Jogjakarta, Indonesia

Timing

September 2010 (Peak Season: Eid ul Fitri celebration)

Welcome to Jogjakarta!

Flight Fare
IDR 2,740,000; Return Flight (Jakarta-Yogyakarta: Business Class; Yogyakarta-Jakarta: Economy); Flight Operator: Garuda Indonesia.

Garuda Indonesia

NOTE: This ticket price (IDR 2,740,000) is expensive because I bought it at last minute and it's at peak season (Eid ul Fitri) also. Normally, you can buy ticket from Jakarta to Yogyakarta for IDR 1 million-ish. If you're lucky, you can get a return flight ticket as cheap as IDR 300,000 flying AirAsia.

Accommodation

My relative's house at Gunung Kidul area

Car Rental

IDR 500,000/day for Toyota Avanza. Fuel at your own expense. Driver is available at your own expense.

NOTE: This is peak season's rate. Normally, the car rental will charge you IDR 250,000/day for Toyota Avanza or IDR 360,000/day for Toyota Innova. The contact person for the car rental is Isti (her number is available upon request). Anyway, I think you can find car rental with cheaper rate than the one said above...

Day 1

I came at the night just before Eid ul Fitri celebration. So, there was a Takbir competition between 4 suburbs of Gunung Kidul, which is cool! Each suburb - comprised of kids, teenagers, adults - made 3 rallies of circle around judges and spectators while holding candles or "lampions" of their creation and saying Takbir (RE: Allah is Great). The suburb with the most creative design of "lampion" and said Takbir loudly and clearly won the competition.

Mosque-shape lampion

Takbir competition

Day 2
That morning, Novi, my 7-year-old neighbor said to me she wanted to see Reog dance performance but she was afraid of the mask the dance members wear. I kept convincing her that there was nothing to be scared of. She ended up not watching the performance though.....

Anyway, Reog dance team performed on the day of Eid ul Fitri. They performed upon requests. The Reog dance team didn't charge fixed fee to the requesters. So it was up to the requesters how much they wanted to pay.

Reog Dance Team

Member in action

The Leader

Day 3
It's been a while people are buzzing about Sendratari Ramayana Prambanan (Ramayana Ballet Prambanan) performance. So this time I determined that I had to go watch it. Sendratari Ramayana Prambanan (Ramayana Ballet Prambanan) is an art performance depicting Rama & Shinta love story. The great thing about this performance is that Prambanan Temple is at the background! Awesome! While the ticket is considerably not cheap, I think it is worth the performance. The costume, the lighting, the cast, the background were perfect!

The performance with Prambanan Temple at the background

Rama & Shinta

Group Performance

Ramayana Ballet Prambanan performance is held outdoor during dry season (Open Air Stage) or held indoor during rainy season (Trimurti Stage). I prefer the outdoor one since I can see Prambanan Temple at the background. The Management has a fixed schedule for a year (see below picture).

2010 Ramayana Ballet Prambanan schedule

Ramayana Ballet Prambanan lasts for 2 hours with 10 minutes break within. It starts at 7.30 PM and finishes at 9.30 PM. You will have (only) 5 minutes time after the show finishes to take pictures with the cast. Anyway, this is how much the performance cost:

PEAK SEASON                                                 

Open Air Stage:                                      

VIP = IDR 300,000                                

Special = IDR 250,000                      

Class I = IDR 200,000                          

Class II = IDR 100,00                          

NORMAL

Open Air Stage:   

VIP = IDR 250,000 

Special = IDR 175,000

Class I = IDR 150,000

Class II = IDR 75,000

Indoor Stage Trimurti:

VIP = IDR 175,000

Special = IDR 150,000

Class I = IDR 150,000

Class II = IDR 75,000

They will charge you for video recording IDR 50,000 or pictures taking IDR 5,000.

I suggest you to make reservation prior to arrival to ensure you get a seat. Below are details of the Ramayana Ballet Prambanan:

Ramayana Ballet Prambanan

Jln. Raya Yogya-Solo Km. 16 Prambanan, Yogyakarta, 55571, Indonesia

Phone/Fax: (62)(274)(496408) - (Country Code)(Jogjakarta Code)(Phone No.).

Day 4

I was bored with Parang Tritis beach. It's the only beach I know in Yogyakarta. A friend of mine recommended me to see Krakal beach. She said the beach is beautiful. So I took a shot and the beach was indeed beautiful. Hidden beauty of Yogyakarta I would say. To enter the beach area, you will be charged IDR 5,000/person and IDR 1,500/vehicle. One more thing: Grab a coconut at Sekar Sari Restaurant, they have premium-quality coconuts.

Krakal Beach

Rent this big umbrella and the carpet
PLUS FREE soft drink.
It is only for IDR 20,000.

Sekar Sari Restaurant - A restaurant sells thick flesh fresh coconuts.

My dad was travelling with me in this trip. As we're hungry that afternoon, my dad took us to the well-known restaurant for its yummy food - namely Pari Gogo. The resto is recommended by my dad's friend. The food was okay I think. Out of 10, I would give 7. They also serve fried cricket that I didn't even think to taste it.

Pari Gogo Restaurant

Fried Cricket - Dare to try?

That's all my stories from Yogyakarta. I'm happy to take your questions. Just buzz me ;)

Mika

PS:
- IDR 10,000 is approximately USD 1

Welcome to Tracking Mika!

Hi there!

Mika's here. Welcome to my blog!

It has been over a year my friends keep saying to me: "Looks like you've been traveling all the time!" *of course not ALL the time, guys*; or friends ask "Where did you stay when you visited Ho Chi Minh City? Is it a nice place?" or "Which car rental did you pick during your holiday in Bali? How much was the rate?", etcetera. Then an idea of establishing a blog telling my traveling experience popped-up in my head. Having such blog, I am not necessary to repeatedly telling the same experience or information to quite bunch of people. Easier for me =)

While I like exploring all the things the place I visit could offer, I have particular interests such as (but not limited to): arts, cultural activities, food, diving, snorkeling, and sports in general. Also, I like taking pictures with my DSLR camera during my trips. Some of them will be available in this blog for you.

Lastly, I want to thank Teh Wina who suggested "Tracking Mika" as the blog's name. She argued that "Tracking Mika" is inline with the purpose of the blog - sharing travel experience that others might follow. Also to Rama. He coined "Trekking Mika" name. *Did somebody say "It's a pun"? =p*

Okie dokie, that's all for now. Any questions about trips I have ever done or any improvements, feedbacks for this blog, just get back to me via trackingmika@gmail.com or twitter at trackingmika.

Cheers,
Mika