A day in Yogyakarta | Java, Indonesia

On our trip to Indonesia in May 2018, we spent about 2 days in the Central Java, a province in Indonesia. Yogyakarta (also called "Jogja"), a city in Java draws millions of tourists from across the world every year as it is well known for its cultural heritage and massive Hindu and Buddhist temple complexes. Jogja has an international airport (JOG) and is well connected to many major cities by air. We flew into Jogja from Surabaya and spent one day visiting the Borobudur, world's largest Buddhist temple, about an hour drive from the airport. On our way back, we spend a night in the city of Jogja before catching our early morning flight to Bali the next day. We had a cab reserved for us for 2 days so the commuting was hassle free and convenient. I highly recommend you to arrange a car for yourself for the entire duration of the stay as you would save lot of time worrying about getting somewhere. We reserved our stay at the Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel which was absolutely luxurious and very memorable! We also chose this hotel for it's proximity to the airport as we had to be on a 5 AM flight the next morning. We checked-in to our hotel room in the late afternoon and the process was pretty simple owing to the prior reservation. We opted for a city-view room and it was really spacious offering a beautiful view of the city! I was pleasantly surprised to see a complimentary welcome drink and a traditional Indonesian pastry with a sweet welcome note! The towel arrangement on the bed was also very cute! Thanks to the amazing staff at the hotel for such a warm welcome!

Our room in the Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel. Thanks to the amazing staff for such a sweet welcome!

After a while, we wanted to get to the rooftop swimming pool. It was a cloudy afternoon and it just started to rain. I was little disappointed but then the sky cleared up after sometime and the pool was quite empty. Had so much fun hanging around in the pool. We didn't realise how long we were in there until we got call from our driver saying the Prambanan temple (the only outing we planned for the day) would close down by 6 PM! It was already 4:30 PM and we quickly had to rush to our room, freshen up and get in the car.

The amazing roof-top pool at Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel!

The Prambanan temple was 40 minute drive from the hotel and I was hoping we get there before it closes. We reached by 5:30 PM but the staff at the ticket counter said they were not allowing any more visitors for the day. Our driver spoke to them in Indonesian and requested them to allow as we we have come a long way. It was really nice of them to have considered our request. The entrance ticket costs about 360.000 IDR (1900 INR) per adult. I was eligible for the discounted ticket price as I'm a university student. Make sure you carry your International Student ID card for a discount on the ticket price! We were so happy that they finally let us in but we had only 40 minutes at the temple before they close it down. Well, something is definitely better than nothing.

Entry way to Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple complex in Indonesia

The Prambanan temple complex dates back to 9th century and is second largest Hindu temple complex in Southeast Asia, only next to the Angkor Wat in Cambodia. As you walk closer to the compound, you will be amazed by the scale of these structures! The complex has three main temples dedicated to the Trimurti or the three Hindu Gods: Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver) and Shiva (the destroyer). The other three shrines in front of these major temples are dedicated to the Vahanas (vehicles) of the respective Gods: Hamsa (the swan), Garuda (the Kite) and Nandi (the Bull). Originally the temple complex consisted of about 240 temples but many of them have been deteriorated or looted. The temple complex also suffered severe damages in the 2006 earth quake. In spite of all that, it still stands as the epitome of cultural heritage in the region. No wonder Prambanan is listed as the UNESCO world heriatge site. We regret as we could have spent more time here if we had reached early. I highly recommend you visit the Prambanan to aprreciate the brilliant architecture of these temples even if you are not a very religious person! We headed back to our hotel, spent the rest of the evening at the Hartono mall right next to Marriott. One can definitely stay longer in Yogyakarta exploring the nearby traditional craft villages, visit the caves and volcanos but we had a very packed schedule! Well, there is always a next time I guess! :)

Look at the scale of these temples!!

The beautiful temples of Prambanan, Yogyakarta

Prambanan Temple complex at sunset!