Yogyakarta Day 1

Hi everyone! Sorry for not updating this blog for more than 2 months! I've been busy with life hehehehe...Anyway, I will continue the story. Trip from Semarang to Yogya took about 3,5 hours. We used Nusantara executive bus which costed us Rp. 35.000. After arrived at Jombor bus station, we went to Transjogja bus station (also located inside Jombor bus station) to continue our journey to the hotel. Transjogja bus fare is Rp 3000.

Nusantara Bus, quite comfortable

We stayed at ‘Losmen Family’ which is located in Dagen street. The losmen had a strategic location because it is very near from malioboro street. Mal Malioboro. The room is quite small and the bathroom is much smaller. But anyway, this losmen is better than the one in Semarang hahaha… The rate is Rp. 70.000 per night. If you want to stay here, you should book it first because the losmen is often fully occupied.

Transjogja Map

We had a tragic afternoon in our first day in Yogya but I won’t tell the story here. Trust me, it was such an tiring experience, physically and emotionally ^O^. We had our lunch at Soto Kadipiro in Jalan Wates. For me, that’s just a mediocre ‘soto’, nothing special there. At 4.30 p.m. we finally decided to go to Candi Ratu Boko.

Candi Ratu Boko

de Rio posing

Candi Ratu Boko is quite famous for its scenic view, especially the sunset view. To reach Candi Ratu Boko, we used Trans Jogja Bus and stopped at Prambanan station. Then we used ojek (motorcycle) since there weren’t any other public transportations. At first, the ojek charged us Rp 25.000 for the round trip Prambanan station- Candi Ratu Boko but we insisted for Rp 20.000 and finally we won ^^. Actually, the distance between Prambanan station and Ratu Boko was quite far and the track was uphill so don’t ever try to go there by foot. To enter the complex, we should pay Rp. 8000. (Higher if you are a foreign tourist). The scenery is quite breathtaking, so beautiful. Unfortunately, we couldn’t see the sunset since it was so cloudy. After dark,we went back to Prambanan station and back to the town.

View from the hill

Damn...it was cloudy. We couldn't see the sunset.

Kayak di Stonehenge kalo kata Rio

We had our dinner in a street food stall near Hotel Melia. They sold pork, delicious and quite cheap actually. Pork fried rice only costed us Rp 6.000! This place is recommended for you, of course if you can eat this non-halal food hehehe… After dinner, we walked to Malioboro street, just looking around and then we continued to Alun-alun Keraton by foot.

Blurr...but trust me, the pork fried rice is superb.

Presidential Palace

At the terminus of Malioboro street

Why we went to Alun-alun Keraton? Because we wanted to try our luck. How? In alun-alun Selatan, there are two ancient beringin (ficus) tree. People said that if someone, blindfolded, could walk straight to pass those two ancient tree, your wish will come true. Sound easy right? But trust me, it was really hard. Kozzy and I failed although we tried for several times but it was really fun. After that, we relaxed in the corner of the alun-alun enjoying our wedang ronde.

Me, blindfolded. Trying to walk as straight as possible

But I failed

De Rio's turn

Street inside Keraton complex

That's all for day 1. See you at day 2 ^^.

Travelling Differently (in Coelho's way)

Before belahmelon post the Jogjakarta Trip stories (there will be one person from the group write about it! Not me, not Krishna !!! Guess who... ? ), I modestly want to share this thought just for you. This is one of my favorite!!! It was taken from Paulo Coelho’s thoughts and reflections: Like the Flowing River. Here it goes..

I realised very early on that, for me, travelling was the best way of learning. I still have a pilgrim soul, and I thought that I would use this column to pass on some of the lessons I have learned, in the hope that they might prove useful to other pilgrims like me.

1. Avoid museums. This might seem to be absurd advice, but let’s just think about it a little: if you are in a foreign city, isn’t it far more interesting to go in search of the present than of the past? It’s just that people feel obliged to go to museums because they learned as children that travelling was about seeking out that kind of culture. Obviously museums are important, but they require time and objectivity - you need to know what you want to see there, otherwise you will leave with a sense of having seen a few really fundamental things, except that you can’t remember what they were.

