We arrived in Yogyakarta via Jakarta. We only spent half a day in Jakarata and did not really see any of the sights but you can’t get to Yogyakarta without first flying through Jakarta or Bali. First impressions: Jakarta is a bigger Bangkok, dirtier in parts, cleaner in parts, slightly cooler weather and lots more security (all of our bags were screened as we entered our hotel).
In Yogyakarta we visited the Borobudur and Prambanan Temples. Both temples were constructed in the 9th century. Borobudur is a Mahayana Buddhist temple while Prambanan is Hindu. We went to Borobudur in the morning to catch the sunrise. This required us to wake up at 3 am, drive an hour, and climb to the top of the temple. It was worth it. The sun rose over foggy fields and the temple structure; creating great light (and my new camera has a useful “sunset” setting which works pretty well).
Prambanan is very similar to Angkor in its design (the large lotus shaped central stupa). This makes sense since Agkor was originally constructed as a Hindu temple and switched between Hindu and Buddhism throughout its history.
Finally, we took a trip to Mount Merapi. Merapi is an active volcano located just north of Yogyakarta. Merapi has erupted several times in the last century, most recently in 2010. We toured the area and visited a small museum which was constructed out of one of the homes destroyed in 2010. We toured the mountain in a jeep – Sam’s dream come true.
We got around all day with the help of a taxi cab driver who actually was the taxi cab driver who drove us to our hotel from the airport. But it’s also easy to book these types of tours at the tourist friendly hotels.
Will Travel with Toddlers 