Journal de la Journée: Yogyakarta, The Truly Special Region (Part 2)

During my Jogja trip I stayed at Hotel Dafam Fortuna in Malioboro, minutes away from the crowd of the market. I woke up early in the morning and went down to breakfast a bit too early, but I was pretty hungry so I waited patiently. The wait was actually worth it since I really enjoyed the breakfast buffet the hotel had since they also offer unique menus such as bubur candil and selection of jamu which I really really appreciate.

We then began the day by having a look around Universitas Gajah Mada beforehand to see the glimpse of the top university in the said 'Kota Pelajar'. We then proceed to Keraton of Yogyakarta (The Palace of Yogyakarta or Keraton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat). The palace architecture, Taman Sari, the Sultan square, the pavillion halls were all beautiful! I was mesmerized by the Kingdom's history of monarch and its management that gives a very graceful depiction of the development of the region system into what it is today. We had a tourguide assigned to us by the entrance which would require a voluntary fee and available in several languages such as Javanese, Indonesian, English, French and some other. The tour might take a long time though, our quick tour even took almost an hour but the explanation will seriously enrich and inspire you. The palace is so serene and well organized, and I was utmost happy to be meeting several of the abdi dalem who greeted us warmly from the many corner of the palace vicinity.

Unfortunately my Yogyakarta trip were really short. After my visit to the Kraton Yogyakarta we continued our land ride to Solo, Central Java. The trip to Solo were actually very straightforward and we only spent couple of hours in there, yet we still make several stops to monumental places that we pass through the Prambanan Temple as well as the Keraton Surakarta Hadiningrat. It also was unfortunate to spend only a short time in Solo since I haven't seen a large part of the region.