2. Hang out in bars. Bars are the places where life in the city reveals itself, not in museums. By bars I don’t mean nightclubs, but the places where ordinary people go, have a drink, ponder the weather, and are always ready for a chat. Buy a newspaper and enjoy the ebb and flow of people. If someone strikes up a conversation, however silly, join in: you cannot judge the beauty of a particular path just by looking at the gate.

3. Be open. The best tour guide is someone who lives in the place, knows everything about it, is proud of his or her city, but does not work for any agency. Go out into the street, choose the person you want to talk to, and ask them something (Where is the cathedral? Where is the post office?). If nothing comes of it, try someone else - I guarantee that at the end of the day you will have found yourself an excellent companion.

4. Try to travel alone or - if you are married - with your spouse. It will be harder work, no one will be there taking care of you, but only in this way can you truly leave your own country behind. Traveling with a group is a way of being in a foreign country while speaking your mother tongue, doing whatever the leader of the flock tells you to do, and taking more interest in group gossip than in the place you are visiting.

5. Don’t compare. Don’t compare anything - prices, standards of hygiene, quality of life, means of transport, nothing! You are not traveling in order to prove that you have a better life than other people - your aim is to find out how other people live, what they can teach you, how they deal with reality and with the extraordinary.

6. Understand that everyone understands you. Even if you don’t speak the language, don’t be afraid: I’ve been in lots of places where I could not communicate with words at all, and I always found support, guidance, useful advice, and even girlfriends. Some people think that if they travel alone, they will set off down the street and be lost for ever. Just make sure you have the hotel card in your pocket and - if the worst comes to the worst - flag down a taxi and show the card to the driver.

7. Don’t buy too much. Spend your money on things you won’t need to carry: tickets to a good play, restaurants, trips. Nowadays, with the global economy and the Internet, you can buy anything you want without having to pay excess baggage.

8. Don’t try to see the world in a month. It is far better to stay in a city for four or five days than to visit five cities in a week. A city is like a capricious woman: she takes time to be seduced and to reveal herself completely.

9. A journey is an adventure. Henry Miller used to say that it is far more important to discover a church that no one else has ever heard of than to go to Rome and feel obliged to visit the Sistine Chapel with two hundred thousand other tourists bellowing in your ear. By all means go to the Sistine Chapel, but wander the streets too, explore alleyways, experience the freedom of looking for something - quite what you don’t know - but which, if you find it, will - you can be sure - change your life.

Nice thought mister...

Semarang, the one-day-is-more-than-enough city..

It all began at 8 in the morning. We started our city tour to Sam Poo Kong Temple. There are several temples with “Sam Poo Kong” name on it. The one that we visited was the closer one (+/- 20 minutes angkot-driving). The driver asked us which Sam Poo Kong we would like to visit. The other Sam Poo Kong—according to the driver—had a Pagoda, but it was located farther (+/- 45 minutes car driving). Too far.. We chose the closer one. Too far..

Posing at the front gate.

"Some Poo Kong"



Separated at birth moment.



Dog of heaven, it bites!

Posing all together !!!

Sam Poo Kong:
No ticket

Charter angkot: 20.000 one way.

After visited Guang Zhou, we moved our feet to an old-Dutch-designed building, Lawang Sewu. Lawang Sewu means 1000 doors. It’s true that there were so many many many doors; but is it 1000 doors?! Ask the architect. It was built in 1907. That place is one of the scariest places. On “Uji Nyali”—a reality TV show—there were ghost sighting caught by camera once. Since we came there around 10 o’clock in the morning, and there was an exhibition with too many anak es de (elementary students) participating drawing competition, and also band group performing, the horror atmosphere was entirely nothing. But we liked it then, because we could visit all of the rooms easily (and took the picture anywhere!!!).

