Java-Thailand advice needed
 

Now that I've recovered from my jet-lag from my Malaysia trip, I'm starting to think seriously about my itinerary for my trip in April/May. I don't want to make the same mistake on this trip and run around too much so I was thinking about this:

JFK-BKK- 1 night at airport hotel (the flight gets in about 4:30pm and I want an early morning flight to Jakarta)

BKK-CGK (Jakarta)-Yogyakarta- 2 nights Amanjiwo

Yogyakarta- 5 nights at Dunsin Jogja Village Inn--(I chose this hotel because it looks unique. Has anyone stayed here?) day trips to Solo and other places of interest.

Yogyakarta-CGK-BKK-Chiang Rai- 3 nights at Anantara

CM-BKK- 5-6 nights at the Peninsula

How does this sound? I really would have liked to go to East Java but I don't want to be running around, constantly at airports. Any advice is welcome. Thanks.

Hi Laurieco

I have been to Jogja/Borobudur before, and am planning a trip again for '07...so I will be interested to hear about your trip.

I know you don't want to change hotels a lot, but I was wondering if you considered dividing your Jogja days between staying in the city and out at the Losari Coffee Plantation? If you will be leaving the city for day trips anyway, its not too much trouble to switch hotels. There have been a few posts about the Losari...it looks great, with old Javanese buildings and a beautiful spa and pool.

Also, just another throught here, if you flew the Singapore Air non-stop from NY flight, you might be able to connect to Solo all in one day....I actually think the Losari place looks like the perfect place to spend a few days soaking up the atmosphere and recovering from jetlag....I would then do the days in Jogja....saving the best for last and concluding with the Amanjiwo. Just an idea...

Cruisinred
(your fellow NYer Fodorite)

Laurie, it sounds good. I don't know anything about the Jogja Village Inn, I hope marmot will chime in here.

As I've told you, i loved Jogja. It has (imo) the best crafts I've seen anywhere in the world. Do you have a good guide book? There are so many places to go and things to see, you really want a detailed guidebook. I used the big Lonely Planet Indonesia book many years ago, and it has the best detail of any of the guidebooks.

As you get closer to your trip (and I get back from mine), I'll be glad to mine my old travel journal for some of the special experiences we had there.

Cruisin's idea of saving the Amanjaro for last makes some sense to me. You're going to be really jet lagged when you arrive. And given the rates you'll be paying, you want to enjoy every minute!

It may be worth it to investigate the flight into Singapore. Silk Air flies to Solo (and hour taxi away from Jogja), but not every day of the week. I've had good experiences on Silk Air.

Just checked the timing on the NY-Sing-Solo flight. Depart NY on a Tues, Thurs or Sunday at 11pm...connect in Sing and arrive Solo at 3:30 pm

Hi Laurieco,

It's great to hear that your Java trip is approaching!

The itinerary that we finalized is similar to what some posters mention above...

- Fly Singapore Air from JFK to Sing
- Fly Silk Air (discounted Silk Air pass) nonstop from Sing to Solo
- 2 nights at Losari Coffee Plantation for the coffee tour and steam train
- 5 nights at Amanjiwo

Unless you have miles or a great deal for your intended flight to Bangkok, I would recommend Singapore Air for both the ideal routing and excellent service.

All - would Laurieco still be able to get to where she wants to go easily by flying into Solo as opposed to Jogya?

It's a hour hour drive from Solo to Jojga, so it just means that she'll spend more time on ground transport than she would if she flew into Jogja. On the other hand, if she flies into Solo (via Singapore) she'll be able to avoid dealing with Garuda. (To me, that's worh it!)

Garuda - uggggggggggh.

I flew Garuda all the way to Bali from LA in 1989 -- an experience I never ever want to repeat!

Gloria-
I did the same flight about the same year as well...longest flight in my life. Remember the fueling stop in Biak?
I was on a Garuda flight once that literally went to the end of the runway...nose of the plane was almost in a rice paddy.

When I flew into Jojga many years ago, my luggage was not on the flight (I'd come from Singapore). I was upset (and exhausted, having flown from Seattle the previous day, and having napped in the airport for a couple of hours before flying to Jakarta and on to Jogja). The person meeting me from my hotel shrugged and said, "Garuda always does that - the luggage is never here." My luggage did eventually catch up with me. On the way back to Jakarta, Garuda "borrowed" a plane from Merpati. The planes were all not so good - the borrowed plane was even worse. I was just glad to land safely. I avoid Garuda whenever possible.

