Yogyakarta, Day 1

Despite waking up at an ungodly hour (3am), we were all excited and wide awake, all the way to LCCT. The smell of coffee from Oldtown Kopitiam greeted us, as usual, together with the crowd. Why so many people travel so early one?!!

The flight took us only 2.5 hours and reach reach Yogya at 8ish. It's already hot early in the morning. The airport is small and the line was long! We pratically have to line up all the way to the runway.

Upon passing through customs, we were welcomed by our tour guide, Mr Corry. Funny guy he is, keeping an eye on FL all the time....LOL.

First stop, to eat breakfast, at my request...:P. He brought us to 'masakan padang'. I've tried better 'masakan padang' in Jakarta last time. Well, throughout the trip, the food is nothing to shout about as it's pre-arranged at restaurants decided by the agent. Should have asked for it to be excluded so we can try the local stalls.

So, after breakkie, we proceeded to Yogyakarta palace (Kraton). We were shocked to see 'people mountain, people sea'. It's a long holiday weekend apparently. Kraton is a famous tourist spot. The place is like a walled city within a city that serves as home to the Yogya Sultans.

The courtyards, pavillions and royal heirlooms were all well-preserved displaying the Javanese culture. We managed to catch an art performance that is scheduled each day.

 Next stop is Taman Sari aka Water Castle. Taman Sari consisted of four distinct areas: a large artificial lake with islands and pavilions located in the west, a bathing complex in the centre, a complex of pavilions and pools in the south, and a smaller lake in the east. This is where the sultans used to come to relax and watch his wives and mistresses dance and bath in the pools. We walked along some alleys and reached a underground tunnel. The tunnel is a pretty place for wedding pictures! This tunnel was used as an escape route if the palace is under attack.

Nearby, we can see how batik and silverware is made. As usual, we spent little time here as we're more into exploring the city.

 Towards the eveing, we headed towards to Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple in the world. This place is famed for it's beautiful sunset and it doesn't disappoints! There are a few 'candi' surrounding Prambanan. I particularly like Candi Sewu, less crowded and it's secluded towards the end of the compound. There's a mythical story surrounding Sweu. Google it...

And so that marks our Day 1. We were then ushered to our dinner and then to our humble abode for the night. It's a unique small boutique hotel, owned by a Korean. Pretty neat place to stay I would say.