The Prambanan Temples from Yogyakarta

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Day 4: YOGYAKARTA - PRAMBANAN - YOGYAKARTA

Monday, June 13, 2011

The alarm sounds and we jump up. We always have this reaction the first days we are on vacation. When 15 days of our trip to IndonesiaSurely we started to tear ourselves in bed. But for now we take advantage of "the march" we have!
The day has come to see Prambanan temples from Yogyakarta, the day has come to move a little and leave aside (even for a few hours) the relaxation to which we are so used to on vacation and we have had since we arrived.
At the Phoenix Yogyakarta Hotel we don't have breakfast, but being so early, they don't serve it either, so we decided we'll improvise along the way.
We go down to reception and the car with the driver is waiting for us to take us to Prambanan temples from Yogyakarta.
It is dawn when the car starts from Yogyakarta and the driver, a young boy, who speaks very fluent English, is giving us some explanations of what we will see.
At the same time we make sure that you know where to take us and what our itinerary is for today.
A good option is to book this tour in advance with a guide in Spanish that includes a visit to the Prambanan Temples in the morning, a small city tour and a visit to the Borobudur Temple in the afternoon.
It took 30 minutes to reach Prambanan. As we had planned, we arrived before they opened. We have read that it is full of tourists in the middle of the morning and we do not want to have to push it, there is the early morning that we have hit.


As soon as I get to the parking lot, I try to see even a little piece of one from Prambanan, but nothing, I don't see even a little tip all around me.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Indonesia

- 10 essential places to visit in Indonesia
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Indonesia

It has not yet dawned at all, but while we wait at the door to open, it is completely daytime.
At 6 o'clock in the morning they open the doors of the largest complex of Hindu temples in Java and there we go, with a mixture of enthusiasm and expectation at the same time.
We enter with a student card and a normal one, so they charge us about $ 18 both and we are entitled to a cup of coffee. Why not say it, we feel great at this time in the morning and without having breakfast yet.
We meet the driver that as soon as we leave, we will go to see the rest of the temples of Prambanan.
We enter and are practically alone during the first two hours, in which we tour the complex of Prambanan Temples, comprising 8 main temples and eight secondary temples.


Just arrived at the Prambanan Temples

The most important and the most beautiful is Candi Shiva Mahadeva, this one is dedicated to Siva. In addition to being the one that attracts the most attention, it is the largest. Maybe that's why he is also the most admired ... who knows ...
We can only say that we spent many minutes traveling it with our mouths open, with that I think the impact we had is quite evident.


Overview of thePrambanan Temples

We see that it is still too early and there are not too many people, so we decided that it is time to get on our way to the Temples of Prambanan from the surroundings: Candi Vishnu, with the image of Visnu inside, Candi Brahma, which is the twin temple to Candi Vishnu, Candi Sewu, Candi Bubrah and Candi Lumbung.
All these we visited in a short time, since they are very close to Candi Shiva.


Candi SewuPrambanan Temples

We had been walking for a while, moving away from the temples to take panoramic photos, when we began to notice looks and the occasional comment and we realized that these things were directed at us.
It is at that moment when we stop being anonymous, to become something like "celebrities."
They don't stop asking us for photos, signatures in student notebooks ... more photos.
For a long time they do not stop stopping and this makes us go slower ... and in some moments we feel a little violent with the situation.


Famous for a day inthePrambanan Temples

We see that this situation enters a dead end loop and we decided to return to the Candi Shiva area before leaving in search of the rest of the Temples of Prambanan and we find that the temple grounds are completely full of people. Luckily we decided to come first thing, if it had not been impossible to enjoy as we enjoyed the feeling of tranquility in these impressive Tprambanan emplos.
After this, we see that it is time to get on our way to the rest of the temples that we have left to see today, so we headed towards the exit, passing through the forced souvenir market, where we took advantage of buying a bottle of coca cola for about 50 cents.
The truth is that they have it very well mounted. Departure forced by the shopping area. It is impossible not to buy anything!
We arrived at the parking lot and with a lot of difficulty, we found our car Yogyakarta. At this time in the parking there is no pin! And to think that when we arrived we were the only car !!
From here we go to the Plaosan Temples, these are 3 km from the complex of the Temples of Prambanan, but we decided that it is better to go by car, the heat starts to show.
After seeing what we have seen, these temples being smaller, impress us less, but they are still an essential visit on today's tour.


Plaosan Temples

We walk to Plaosan Kidul (South Plaosan), which is a short distance away and we see that they have done very little restoration work. But still, they have a special charm. Not so much for the temple itself, but for the surroundings, which as until now, we are marveling.
From here we warn the driver that we want to go on the way to Candi Sambisari, this temple is perfectly preserved, because it remained covered with volcanic ashes and is located 6m below the adjacent fields.