The 1000 doors pose.

Love this pic !

the upstairs

Whoa.. whoa.. we found mozaique window !

Felt like entering Hogwarts.

Ah, the interesting part of Lawang Sewu was the underground quest. We had to pay Rp 9.000 for the ticket (including: sticker, boots, hand lights, and of course the leader). Down there, we went through some kind of pitch black and half leg flooded labyrinth with standing a la sardines jail, jongkok jail, and the execution room.
It’s a MUST to go down there everyone! The air was too clammy and the smell was poor, but it was sooooo worth it. It was horribly fun, special and well worth it. We loved every step of the way. Please mind your head!!!

The Sardines Jail: 7 ppl inside!

The jongkok jail.. awas eeknya keluar !!!

Lawang Sewu:
No ticket
Underground quest: Rp 9.000

Noontime already arrived. We were crucially in need of food. We ate at Bandeng Juwana Resto (2nd floor). The taste was the BEST! The price was surprisingly CHEAP (compared with Jakarta)! I forgot the name of the menu. I remembered that the taste was sour and spicy. Don’t forget to order Bandeng Lombok Ijo and Nasi Bakar too. The price for each menu was Rp 8.000 – Rp 12.000. Arrr… We also bought Bandeng Presto (bandeng tulang lunak) on the 1st floor, it was for our souvenir.

Jl. Pandanaran 57, Semarang. Yummy !

After my stomach felt like super full, I was actually lazy to continue the city trip. The air was too hot, the sun was too insane. It was best to be massaged and spent that lazy afternoon with a siesta.. But we had to move on! Our next destination: Saudi Arabia. Ha! Just joking, we went to the Great Mosque of Semarang. There, we found a huge mosque, with a huge bedug, and also the tower. We took a rest there first until the sun calmed down. To enter the tower, we had to pay Rp 5.000 including Cinta Laura Juice. Up there, we had our sky viewing the city. This tower had a a spinning restaurant and a museum inside it; it told us the story about the mosque construction and the Moslem history. Ohya, we also found a largest Al-Quran too inside the museum. Superb!!!

It was a HUGE mosque.. see, there were 4 'umbrellas' behind us, and also the tower.

Great Mosque of Semarang (Masjid Agung):
The Tower: Rp 5000


In the afternoon, the sun was much friendly to us. We went back to the land of Dutch’s. Yup! The Blendug Church. Once again, we met an old-Dutch-designed church. No need to pay when you enter it. But you need to pay when you want to exit.. Here are the beautiful interior design pics. Old style!

Rio was posing in front of the church.

Felt the emptiness.

The Chandelier.

They always there, listening to the preach.

From the heart of the church.

Always plays good song.

Halelluya!!! Amin, Sodara-sodara !!!!

Blendug Church:
No tickets just donation.

Sun was almost set. We didn’t know where to go. We went back to the pond near Tawang station. That was accidentally a good spot for sunset. We sat there talking shiz and blah blah blah… And we planned to go to gang Lombok, people said that there were many kind of foods. But unfortunately, we didn’t make it to go there. Finally, we ate at Sate Kambing 29 in front of Gereja Blendug. 5 satays (1/2 portion) was Rp 15.000. Rp 15.000 too for 1 portion gulai. It was tasty. FYI, there are 2 restaurants like this in Semarang, and also one restaurant in Kelapa Gading, Jakarta.

Back to the pond.

We're talking about _________.

Mbok.. jualan mbok ??

Sunset in front of Tawang Station.

Eating at Sate Kambing 29.

The night was on. We didn’t know what to do. The only thing we know was we didn’t wanna go back to the hostel… >.<

We decided to go back to Ciputra Mall, and jeeeezzz… u know what ??? Crap happened: we watched Merantau and Harry Potter there.

This is it! Semarang: one day is more than enough.

