My stay at Jogja is almost nearing completion. I will be departing to Jakarta on the evening train from Jogja. The Train site (Kereta Api) offers some useful information and it is bilingual (Bahasa Indonesian and English). At the time of writing, they do not offer online ticket reservation. The Argo trains are quite like the Shatabhti Express in India (or that is what I’m imagining). Cities in Java are supposedly served well by trains.
Jogja has an efficient public transportation system called TransJogja. It sure gives a good run for money for other transits in developed economies in Asia. At the same time, I am confused on the poor track record of Indonesia’s Domestic Airlines. None of them pass the European Union Standards for safety that they are prohibited from flying to European Union destinations. I didn’t find any issue when I took the Mandala Air from Denpasar-Bali to Surabaya-Java. BTW, the Surabaya Airport was pretty International as well (as a traveller used to sub standard Airports in India).
Coming back to Jogja, it is a University town and Jalan Sosrowijayan (dubbed Sosrow) is the hippest place around here. Live band performance is guaranteed every Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at the Bintang Bar on Sosrow. Coincidently, there was a Sosrow - Peace n Harmony Live Band Performance by local Indonesian groups. It was just fantastic! All I had to do is get a beer and catch up with fellow backpackers. Met quite a cool group around here.
To my pleasant surprise, Central Java is not as conservative as I expected it to be. Based on my brief observation, they follow a tolerant form of Islam.Jogja being an University town, has sizeable number in the age group 15 to 30. It is fairly inexpensive (compared with the Indian cost of living in major cities). Personally, I felt quite comfortable in the first couple of days. People are generally warm out here. There are handful of exchange students from Netherlands and from other parts of the world.
On the other hand, the public transportation folks charge discriminatorily when it comes to Tourist. I’m referring to the minibuses run by local companies. Do _not_ blindly hand over the money charged by the ticket collector. Check out with local folks on the fare before boarding the bus. You are guaranteed to be charged anywhere between 1.5 to 2 times the normal fare.
Jogja is the place to shop if you are interested in buying Souvenirs. Batik art work on wooden face mask (named Topengs), Wayang puppets etc. I mean, it is pretty tempting - provided you love art work. Apart from shopping, Jogja is the stay over place to visit nearby UNESCO heritage sites of Borobudur and Prambanan. Prambanan charges about USD 11 for entrance fee (lesser if you are a student). In fact, the main temples in Prambanan have been structurally affected by the 2004-05 earthquake. Though you can visit the site, you are not allowed to take a tour inside the Temples.
Mount Merapi, located north of Jogja, offers an excellent opportunity to trek. It is one of the active volcanoes and is constantly considered a living dynamite. In 2006, it erupted - causing causualities. The best possible way to get to the trek path is by heading towards the direction of Kaliadem (Bobung Village). I happened to visit Kaliarung and couldn’t figure out the trail that would lead me closer to Mount Merapi.
This time around, I have taken some snaps and let me post them after getting home. I am starting to miss Dosas, Chappathis and Naan. It has been Mie and Nasi Goreng (and other Indonesian food items) so far! Can’t wait to grab some Roti Canai during KL transit.