Candi Sambisari

It is amazing and we do not stop taking photos from all perspectives.
Here we met a tourist, which we had not done in the rest of the temples we have traveled.
We see that it is not too late and that we have a good pace of visit, so we decided that it is time to go to Candi Kalasan and Cansi Sari.
The driver in this part of the journey is lost a little and shows us paths that otherwise would have been impossible to see.
It has been a success the "folly" ....
We arrive at Candi Kalasan, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in the plain of Prambanan.
It is not too big, nor too visited, so we visit it in a little more than 15 minutes and we are already on our way (and this time on foot) to Candi Sari.
This is surrounded by coconut trees and banana trees and a special aura surrounds it.
Experts point out that possibly, the second floor of the temple would have served as a dormitory for the Buddhist priests who took care of the Temple ... perhaps that is why, when we are inside, we notice that feeling we only have in the "special" places.
As a note, say that in each temple we have paid an average of 5000 rupees per person and about 2000 rupees more than parking. This translated into euros, would be more or less 1 euros all inclusive.
Who said that Indonesia be expensive ???
We look at the clock and it is 1 noon.
We exchanged a couple of opinions and decided that it is best to go straight to Kaliurang. Here we can see the effects of the eruption of Merapi.
Kaliurang is 25 km north of Yogya and is one of the best places to see the amazing Merapi.
It took us about 45 minutes to arrive and there we found an impressive landscape as well as bleak.
The first thing we find are some stalls selling souvenirs, yes, yes, souvenirs ... but what they sell are photos of the eruption of the volcano and its effects.
We stopped at one of the margins to see the trail that the lava left in its path and just thinking about how that could be, we want to climb more.
With the perspective we have from here, it is enough for us.


Effects of Merapi eruption

We are walking around the perimeter where they let you pass (if you want to climb more, you have to pay someone to take you on a motorcycle).
We have forgotten even to eat and when the stomach begins to sound, we realize that it is 2 in the afternoon.
With this we have already completed the planning we had for today, so we decided that the best, although we have hired the car until 5-6 in the afternoon, is to return to Yogyakarta, go to change money and eat at the hotel, I'm sure we have no trouble going so late.
And so we do, we talk to the driver and tell him that before taking us to the hotel, he leaves us at the exchange office of the Garuda Inn hotel, where he puts the guide that give a fairly high change.
It took us a little less than an hour to arrive and we found incredible traffic in the center of Yogyakarta.
We ask our driver / guide if tomorrow he will come with us and he tells us that another will come, so for his good service, we leave him a good tip.
And with the full day of visits we go straight to the exchange office and it is full to the brim. In the travel guide to Indonesia He says that the change they make is one of the highest in Yogyakarta, although incomprehensibly, it is lower than at the Jakarta airport !! Here we changed to 11950 rupees per euro, while at the airport the change went to 12100.
But hey, that's what it is, so we're not going to go find any other place to change and less with the time it is and the hunger we have.

Book the best rated tours and excursions in Yogyakarta in Spanish by travelers:

- Tour of Yogyakarta and its great temples
- Excursion to Borobudur at dawn and Dieng Plateau
- Excursion to Surakarta and temples of Cetho and Sukuh

Before going to eat, we decided to stop by the Phoenix Yogyakarta Hotel reception, to see how the subject of my suitcase is and we get the big surprise, when they ask us for the original of the claim (yesterday I wanted to keep the paper for fear of to lose it), why they have called and told them that my suitcase is ready to go looking for it!, but of course, they have gone with a photocopy and it does not work!
After this joy, we go straight to lunch and savor our second Nasi Goreng since we are in Yogyakarta, I think that these days I will try all possible forms of this dish !!
Each one I try is better than the last one !!


Food in Yogyakarta

After lunch, we decided that it is time to go to rest for a while and take advantage of our last day at the hotel Yogyakarta.
And more when I know that my suitcase is located and I can stay calmer.
We fall without realizing, the pace of these first days is being exhausting, although we can see everything we have planned in the time that we have marked.
In the middle of the afternoon they call us to give us the backpack and almost without realizing it, or giving it too much importance, I go back to bed ... it seems like a lie, but now that I know I already have it, I sleep more calmly.
Surely the fault has been this, because without realizing it, the nap lasts until 6 pm !!!
So we have no choice (apart from that it has already got dark and we don't want to go out to stroll at this time) than to go for a drink at the pool bar and wait for dinner.
The time we spend in the hammocks by the pool, reading and having a drink, remind us of what are the “pure and hard” vacations.
Mixing these moments of relaxation with cultural visits is finding us very innovative while relaxing.
We take the opportunity to have dinner soon and at 9 pm we are already sitting at the table, ordering a plate of pasta Roger and I a delicious Mie Goreng.
With a full stomach and a view of the illuminated pool, we retired to our room at the Phoenix Yogyakarta Hotel to rest.
Tomorrow is a hard day ... but at the same time amazing!

Day 5
YOGYAKARTA - BOROBUDUR - DIENG TABLE - SEMARANG

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