Did anyone see the recen CN Traveller article about the Asian budget airlines?
They gave the worst marks to Indonesia's Lion Air, saything that the seatpocket included a card with instructions on how to pray for a safe flight! Umm, no thanks....I'd rather pray for a seat on a differnt airline.

Yipes! good point!

Thanks all for the feedback. You're probably right not to go to Amanjiwo at the beginning.

I'll look into the Singapore flight, flying into Solo seems to be a good idea. I need to compare the prices with Thai. The reason I didn't originally look at SQ is because every time I fly them, I get routed through Frankfurt, something I really want to avoid.

I was going to stay at the Losari Coffee Plantation but I hate all the moving around and so does my husband. I like cities so I thought staying in Yogya was a good idea. I suppose if we don't like the hotel in Yogya, we could always move to the Losari, if they have vacancies.

I've learned enough from this forum to avoid Garuda so I won't be flying them if I can help it!

Kathie,I have a Periplus guide to Java, which is so detailed it makes your head spin!!

Speaking of the CN Traveler Asia issue, I have to be the proud relative ;-) My cousin and his wife are the photographers for the Japan article, it's my cousin Len's picture on the cover in fact.

Cruisinred, since we're both in NY, we ought to get together for a drink or something one of these days.

I'm not coming up with a non-stop from JFK-SIN on SQ and I've put in a Thursday departure. It's also about $500 more than Thai's economy. Do I need to leave from Newark for the non-stop? I really don't want to schlep to Newark if I don't have to.

Laurie, I think the non-stop is from Newark.

When I do it from Newark, I get no results at all!

Hi Laurieco-
Would love to get together for a drink sometime. I work in Midtown but will travel anywhere for a beverage, LOL.
I'm at [email protected]

As for the Sing flight, I think you are right that it would be more expenive than Thai and it does only go from Newark...I used to hate Newark, but the new monorail connection thing that connects it to Penn and Amtrak makes it more palatable for me. I actually noticed that Sing has a 2 for 1 deal on this fall, like Thai air. I'm hoping that one or both of them will have a similiar deal on for the spring low season.

Have a good weekend,
Cruisinred

laurieco, I'm not familar with the Dusun Jogja Village Inn, but I can tell you, for sure, hotels will NOT be busy in Central Java. If you don't like it just toodle over to the Melia or Hyatt. They'll be happy to see you.

As a general statement small hotels in Indonesia are clean and the staff is friendly. The problem is that their concept of service may not be up to your expectations. This can be charming or annoying depending on your need.

I think the combination of some Yogya city and some countryside is good. I'd agree with leaving the Aman till the end. I'd change the proportion to 4 + 3 as I think 5 days is too much in Yogya city and 2 days is not enough in the Borobudur area.

Sooner or later someone on this board will actually stay at Losari Coffee Plantation and then we'll know. The natural surroundings of the area are certainly sublime.

SQ21, the non-stop, leaves from Newark. I took it for the first time recently and thought it was a great flight. (Except for the food service. They couldn't seem to get the timing and type of meal right for the body clocks of the passengers, either departing or arriving. Sushi was the last thing I wanted at 4:00 a.m. NY time.)

The Silk Air flight to Solo also sounds like a good idea to me. Fewer legs means a lot less wear and tear and opportunity for something to go awry.

I fly Garuda frequently and though I dearly wish there were a better choice internally in Indonesia (the others ARE worse) I have to say that they've improved over the past two or three years.

Cruiseinred, Midtown sounds good to me!

I was able to get the non-stop from Newark but the price to SIN-Solo-BKK-EWR was over $2300 per person for the dates I'm looking at! That's about $800 per person more than Thai! Unless the price really comes down, I'll stick with Thai. Besides, I live in Queens and JFK is so much more convenient.

marmot, thanks for your input. I don't think we can do three nights at the Aman unless they run some sort of special, it's just too expensive. I would like to stay at the Losari but I can't be moving around too much. Doing so on this last trip to Malaysia really wore us out. And if we do the Losari instead of the Aman, from what I understand, we won't be able to go to Borobudur for sunrise. Others on this forum have said that the only people allowed there have to be staying either at the Aman or the hotel that is right at Borobudur.

We'll most likely stick with Thai Airways and fly them into CGK and I guess we'll be stuck with Garuda to and from Yogya. It's only an hour flight so I'm sure we'll be able to endure it. I just hope our luggage gets there with us! It's encouraging to hear that they are improving some.