Kathie’s Return to Jogja
Nov 30th, 2012, 07:33 PM
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Hanuman, no cloudless days, but abundant "sunbreaks" as they are called in Seattle. We were traveling at the beginning of rainy season, so knew the hazards. We did fine, though, never had our sightseeing called off by rain.
Glad you enjoyed the photos, Filmwill. Cheryl and I agree that Java is a remarkable place and we really enjoyed our time there.
Glad you enjoyed our journey, Lola.
Glad you enjoyed the photos, Filmwill. Cheryl and I agree that Java is a remarkable place and we really enjoyed our time there.
Glad you enjoyed our journey, Lola.
Dec 1st, 2012, 05:48 AM
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Cheryl...fabulous pictures. The country side is so green. I see the color Kathie refered to in her trip report. Being a grandmother, I loved the picture of the school girls with their orange head scarfs, and Barbie back packs. Some things are truely international. Thanks for sharing.
Dec 1st, 2012, 09:26 AM
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Marvelous report. Now I want to go there. But, unless you are versed in temple structure and philosophy, I think I might get templed out. Maybe this would be good trip to go with special group or even better really good guide. The volcano area sounds magical. I LOVED the ballet uTube. What marvelous technique to produce that. Everybody should watch it. Now I will look at the still photos and get very jealous.
Dec 1st, 2012, 09:27 AM
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Beautiful photos, Kathie, and a very interesting TR. I have several questions: 1-What is considered dry season in Indonesia? 2- Was it very humid? 3-Since we have never been to Bali, if I wanted to combine your itinerary with 7 days in Bali, what airline and flight logisitics would you recommend? ( I think we would prefer to fly, rather than take the train in Indonesia.)
Dec 1st, 2012, 09:53 AM
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Thanks for your comments, everyone.
Elainee, Getting good individual guides in Java is very easy. We love temples, so our itinerary was very heavy on temples, but you could go to Java, choose some temples and spend more time at volcanoes - of which there are many.
Shelly, combining Java and Bali is a great idea and will make your flights easier. You can fly to/from Bali from both central Java (Yogya or Solo) and Eastern Java (Malang and Surabaya). Garuda is the best of the Indonesian Airline, IMO. So, for instance, you could fly from Singapore to central Java, then to Bali, then to Eastern Java and back to Singapore. Our summertime is high season there, as it is dry. Yes, it was humid as well as very hot.
As much as Cheryl complained about the train at the time, she now says that her train photos are some of her favorites. She loved seeing how people live - all the farmers - from the train. But flying sure is easier!
Elainee, Getting good individual guides in Java is very easy. We love temples, so our itinerary was very heavy on temples, but you could go to Java, choose some temples and spend more time at volcanoes - of which there are many.
Shelly, combining Java and Bali is a great idea and will make your flights easier. You can fly to/from Bali from both central Java (Yogya or Solo) and Eastern Java (Malang and Surabaya). Garuda is the best of the Indonesian Airline, IMO. So, for instance, you could fly from Singapore to central Java, then to Bali, then to Eastern Java and back to Singapore. Our summertime is high season there, as it is dry. Yes, it was humid as well as very hot.
As much as Cheryl complained about the train at the time, she now says that her train photos are some of her favorites. She loved seeing how people live - all the farmers - from the train. But flying sure is easier!
Dec 1st, 2012, 04:57 PM
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Responding to some specific comments...
Ctosscheck, the antiques market was really serendipitous. It was just across the street from the kraton, and the place I wanted to go to next was closed. Neither of us was interested in buying anything, but once we were there, the photo ops were too good to pass up.
Karen, you are so right about the school children. We encountered a number of groups, and they were all excited and taking photos with their cell phones.
HT, when the pizza arrived with the packets of Del Monte on the side, that seemed like a really bad sign. But the pizza was good. I don't understand the hot sauce packets at all...
Femi, Cheryl got the idea as she flipped though the photos and saw all the movement she had captured.
Shelly, Java wasn't any hotter than Burma (Mrauk U and Yangon, in particular), and it would feel less hot during dry season. On Bali, you get the breeze off the sea at beach locations, which cools it down.