BACK TO THE CITY

Karimun Jawa – Jepara

Early in the Monday morning, we took KM Muria—the slow one—get back to Jepara. Since the schedule was changed easily, without any official announcement, we highly recommend you to arrive at the dock on 7.30 am. We said goodbye and great thanks for Mr. & Mrs. Mul for the service. It was a true, that they gave us warm, delightful, and excellent deal.

Don't forget to bring: Antimo & The Ticket

We took VIP class, Rp 60.250. It was full with aircon, large space seat, and quite comfortable for spending 6-7 hours antimo induced sleep floating on the sea. The non-VIP ticket prize was +/- Rp 30.000. Umm.. For those who easily have seasickness, TAKE THE VIP CLASS !!!

all we need is sleep, not vomit..

If you want to go back home using the faster ferry, you can leave on Sunday. It will take you to Jepara first and then back to Semarang. The duration suppose to be shorter (4-5 hours). The ticket prize, (I guess) it was the same as we use from Semarang – Karimun Jawa.

Jepara - Semarang

We arrived at Jepara on 1-2 pm. From the pier, we took becak to the bus station. The bus station was located 2-3 km from the pier. The usual becak prize was Rp 10.000. As usual: bargain.. bargain.. We took 4 becaks and we got Rp 8.000 each.:9

At the bus station, buses to Semarang were already waiting for us. The prize was Rp 11.000. The 2-3 hours trip was quiet far from the word comfortable. The bus exactly the same as Kopaja Ijo: 502 Tanah Abang – Kampung Melayu, just the superhero graffiti on the exterior made it different.

From Jepara to Semarang, we passed through these little cities: Pecangan, … (I forgot :p), and Demak. And finally, we entered Semarang. The bus didn’t stop exactly into the station. We stop at a cross. And ask to the policeman and people there: which bus could take us to Hotel Rahayu, Jl. Imam Bonjol Semarang. I think the hotel was familiar for everyone there. (Read about it below.) The bus fare was Rp 2500 – 3000. It was smaller and look alike metro mini.

Semarang, day one..

So, we finally arrived at the city. At least we found mall here, hooray !!! We arrived at the hotel; actually, we still had to walk for 30-50 m to reach that place ‘coz the bus didn’t stop exactly in front of the hotel. Talking about the hotel, we spent our night at Hotel Rahayu. And you know what ??? Here’s the definition for “hotel rahayu semarang” when you google it: tempat ciblek n penikmat seks utk bercinta—it’s a place for ciblek (acronym for kecil-keCIl geBLEK: a young girl ho’) and the customer to eff all night long. We don’t recommend that place, seriously..
We took the double bed non-aircon room. The rate was Rp 60-70.000 for two people, with a fan and a bathroom inside. Oh ya, they served you sweet morning and warm tea and information about safe sex.

That night, after we took a bath, we went to Simpang Lima to have dinner. There were many food stalls near the great mosque, across Citra Land Mall. We ate nasi kucing (small portion of white rice with smaller portion of food), bakwan malang, sate kerang, gorengan, ayam bakar, and gudeg + pecel. The price was very very very cheap. Nasi kucing cost Rp 1500; Gudeg + Pecel cost Rp 5000; Bakwan cost Rp 8000. For gorengan, each: Rp 500. After that, we went to the mall.. yay… mall… We bought some foods and beverages for our breakfast there. Tips for you: buy some breads at Gelael after 8 p.m. They will give you 30% discount! Here, you may also find fast food stalls, clothe & shoe stores, drugstores, optics, out of date cineplex theater, etc.

Me and the nasi kucing tittay-sized

After that, we went back to our hotel and yeah.. We were so tired… Sleep, that was all we need.

Tour de PSSS 2009 -Karimun Jawa episode-

Yep, once again de’ Krishna, de’Kozzy, and our other travel buddy do the trip this year. Our destination is Karimun Jawa, Semarang, and Yogyakarta. This trip was held on August 7^th till August 14^th 2009. Just like last year’s trip, we had already prepared this trip long before we go. We had already booked the train, the express boat, and the homestay at Karimun Jawa on July. Initially, our team consisted of 8 persons (de’Krishna, de’Kozzy, Rio, Tommy, Johnny, Yudi, Daniel, and Christo) but unfortunately at the last minute Tommy canceled his participation.

