Historically Beautiful Yogyakarta

A city on the island of Java in Indonesia and the center of arts and culture – Yogyakarta.  It is home to rich and preserve cultures such as batik, drama, music, pottery, etc. Yogyakarta is pronounced as "jog-ja-karta." Yogya means suitable, fit, proper, and karta - prosperous, flourishing. In summary, the names means "fit to prosper" The city is huge and careful planning is a must to avoid missing the best this place has to offer and ensure that your trip is worth every penny.

The culture Yogyakarta province with its status as a special region lies in the Southern part of Central Java, in the heartland of Javanese culture. As the former capital and the center of several kingdoms in the past, this region and its people are very rich in a variety of cultures. It is widely known from to historical records that the civilization, art and culture had developed well in the center of those kingdoms respectively in the Ancient Mataram Kingdom (8th - 10th Century) era, the second Mataram Kingdom (17th - 18th Century) and Sultanate Ngayogyokarto from the mid of 18th Century up today.

Waiting to Board for Yogyakarta

I took a flight from Kuala Lumpur, spent overnight and then fly out to Yogyakarta the next day. Other routes available, depending on the airline company. I got mine from Air Asia (as always) and I took the afternoon flight from Kuala Lumpur. Touchdown Yogyakarta at around 5 in the afternoon.  Thankfully, Grab services is available all over South East Asia, including Yogyakarta.

Touch Down, Jogja!

Travelling to certain places wouldn’t be a challenge anymore because all you have to do is just press your phone, find the location you want and presto! Plus, it protects the travelers from getting scammed. Most of the taxi drivers, if not all, will give you sky rocket rates only to find out that the place you wanted to go is just few kilometers away. So, hail to the Grab Car/Taxi creator and management.

My Home for the next 3 days in this Vibrant City

There's a 1-hr time difference in Indonesia from the Philippines and from Malaysia (the place where I came from). It was past 5 in the afternoon when when the plane touched down the City of Jogja. I immediately look for my phone and booked a grab car going to Wake up Homestay. My home for the next 3 days in Yogyakarta.

Dinner at Jalan Malioboro - The Traditional Way

Indonesia Rupiah is the official currency of Yogyakarta City. I prepared my next day’s exploration with a dinner at the Malioboro Street Market and of Course a Map of the bus routes to guide me all along while navigating the city center and nearby spots.

It should be noted that the cultural heritage from the past includes the magnificent temples, the ruins of palaces and monasteries, the various kind of traditions, cultural events, traditional folk and performing arts, architecture and other traditional activities.

Indonesian Currency - I am a Millionaire!!!

Handy Dandy Map for Tourists, a Must Have!

Going around the city is pretty easy. There's a Trans Jogja Bus that can take you to places with a fixed transport rate. Just pay once and change to other routes for free as long as you're not going out of the waiting area, isn't that convenient? Also, the bus can take you up to Candi Prambanan (Prambanan Temple)

The most strategic place to stay when you find yourself in Jogja is in Marlioboro Street. It is close to food stalls and restaurants, several bus stops and of course, backpacking accommodations scattered all over. Plus, Jalan Marlioboro (Marlioboro Street) is a major shopping street in Yogyakarta. It also became an iconic place in the city.

Here's my 3D2N Itinerary in the "Arts and Cultural City" of Yogyakarta.

Day 1 - A Day in Candi Prambanan and Night Stroll in Marlioboro

• Candi Prambanan
• Jalan Marlioboro Walk and Food Hunting

Day 2 - The Way to Borobudur

• Candi Borubudur
• Candi Pawon
• Mendut Temple

Day 3 A Quick Stop at the Kraton and the Interesting Facts about the Water Castle

• Keraton Palace
• Taman Sari Water Castle

Yogyakarta is also the only major city, which still has traditional 'Becak' (rickshaw-style) transport.

Weather and Geographical location of Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta Special Region is geographically located almost equidistant from Indonesia's two most important international gateways, about 600 km from Jakarta and 1000 km from Bali. Because of its location, Yogyakarta is strategically positioned for the economic activity network in Java as well as for the tourist destination area.

This region has a tropic climate the daily atmosphere feels a little bit hot and humid. These are only two seasons along the year, the wet or rainy seasons and dry monsoon. Usually the wet seasons begin at September and lasts about August. Generally there is no rainfalls from may to August and there fore the atmosphere feels hot and humid on the day and cool in the night and early morning.  The monthly rain falling Yogyakarta take place during the month of January up to April. The heaviest rainfall usually occurs in February while the lowest commonly happens between May and October.