good choice for a short vacation. 

Famed for its rich cultural heritage of fine arts, Yogyakarta is the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarchy. Still, this place has got much more to offer for those seeking new adventures and mother nature that remains in her untouched glory.   

Here are the top 5 activities and places not to be missed in Yogyakarta!

1. Temple hopping 

There are many ancient Hindu temples at Yogyakarta but we've decided to visit the top 4 temples highly raved about by the travellers.

Borobudur Temple needs no introduction as it is listed as one of the UNESCO heritage. By far, this is the most impressive temple that I've seen in Indonesia. Borobudur is the single largest Buddhist structure and few who visit fail to be taken by both the scale of the place and the remarkable attention to detail that went into the construction. The entire temple was built of stones with stunning and precise stone engraving and sculptures of Buddha. 



We went for the sunrise tour which is apparently very popular. Even though it was pitch black when we reached the temple at 4am, there was already crowds of people. We wasted no time climbing up steep steps to reach the top of the sutra where we managed to grab a spot to view the sunrise. Cool crisp air surrounded me and slowly the sky beamed with lights that filtered through the clouds. As the  light shone onto the large slabs of black volcano stones, it gave a glow on the Buddha's face. Stunning is the only word to describe this magical moment. 

Of course, taking instagrammable pictures at this sacred site is mandatory and hence we wandered about to find a quiet spot for the few worthy snaps.  







The second temple we went to is Pramanam, also known as the thousand temples. Our driver told us the folklore of this temple where a prince  fell in love with a princess and wanted to marry her. However, she rejected his proposal because he had killed her father who was then the King. Finally, the princess agreed to marry him but on one impossible condition, that is he had to build 1000 temples within a night. The prince conjured up with supernatural beings and succeeded in building 999 temples in only one  night. The princess woke up her palace maids and ordered the women to begin pounding rice and set fire in the east of the temple, attempting to make the prince and spirits believe that the sun was about to rise. Fooled by the light and sounds of daybreak, the spirits retreated. The prince was furious about the princess's trick and cursed her to turn into stone. She became the last and most beautiful of the thousand statues. 










We were equally impressed by the grandness of the temple and its architectural design. Unfortunately, as we visited the temple at noon, the heat was really unbearable. Hence, we only visited a short while and decided to retreat for lunch. Thanks to the scorching  sun, we were sun burnt!

The third temple in comparison is very small in scale, Ratu Boko, famed for its sunset view. The temple is located on a plateau and only remnants of its  front entrance wall remain. Nevertheless, this is quite a stunning place during sun set. On weekend, the place would be filled with people who would place mats on the grasses for picnic while watching dance performances by the Java dancers. 





The 4th temple is the smallest of all and sadly, I've forgotten the name or location as this was recommended by our driver before we en route to Ratu Boko. What is special about this temple is that it is located on a small hill with spectacular view from the top. Like all the other Hindu temples, the attention to details, especially the stone engravings was fascinating. 


















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