From Mount Bromo to Yogyakarta
After an incredible time hiking to one of the most amazing volcanoes in Java, we decided to head to the centre of the Javanese fine arts and culture. We didn’t know it just yet but we would spending 3 days in Yogyakarta. Again, depending on where you are in Indonesia (or in the world) you might need to follow a different route. In our case, ours was rather long, and it looked something like this:
The above is by car, but we didn’t have any. Thus, we had to make use of the public transport. That meant, that, in a nutshell, we spent pretty much the whole journey travelling. We came back to our homestay at around 08:00 after having spent some hours watching the sunrise from Mount Penanjakan. After that, we waited for the mini van to Probolinggo to be full, so we could pay 35 K each.
We left Cemorolawang at around 09:00 and we made it to Probolinggo’s bus terminal (Bayuangga Terminal) at around 11:00. We had checked the bus and train schedule to make it from Probolinggo to Surabaya and from there to Yogyakarta. The train took shorter, but we had to change from the bus terminal to the train terminal in Probolinggo and we couldn’t make it on time. Thus, we decided to do the whole trip (from Probolinggo to Surabaya and from Surabaya to Yogyakarta) by bus.
I used this website to check public transport’s prices and schedules. But I guess that, as we speak, you can also use the Traveloka app, which I have recommended in this post, along with some other useful apps.
Once at Bayuangga Terminal, we walked and asked around until we found the bus to Surabaya. Inside the bus, a guy tried to scam us by making us believe he was the ticket man. He wanted to charge us twice as much. We told him we wouldn’t pay anyone but the bus driver. He got angry and left the bus, which proofed he really was a scammer. Eventually, the real ticket man showed up (the bus driver had delegated on him) and he charged us the same than everyone else: 20 K. So, guys, the moral of the day: when you get onto a bus, don’t pay the first person who claims to be the ticket man. Wait until the locals are charged so you know there is no scam 🙂
The ride from Probolinggo to Surabaya was good enough. It took us around 2,5 hours. Once at Surabaya’s bus terminal, we did the same as we had done at Probolinggo’s. We walked and asked around until we found the bus to Yogyakarta. As we waited for the bus to be ready to leave, we saw some locals approaching other locals, selling them food. It was a local version of the takeaway you can see in other places. They were using a piece of cupboard where they poured the rice and the garnish. Then they provided you with a plastic spoon and you were all set. We paid 18 K and it was very good 🙂
Once inside the bus, we got ready for the long ride. Ahead of us we had around 8 hours. This time we didn’t have any issues. Nobody tried to scam us and we paid the right amount of money for the bus ticket: 51 K. The bus ride was kind of tiresome. People were coming onto the bus and getting off now and then. The landscape was changing quite a lot. It was really beautiful sometimes. That, plus the talent of some locals made the ride a little bit more enjoyable.
We found two problems during the bus ride. The first one, the speed at which the bus driver was going. Sometimes you really felt like it was the end, but then again, I guess, somehow, we got kind of used to it. The second (and the worst one), the negligent use of the aircon they were making. As you might imagine, it was hot in Indonesia. So, when we got onto the bus, we left the few warm clothes we had with us inside the big backpack. In the small one, I just had a raincoat. I used it as if I was wearing an Eskimo coat. It was damn freezing in the bus. And that lasted for hours.
Eventually, we finally made it to Yogyakarta safe and sound and with enough body temperature. The bus stopped at different places. We chose our and looked for the right way to make it to our hostel. During the bus ride, the girl from Israel had mentioned she already had a place booked to herself. Thus, Mai looked for a place for the three of us (Conti, Mai and myself) and it turned out to be a really good one. We took a taxi the four of us together and, after dropping our Israeli friend at her hostel, we were taken to our. Just like that, our paths separated.
We made it to Chez Laelik a little before midnight. We had booked a triple room for 3 nights. I paid 159 for the stay plus 1,5 Kg of laundry. It was a good deal, wasn’t it? The room was pretty good. The three beds were individual ones, meaning, there were no bunk beds. The only thing was the toilet, which wasn’t a Western one but an Asian one lol. There was no tap or toilet, but something like a hole, a sink and a bucket. I guess some of you have already seen those 🙂
We didn’t have much time to speak with the owner, but she seemed to be very nice. We took a shower and I went outside to find a place to have dinner. I was very hungry and I found a perfect spot 5 minutes away from the hostel. There were two young kids in charge. Regardless of their age they knew pretty well what they were doing. The food was amazing and they were really kind. After dinner I went back to the hostel and got ready for a night of sleep. And, just like that, we had travelled all the way from Cemorolawang to Yogyakarta 😉
Day 1: being tourists in Yogyakarta
Walking around Yogyakarta
We woke up the morning of October the 5th, 2018, kind of late. We needed some rest after the previous day of travel. And we needed to be ready for our 3 days in Yogyakarta. Breakfast was included in the price of the room. The owner prepared it for us. It was delicious. And she was very kind. We spoke with her for a while and eventually walked outside Chez Laelik to see what the city of Yogyakarta had waiting for us.
We decided to go visit Malioboro street by foot. It would take us an hour to make it there but we were not in a hurry plus we wanted to enjoy walking around Yogyakarta. The street of Malioboro is one of the most well-known areas in Yogyakarta. It’s a shopping street, full of shops, restaurants, bars and hotels. During the evening, you can get to see plenty of musicians, painters and other artists.