Karimun Jawa

Before I start telling my trip experience in Karimunjawa, maybe most of you still don’t have the idea where Karimunjawa is. Karimunjawa is a complex of island that consists of one main island which is surrounded by many other small islands. Karimunjawa lies in Java Sea, north of Semarang. The distance between Semarang – Karimunjawa is approximately 120 km while distance between Jepara – Karimunjawa is around 90 km.

exact location of Karimunjawa

How to get there?

There are two alternative ways to reach Karimunjawa. You can take the express boat, kapal cepat Kartini, from Semarang or the slower one, KM Muria, from Jepara. Please keep in mind that these two boat don’t sail everyday. Another important note: you must book the ticket at least 2 weeks till one month before your departure, especially for the Kartini express boat and the VIP class of KM Muria. The ticket is easily sold out because of the high demand either from the tourist or from the local people.

Kapal cepat Kartini

Kapal Cepat Kartini (Express Boat)

Schedule: Saturday (9 a.m.) Tanjung Mas Harbour (Semarang) – Karimunjawa

Sunday (2 p.m.) Karimunjawa – Tanjung Mas Harbour (Semarang)

Tickets: Executive : Rp. 131.000

Business : Rp. 111.000

All classes are equipped with air conditioner.

Contact Person: Purwanto (08156627808)

By using Kapal Cepat Kartini, Karimunjawa can be reached for only 3-5 hours from Semarang, depends on the height of the wave.

KM Muria (the larger but the slower boat)

Schedule: Saturday (8 a.m.) Jepara – Karimunjawa

Monday (8 a.m.) Karimunjawa – Jepara

Wednesday (8 a.m.) Jepara – Karimunjawa

Thursday ( 8 a.m.) Karimunjawa – Jepara

Ticket: VIP : Rp. 60.250

Economy : Rp. 30.000

Economy class isn’t equipped with airconditioner.

Contact Person: ASDP Jepara (0291-591048)

Usually, the journey takes about 6-7 hours, depends on the wave.

Where to Stay?

Of course it will depend on your budget. In Karimunjawa, the accommodations range from homestay and budget hotel for budget travellers until high-end resort that will cost you up to US$ 300/nights. If you want to stay at luxurious place, maybe you should stay at Nirwana Beach Resort (located in the mainland) or Kura-Kura Resort (located in Menyawakan Island). If you are a budget traveler, just like us, staying at homestay is the best choice in Karimunjawa. We stayed at Mulya Indah homestay. The room was quite clean and large but there’s no bathroom inside the room. You can also ask the homestay owner to prepare lunch or dinner for you. Overall, Mulya Indah homestay is a nice and comfortable place to stay in Karimunjawa.

Wisma Mulya Indah

Rate: Rp. 60.000 / room (2 persons)/ night

Lunch / dinner: Rp. 20.000/ person.

Contact: Pak Mul ((0297) 312106)

Our trip…

We departed from Tanjung Mas harbour at 9 a.m. using Kapal Cepat Kartini and arrived at 1 p.m. in Karimunjawa harbour. Thank God, this boat trip didn’t make us nausea and vomit. At 3 p.m. we started our adventure. In Karimunjawa, we collaborated with three students from Moestopo University, all male (unfortunately, I forget their name, I’m sooo sorry T_T). So, there were 10 members in our team. First, we rent a boat which costed us Rp. 250.000/ boat/ day (in other word, Rp 25.000/person).

Our first destination was Menjangan Kecil Island. To enter this island, everyone must pay Rp 10.000. Menjangan Kecil has a beautiful beach. White sand, clear water, private beach (no one else but us) but you must be careful because there were so many ‘bulu babi’. There were also many small fish but the fish were almost homogen. Overall, my rate for this beach is 8.5/10

Menjangan Kecil pics...

