ADMIT it. You, independent traveller, yearn to experience something different, to visit cool places few have been, and then gloat about larger-than-life experiences in exotic cities.
Yogyakarta, Jakarta’s cultured sibling in central Java, will provide you with plenty of conversation starters.
I nominate the following as my favourite Yogyakarta experiences, in no particular order:
Kraton Palace
A visit to an already popular tourist attraction like the Kraton, a walled city-within-a-city, that serves as home to the Yogyakarta sultans since mid-18th century, might not sound terribly cool or imaginative, but it reveals essential clues about the deep mysticism that pervades Yogyakarta’s cultural ethos and living philosophy.
Past glory: One of the elegant pavilions in Kraton Palace that once hosted small-scale concerts for Javanese royalty. Monuments and architecture aren’t used just to magnify the royalty’s glory, but to provide a physical focus for their earthly kingdoms and link them to the supernatural. In the afternoons, after the palace is closed to visitors, female staff sprinkle water and place flowers on the pillars, and light incense to “cleanse” the palace from evil spirits.
A stroll through the many pretty courtyards, well-preserved pavilions and elegant displays of royal heirlooms is a great way of warming up for the rest of the city’s historical, artistic, and natural treasures.
Go potty
Promise me you’ll also make an excursion to Kasongan Pottery Village. Budget half a day to take a leisurely drive out of the city past lime-green rice terraces, coconut palms, red-tiled cottages and quaint bamboo huts, into a potter wonderland where a staggering display of plates, bowls, stone vases, stone Buddha sculptures testify to the fertile Indonesian imagination.
How twee! Silver art produced by the artisans of Kota Gede. Then poke around the back of the shop-houses and marvel at how the artisans transform plain vanilla mud into amazing works of art (don’t mind kampung chickens running about the backyard). Even I, not exactly a pothead, nearly carted home a grinning Sumo wrestler figurine that would look right at home alongside my ceramic Dutch shoes and Kuching pussycats.
Pretty silverware
In a region where artists and craftsmen are revered, handicraft enthusiasts and hardcore shoppers will have a field day.
Most tourists head to Malioboro Street, sometimes dubbed Yogyakarta’s boulevard of shopping dreams. Its infectious energy is lots of fun, but for a more rewarding experience, visit the hundreds of centres and villages scattered throughout Yogyakarta Special Province (tip: the wares are even cheaper).
A lively scene in Yogyakarta’s main shopping district, Malioboro Street. You don’t have to go far. Just 5km from the city centre is Kota Gede or Silver City, a historical town that shot to prominence during the reign of Sultan Agung which generated a huge demand for silver and gold items. Most of the big shops on main drag, Jl Mondorakan, offer guided tours of their workshops.
Thankfully, they still retain the warm intimacy of family establishments although many have expanded to fulfill overseas commissions. Be prepared to be blown away by their creativity and dexterity: think twee, thumb-sized cupboards, and miniature Borobudur!
Ruins of Ratu Boko
Forgive me for only giving the ancient temples of Borobudur and Prambanan a passing mention. I don’t see the value in writing extensively on something that has been written to death and is easily searchable on Google.
I do, however, insist on devoting substantial column inches to the woefully undersold third pillar of the Borobudur Park tripartite, Ratu Boko, the remains of a kraton (grand palace) named after a King Boko of local folklore.
Expecting to be underwhelmed after Prambanan and Borobudur, we were astounded to be confronted by a mini-Acropolis on a hilltop, for want of a better expression. Stone terraces, Hindu and Buddhist temples and structures, a fountain-adorned bathing area, swimming pool, caves and a crematorium were just some of the crumbling structures that dotted the grassy, undulating hillside, with grazing sheep completing the pastoral picture.
Clearly, the high stone gateways, the largest and most often photographed structure of the site, merely hint at the treasures beyond. Towering 196m above sea level, with some spots overlooking Prambanan and Mount Merapi, Ratu Boko once inspired a tourist to declare: “This is the most beautiful sunset on earth.”
Dine local
All shopped, templed and palaced out? Chill out at a lesehan, Yogyakarta’s answer to our roadside warong. When night falls, street traders convert sidewalks and pavements into mini-restaurants that serve traditional Indonesian dishes.
The bigger ones might roll out a straw mat, but the proper way to do it is to sit on the floor and embrace the al fresco vibe while the smells of cooking food whip your salivary glands into a frenzy. You’ll notice a fair number of similarities between our cuisine and Indonesia’s. Siomay is siew mai, kare curry, es ice, geddit? Make sure you try the unimpressive-looking but absolutely delicious gudeg, young jackfruit in santan gulai. The best is supposedly found on Wijilan Rd, right outside Kraton Palace.
Ramayana Ballet
There is one cultural experience that you can’t replicate anywhere and shouldn’t miss: the Ramayana ballet which unfolds on an open-air stage with the illuminated Prambanan Temples for a backdrop.
The sheer spectacle of 200 elaborately costumed dancers and musicians re-enacting an epic Hindu poem about love and war brought the house down, and tears to our eyes. Just pray for a bit of good luck. Since it’s held outdoors, the show only goes on when the weather permits.
Ubiquitous street art
It’s not just the show-stoppers like the Kraton that amaze. Any first-timer would notice the ubiquitous lashings of art in improbable spots: gothic figures at intersections, vivid wall murals, a startlingly detailed graffiti of a long-haired little girl in a crouched position, as if in mourning, on the crumbling remains of a building on the trek up to Mount Merapi.
Yogyakarta is, after all, Indonesia’s cradle of arts and culture, home to over 3,000 universities, including influential art academies like Institut Seni Indonesia, the studios and residents of the country’s leading artists, and gracious host to a year-round cavalcade of arts events.
Kopi luwak
Alternately, unwind with a cup of kopi luwak (civet coffee) at Malioboro Mall, the only outlet selling this highly prized coffee. At Rp75,000 (RM26) for a single cup, it’s purportedly the most expensive coffee in the world, but hear you me, the experience is worth every rupiah.
A pretty uniformed girl walks to your table clutching a tumbler and coffee in a bronze-hued mesh sachet. She tears the sachet open delicately, pours the contents into the tumbler of hot water, closes the cover and waits two minutes. She retreats, her smile indicating that your beverage is ready.
That’s how personalised an authentic kopi luwak experience is. As I inhale its musty, earthy flavor, heavy with hints of caramel, I feel restored and grateful: what a perfect way to crown a thoroughly satisfying holiday in a wonderfully evocative city.
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