Originally, I had planned to travel over land from Bali to Yogyakarta with stops at a couple places to climb volcanos. Since I had troubles climbing Mount Batur, I canceled all pans to climb any mountains or volcanoes in Indonesia. This bummed me out a bit, but travel is always changing and evolving as I go. The humidity hot the best of me and I just wasn’t ready to spend a bunch of money on a climb I was not conditioned for. So, to save some time and money I decided to fly because it was so cheap to do so.
Yogyakarta
Getting to my hostel, The Packer Lodge, was really easy. I took the bus from the airport and then a took short walk before arriving. The hostel was really nice and worth the few extra bucks I could have saved by staying at another place. There is nothing like a clean atmosphere and sleeping experience when staying at a hostel. Hostel living can be a challenge for some people because there is never any consistency. That night I met a pretty cool Turkish girl and got a little insight on some places she had already been to. Nothing like having good conversation with a fellow traveler. Way better than the internet or a book and potentially someone I could meet up with again the next time head to Turkey.
I woke up early to catch a 5 am tour to the Buddhist Borobudur Temple and the Hindu Prambanan Temple compound. Both sights were pretty cool and they honestly were the main reasons for me to come to Indonesia in the first place. I love my temples and old stuff!
Borobudur Temple
Prambanan Temple Compound
One full day was enough for me in Yogyakarta, so I booked a flight out in the afternoon to Jakarta. That morning before the flight, I was able to make a quick stop at Plataran Tamansari (aka. The Water Castle).
Jakarta
I got into Jakarta in the evening and decided to try ordering an UberMotor from the airport to my hostel. The trip that would have cost me about $30+ by car with a whole lot of time stuck in traffic was signifigantly reduced by taking the motorbike option. Cost me less than $5 and was not stuck in any major traffic jams, despite the whole way basically being a traffic jam. When I got to The Packer Lodge, I felt the same clean and comfortable atmosphere like I did at the place in Yogyakarta.
The main things I needed to do in Jakarta was see the National Monument and go to the Hard Rock Café to get my shot glass and guitar pin. I decided to Uber to all my locations, which ended up costing me only about $5 total and allowed me to see a lot of the city from the back of a motorbike.
My first stop was the National Monument. I walked around the area taking some pictures and opted out of going up the tower because of a ton of middle school class groups filling up the cue.
From here I ordered an Uber and made a stop at the Jakarta Cathedral.
After the Cathedral I Uber’d to the Hard Rock Café and then back to the hostel where I took it easy the rest of the day. One of the things I am finding about traveling alone is that it has become lonely. When I first started traveling abroad nine years ago, it was before smart phones. People would gather in the lobby area and drink beers and talk about their experiences, cultures, etc. Now, most people just stay in their beds and glue themselves to their devices. Nobody seems to seek out connections with people anymore. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still do meet amazing people and enjoy beers into the night on occasion, but they just don’t happen as often as they used to. It got me thinking that these days, if you want to feel the company of another, you almost have to travel with someone.
My next stop will be in Brunei, with a layover in Kuala Lumpur. Looking forward to adding another country to my visited list!