Ctosscheck, the antiques market was really serendipitous. It was just across the street from the kraton, and the place I wanted to go to next was closed. Neither of us was interested in buying anything, but once we were there, the photo ops were too good to pass up.
Karen, you are so right about the school children. We encountered a number of groups, and they were all excited and taking photos with their cell phones.
HT, when the pizza arrived with the packets of Del Monte on the side, that seemed like a really bad sign. But the pizza was good. I don't understand the hot sauce packets at all...
Femi, Cheryl got the idea as she flipped though the photos and saw all the movement she had captured.
Shelly, Java wasn't any hotter than Burma (Mrauk U and Yangon, in particular), and it would feel less hot during dry season. On Bali, you get the breeze off the sea at beach locations, which cools it down.
Dec 3rd, 2012, 07:06 AM
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I traveled to Jogjakarta and the great temples, then on to Bali, in 1976, one of my all-time favorite trips. Reading your report and seeing the great pictures brought back a lot of nice memories. Thanks for sharing.
Dec 3rd, 2012, 08:04 AM
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Great pics, Kathie. I especially love the ones that Cheryl captured from the train and in the car while the two of you were enroute. I think she did a wonderful job of capturing everyday life on the island that we rarely get to see from tourist photos.
Dec 6th, 2012, 12:31 PM
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Kathie: I'm in the preliminary stages of planning my trip to Indonesia for August. My husband and I arrive Bali Aug. 16 at 3:00pm, leave Jakarta Aug. 31 at 10:00pm. I actually plan to end in Yogyakarta only going to Jakarta for the flight home.
As I will have 15 nights/14 full days on the ground, what would be your suggestion of splitting the time between Bali and central Java. You recent trip looks like an itinerary I'd like except I'd start in Surabaya, flying from DPS and end in Yogya, flying to CGK.
Do you thing 7 days Bali and 7 days Java would work? This will be my first trip to Indonesia.
As I will have 15 nights/14 full days on the ground, what would be your suggestion of splitting the time between Bali and central Java. You recent trip looks like an itinerary I'd like except I'd start in Surabaya, flying from DPS and end in Yogya, flying to CGK.
Do you thing 7 days Bali and 7 days Java would work? This will be my first trip to Indonesia.
Dec 6th, 2012, 05:15 PM
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Thanks, Thursdays. Cheryl remembered your story about breaking your ankle. Fortunately, it was just a sprain and the wrap made it possible for her to continue the trip.
Susiean, Two weeks it cutting it close - any chance you can add even a few days? With two weeks, think of it this way - one week in Bali, divided between beach and inland near Ubud, one week in Java divided between Malang area and Yogya area.
How interested are you in temples? Is your plan for eastern Java just temples or just volcanoes or will you try to do both? Bromo is the place people go in eastern Java for volcanoes, but after talking with the manager at the Tugu at Blitar, I think I would go to Blitar to visit volcanoes in that area. That would put you right at the most fascinating eastern Java temple complex as well. Of course, we loved staying in Malang at the Tugu and doing their Tracing the Kingdom package - but that is really a package for the temple buff.
In central Java, the must-sees, IMO are Borobudur, Prambanan and the Ramayana Ballet (at Prambanan, not in town). I do recommend Wiedy to make arrangements for you - hotels, car and driver, guides, etc. He can do it all.
Tell me more about what you w ant to do/see/experience and maybe I can be more helpful
Susiean, Two weeks it cutting it close - any chance you can add even a few days? With two weeks, think of it this way - one week in Bali, divided between beach and inland near Ubud, one week in Java divided between Malang area and Yogya area.
How interested are you in temples? Is your plan for eastern Java just temples or just volcanoes or will you try to do both? Bromo is the place people go in eastern Java for volcanoes, but after talking with the manager at the Tugu at Blitar, I think I would go to Blitar to visit volcanoes in that area. That would put you right at the most fascinating eastern Java temple complex as well. Of course, we loved staying in Malang at the Tugu and doing their Tracing the Kingdom package - but that is really a package for the temple buff.
In central Java, the must-sees, IMO are Borobudur, Prambanan and the Ramayana Ballet (at Prambanan, not in town). I do recommend Wiedy to make arrangements for you - hotels, car and driver, guides, etc. He can do it all.
Tell me more about what you w ant to do/see/experience and maybe I can be more helpful