Next destination was Menjangan Besar Island. You MUST visit this island. If not, that means you still don’t visit Karimunjawa. Menjangan Besar wasn’t about beautiful beach but there were another great sensation that you must feel. Yup, you MUST feel this sensation: Swimming session with SHARKS. A lot of SHARKS. At first, we were scared but then we tried to swim in that ‘deadly pool’. And guess what, the sharks were tame. They weren’t disturbed by our presence. There were another pool which were filled with sharks and barracuda. We can’t swim in this pool because barracuda is too dangerous. After sunset, we finally went back to the mainland, took a bath, and had dinner in ‘Warung Bu Ester” (which I thought the only restaurant in the island). Sambal in warung Bu Ester was really maknyusssssss!!!

Lots of SHARKS!!!

de'Kozzy and the SHARK

The next day, in the morning, we had a little walk. We went to Karimunjawa’s only market, which was very simple, to have breakfast. We also went to the only Puskesmas (Primary health care) in Karimunjawa. The life in Karimunjawa is very simple.

the only market in Karimunjawa

Our first destination in the second day was Cemara Besar Island. But before we reached the island, we did snorkeling in the sea near the island. We saw so many reefs (definitely beats Phiphi island) but we still didn’t meet ‘the school of fish’ just like we met in Phiphi island one year ago. After finished, we went to the beach. Wow…this island completely amazed us. We were speechless. Words, even photos, can’t explain the true beauty of Cemara Besar Island. You must visit this island and see the nature beauty with your own eyes. Cemara Besar island definitely beats Phiphi island in every single aspect

Cemara Besar, here we comes!!!

can you see the crystal water with the white sand??? Ah,perfect!

Ah, perfect part 2

Just like swimming in giant pool

Cemara Kecil island was our next destination. Just like Cemara Besar, we were also amazed by this island. Very beauty. In fact, the underwater life was better than in Cemara Besar. We met nemo in this island. Unfortunately we didn’t bring underwater camera. The fact that no one else except us was the plus point of this island. Just imagine: white sand, crystal water with nice gradation, and no one else in the island except your friend. PERFECT.

Cemara Kecil Island

de'Kozzy and de'Rio in the crystal sea near cemara kecil

Our last destination was Tanjung Gelam beach which located in the mainland. This beach were the best spot to see the sunset. We spent rest of our time in this beach, waiting for the sunset. De’kozzy did the sunbathing while the rest of us were sleeping in this beach. After sunset, we went back to the homestay.

Tanjung Gelam beach

Sunset in Tanjung Gelam

Nothing we could do in the last day. We must wake up early in the morning because the KM Muria boat departed at 8 a.m. It’s time to say goodbye to the beautiful island. We hope we can visit Karimunjawa in the future.

Conclusion…

You guys who read this blog, especially Indonesian, must visit Karimunjawa. This place just need a lot of promotion considering that many of Indonesian still have no idea about Karimunjawa. For me, Karimunjawa beats Phiphi island (unless the nightlife of course). So, wanna taste the white sand, crystal water, the private beach a la Maldives or Carribean? Visit Karimunjawa!!!

Just A Little Information

Yup, I want to inform you, the airasia 'fans', that Airasia will cancel some domestic routes. Effective from August 19th 2009, Indonesia Airasia will cancel flight from Jakarta to Batam, Makassar, and Padang. I didn't know the reason behind this cancellation. I feel a little sad because that means we won't get cheap flight to Batam anymore. Besides, so much memories from this flight. This flight was the trigger for me (and my travel buddies) to do the backpacking since 2007.

Maybe they cancel Jakarta-Batam because they have already opened the Jakarta-Singapore route? I don't know...

Yes, it was CONFIRMED !

Yes, we've gathered around !
Yes, we've been discussing this all of the noon..

And YES, YES, YES, it’s positive !

We are going to this island !

Yiiippeeeee !