Jogjakarta? Don't mind if I do.

 A lazy Saturday sitting in a Palembang cafe and lovely Deirdre mentions how amazing Jogjakarta (also known as Yogya) is. A little eye contact between two hungry travellers meant that I was to travel there with Megan the following weekend.

Following a 5 am rise and the find your booked taxi chase (they can never find the house), we were soon on our way. There's nothing like a bit of Indonesian travel adventure as next followed the find your flight hunt. So what if your ticket says one gate and the screen and staff another. After wandering fun from one gate to another, we eventually found our gate which lo and behold was the gate next to the original one. Fitness class over!




A2? A3? A7? WHO KNOWS?




We arrived in Jogjakarta by noon and decided to wander the streets of Marlioboro. Jalan Marliboro is a seemingly endless road with Batik and handicraft galore. A shopping haven if that's your thing but once you've been to one shop you've definitely been to them all. Prepare to get your haggling skills on!

...But let's enjoy some sights first.



Yes it's a topless tree



War memorial masked by a concert stage



Pretty clock before the hustle and bustle



Tunnel near the Ramayana performance

Plenty of antiques

The well displayed FRESH fruit

East Asia is notorious for fakes but a Banksy copy cat in Indonesia? There was some great graffiti  unfortunately I wasn't able to capture it all.

We then booked some tickets for a  buffet dinner and a Ramayana performance at an open theatre just at the top end of Jalan Marliboro. The food was lush, especially the steak and it had a great astmosphere. The performance was colourful with plenty of theatrics and  traditional music. A lovely romantic end to the evening, and who better to spend it with than Megan!

The following day we had another early start with temple visits on the cards. First stop was Borobudur temple. Wikipedia tells me that it is a 9th century Buddhist temple that reflects India's influence on the region.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur

The only downfall at places like this is the constant request for pictures, one or two is fine but be prepared for plenty, which can get tedious if you just want to enjoy your surroundings. Nonetheless, Borobudur is well worth the visit for it's divine backdrop and intricate carvings. Just stunning!

We then headed to Mendut, another pretty 9th century Buddhist temple but on a much smaller scale. It houses three statues and touching the feet of one is meant to bring you good luck.

The last stop was at Prambanan, this time a 9th century Hindu temple, again very pretty, less busy but still photo requests.

"Yes, this skirt looks amazing on me"

After a long sightseeing filled day we headed out for some food on our return. Jogjakara caters for toursits much better than Palembang and we found this quirky place not far from the hotel. Great pizza with real cheese...you learn to appreciate home comforts when it isn't readily available.

Another early flight back to Palembang, with more Indonesian gratitude of wonderful delays. Home safe and sound. All in a weekends work!