Left our hotel at 3.30am to head off to Borobudur. As were all major tourist attractions we planned to visit in Jogja, this monument was pretty far out the city center, so we had hired a driver to take us there.

Borobudur Temple

The temple opens to the public after sunrise, but a guided sunrise tour is offered as well for an additional hefty fee.

When we arrived at the temple premises (which serves as part resort/part research facility lol) we received torches and a handwriten map to help guide us through to the viewing point. The route was pitch dark and the map was quite crummy, but it was pretty straightforward so we just followed the trail of torches in front of us.

Upon climbing up the mountain we hastily settled down for a good spot to view the sunrise. We managed to get a seat behind the opened buddha bell (which is pretty much in all Borobudur photos) which was nice.

Earlier on we were worried about the weather, due to the rainy forecast. Thankfully it was for nothing, as we managed to take in an amazing sunrise 🤗

We had lots of time to explore and snap tons of shots

We had a light breakfast of local sweets (provided by the tour) before heading back to the hotel. We were presented with a mini batik scarf at the end of the trip, which was nice.

The monument was really grand, majestic, about 1,000 years old with close to 500 Buddha statues! Worthy of a UNESCO (unlike our botanical gardens haha). The sunrise tour was quite expensive at ~$60SGD (arranged by the resort/research place just next to the monument, Manohara Resort).

Long rides out from the city means lotsa time to catch up on sleep on mini buses too!

“Mid-day” break

Since we woke up so early, when it came to 10am we already felt like it was 3pm..

Lazed around in the hotel and had hotel lunch before we left again for Gumuk Pasir (the big sand plains).

We managed to book a driver for 500,000idr for 12 hours (which covers transport to 3 destinations and back).

Gumuk Pasir Parangtitis

“it’s like a big junkyard someone decided to exploit for tourism”

- says Dom. Very much so, as this entire place was literally a field of sand with some random structures set up for tourists. The main attraction to get down to over here is sandboarding, but we arrived around 2pm-ish, where it was simply too hot to get anything done, so noone bothered to set up shop.

Although were melting under the hot noon sun, the cute photo spots and great photos were all worth it cause nice skies!

We brought along some child toboggans (which we got from Daiso) here, meaning to get some meaningful butt sliding action. But alas, the weather was not agreeable, and the insane blast of sunlight made the sand hotter than siloso beach at noon and I ended up scalding my feet and hands (dom). ugh

Sri Gethuk Waterfall

We then drove a very long, bumpy and windy road to the far nested away Sri Gethuk waterfall. The waterfall premise was rather underwhelming due to its modest size and lack of tourist traps. We expected so much more touristy junk, but we were pleasantly surprised by the backwood feel of the place.

To get to the waterfall, you have to take this makeshift bumboat raft (literally a bunch of planks and barrels tied to a motorboat engine) to get across a section of the lake. It was amazing and frightening at the same time.

The water in the lake at this point was a murky brown green color, not unlike our beloved Singapore River. The locals told us that the color of the water was seasonal, and was brown because it was still considered the rainy season. During the ‘summer’ (it’s a perpetual summer in asia idk how they differentiate but..) the water turns to a clear crystal blue, which draws in a ton of tourists (mostly local).

The cooling running waters were a nice escape from the burning heat at the sand dunes. The locals were friendly and beckoned us to join them in swimming in the waterfalls, but alas buzz killington Dom had too much camera gear abound and had to kindly refuse their offer.

It is at this point we have to note #RachelunappropriatelydressedChen had gained the attraction of all the locals, for she was wearing a floral, kinda bareback jumpsuit at a waterfall. This would normally be dismissed as nothing much back in SG, but in conservative indonesia this prompted much stares all around lolol 💃🏻 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

After much phototaking and minor splashing at the waterfall, we went to source for good food for dinner. We decided to eat at Warung Bu Ageng, a local nasi campur restaurant (local food was something we’ve haven’t had much yet). Their Nasi Campur was rated as “one of the best in Yogyakarta” & it did live up to its name, for it was yummy! Best meal of whole trip (till Bali) hahahah

Booked tomorrow’s tour by Tour Jogja which we arranged via WA. Ended the night with Bintang Radler nearby our hotel.

Have to conclude that Jogja is rather touristy & even though we spent SO MUCH time travelling out from the city centre where we were, the sights made up for all of it :)