When my sister May told us that she will be back in KL for almost a month in December and as it is not always possible for her to be away from the hospital in December, it time to plan some itinerary.
Our first vacation was a 3days/2 nights trip to visit Borobudur Temple in Yogyakarta in central Java, Indonesia. This was a family private tour with my brothers and sisters and their family and it has been almost 2 years since our last family trip together. Our early morning flight depart from KLIA2 and this was my first visit to this new airport. My impression?... spacious and more like a shopping mall.
Even though we have done our check in online, we still need to queue for the baggage check in.
Then it is breakfast before departure....
The flight was a short 2 hours and we all managed to catch up on the lost sleep.
Arrival at the AdiSucipto International Airport
The arrival hall is so small and cramp and with only one baggage claim counter, it was hectic, busy and noisy! And they do have a dog to sniff you out before you leave the departure room! Foreigners have to apply for a visa on arrival at the counter (USD$35 each) and it would be preferable to pay them the exact amount as otherwise you will get the change back in rupiah. Thankfully our agent was waiting for us. We were glad to escape to the coolness of the air-conditioned bus for our first stop...... traditional lunch at Penopo nDalem Restaurant.
This restaurant is a historical building "Ndalem Pakuningratan" within the Royal palace grounds. It was built in 1872 as a palace for the Sultan's son. The Sultan later moved to the Yogyakarta Royal Palace in 1921 and the building was given to his first daughter.
the vast dining hall ..
Warm welcome with cold towels and
traditional music accompanying throughout our meal.
the buffet spread...
note right at the back of the dining is the living hall now like a mini museum as well as for praying
Salak- an Indonesian fruit with it snake-like skin with white flesh. I was put off by its strong smell but it seem to be a favourite among the older generations was told by my sister-in-law.
May checking out the vegetarian dishes available......
chili eggplants, fried tempe, mixed vegetables, fritters.
of course there is the gado-gado.... a salad where you create your own mixture and serve with a satay sauce
cakes, coffee and tea and the drink on the right is a sourish drink- to aid digestion, I think.
We all love the strong aroma of the tea....
buttery cake and kueh bangkit...
and bottles of all sorts of Indonesian crackers and tidbits
We had the whole place to ourselves (it was already late afternoon) and its so good to relax and enjoy our meal slowly.
when suddenly this lady "floated" out ...hahaha! yes, she really seemed to stream across the room so effortlessly and for a moment we were stunned .... because of her heavy makeup too! However, she did a very graceful dance and the bending of her fingers and blinking and flickering eyelashes did a fantastic job at telling a story (I think so)!
After the performance, we were ready to move on to our next destination... Taman Sari ... the Water castle
the east gate of the water castle
the Umbul (fountain/pool) Pasiraman bathing complex and the tower building from which the Sultan can observe the bathing women. The one chosen or who caught the eye of the Sultan will be taken to the palace and groomed to be concubine.
the tower building where the observer can watch and
the pool where the ones being observe frolick...
There is an inner pool for the Sultan and the prince and princess.
the bed inside the chambers
The west gate of the water castle
There is a batik art galley .. the man is demonstrating the way he paint the batik art.
We can see a lot of this street cart vendor selling the common street food... bakso
Basically its Indonesian beef meatballs served with yellow noddles in a broth but hygienic reason, we did not try it.
the inhabitants of these houses took great pride in decorating the houses and are used to seeing tourist around the area.
We stopped outside a house where we can see these trays of strange looking seeds drying in the sun....
yes, ladies and gentlemen this is the famous Luwak Coffee beans-
these are the original unprocessed ones
after being washed
the final result
the original Luwak Coffee... the sign says.
Out of curiousity to taste the world's most expensive coffee, we ordered some cups (small) costs RM25.00 and each small packet of grounded coffee beans cost RM85.00 (after our bargaining)
He brought out his pet .... the civet cat...
This is part of the wall that enclosed the Royal Palace.. like a rocket.
The rest of the first day was spent visiting and shopping at a Batik factory where we all bought t-shirts and blouses and skirts etc and also to a silverware factory.
where most of the products are handmade..
like this beautifully crafted filigree brooch which took the worker 3 days to complete
By evening, many of the roadside stalls were opened and this is how the customer would sit... by the roadside,on the floor and eating from the low table. By the way, the majority of the residents are Muslims here.
More shopping along Jalan Malioboro... cheap but gotto to bargain
The skies turned dark pretty soon, we were informed by the guide that it would be bright by 5.30 am and the sun would set around 6 pm.
Dinner time at the Pesta Perak Restaurant... huge restaurant and again we were the only group at that moment. We were told that the Indonesians actually eat late at night.
Traditional Javanese food seems to be more or less the same as our lunch.
only the dining hall seemed to be underground with all the rock decorations.
After dinner, we checked into the Hotel Edelwiess, a fairly new 3* hotel and it was an early night for all of us.
the bar at the reception and behind is the open balcony facing the road..
spacious room, and basic amendities given, turn down service and really soft and cosy bed!
spacious room, and basic amendities given, turn down service and really soft and cosy bed!
the infinity swimming pool .... it was too compact ...definitely cannot accomodate all of us, maybe suitable for 1 person at a time..