As you can see on the picture above, the “landscape” was very picturesque: cars, motos, shops, houses, “sidewalks”, etc. Motorcycles were a constant. They had been it in Bali and Java. And I guess they are all around Indonesia. The messy traffic was a constant too, but I was used to it by then. We saw plenty of small bookshops as we walked to Malioboro street. Most of the books were in Indonesian, but we saw some in English now and then.
We kept on seeing different stuff as we walked: repair shops, families of up to 5 on one moto, small shrines, food street stalls, etc. There was also heaps of traffic. Sometimes it was really an adventure to just cross from one side of the street to the other. We didn’t see many tourists, specially when compared to Bali. Most of the locals would smile at us as we passed by 🙂
Malioboro street by day
After a nice, long and interesting walk, we finally made it to Malioboro street. I liked the street. It was crowded with people walking around but also with traffic. There were plenty of shops, workshops, restaurants and bars. There was a big mall as well. Oh, almost forgot, there was even a huge lion! 😉
We wanted to exchange some money and so, after doing some research, we made it to Garuda Hotel (aka Grand Inna Malioboro). We found a money exchange booth right in front of the hotel and the exchange rate was really good. So, if you need to change money while in Yogyakarta, you might want to check it out 🙂
Most of the restaurants and bars we saw offered western food. The prices were kind of high and so we ended up getting some local street food. We didn’t see any Warungs and the food wasn’t the best one I tried in Indonesia but it was overall alright. After lunch, we kept on walking on the street and it was then that a local approached us. We spoke for a bit about our county of origin and he invited us to make it to a building right across the street.
It was then that we made it to an art gallery. The guy, being local, had travelled quite a lot. He spoke a bit of Spanish and he was pretty kind. He introduced us to some of the people working there and, for a while, we enjoyed their company and their paintings. They wanted us to buy something and they even asked us to give their paintings a price. I didn’t like that. I don’t understand much of art and I didn’t want to underestimate their jobs. We thanked them for having had us around and eventually we left.
By the time we realised, the sun was starting to set. I looked around and saw some sort of a viewpoint. We were next to a bus terminal. We decided to take the stairs and made it all the way up. Once there, we saw something like this:
Malioboro street by night
We took the stairs back down and said hello to the night, who had just fallen over Yogyakarta. We walked back to the Malioboro street and noticed something had changed. The landscape was different. We started to see more street food booths and it was then that we learnt that most of the street food is sold at night. We saw more tourists, although, again, nothing compared to Bali.
At a certain spot we saw people gathering, most of them locals. We asked what was going on and they told us a concert was about to start. There would be locals playing and singing to help gather money for the tragic earthquake and tsunami that took place on the island of Cèlebes. That happened on September the 28th, 2018, and many people died. The ones who survived found their houses gone, among other struggles.
We decided to stay to enjoy the concert and help a little bit with the money gathering. Some of the bands played really well. We sat down to listen to them and some locals approached us, asking about our place of origin and other stuff. They were very nice and we had an amazing time. It looked (and sound) similar to this:
Many times it seems like tragedy strikes with more power on the people who suffer the most. On those who have way less than us. It seems like, the place where they were born didn’t just determine the life they would have, but also all the misfortune. I moved around Indonesia for a month. The earthquake or the tsunami could have happened where I was, but I was lucky enough. It is in times like these that you really learn to appreciate life and don’t take it for granted. It is by seeing how people react to tragedies that you learn how powerful they really are.
We said good bye to the people we met during the concert. We started to walk back to the hostel but, being kind of tired, we decided to hire a Go-Jek. The driver knew a lot about football. He was a Barça fan and, even if he didn’t speak much English, we spoke during the whole ride about different games and players of Barça. He really knew a lot! I don’t like the football industry, but, football is indeed the international language.
We asked the driver to stop us a little earlier than our hostel and, after thanking him for the ride, we made it to the Indonesian Mercadona:
They have a lot of interesting food and ingredients. There was oil kept on bags, funny-looking sweets and chips and other stuff. We bought some cheese and bread. We wanted to have a non-local dinner and, back at the hostel, with the help of the owner (she gave us some tomatoes), we made it possible. Oh, and I forgot a peculiar ice cream as a dessert, the perfect way to finish the first of our 3 days in Yogyakarta 🙂
Day 2: stupas and ballet
Scooter lessons in Yogyakarta
Our second morning in Yogyakarta started slightly different. We woke up earlier than the previous one. After having breakfast, we spoke with the owner and rented two scooters for 70 K each for the whole day. Conti knew how to drive. I had learnt how to drive during my time in Bali. And Mai… she wanted to learn because she would need to ride a scooter later on during her trip. Thus, we tried to teach her how to do it.
We showed her how to start the engine, how to accelerate and how to use the breaks. We told her to go very easy. It takes time to get to know how much strength you need to apply on the accelerator so the scooter gets to move but it doesn’t do it in a crazy way. She spent sometime playing with the accelerator and the break until it looked like she got it… But she didn’t.
She came outside the hostel and went riding a few meters on the street. Her idea was to get more used to the acceleration, felt the scooter and the road and turn back. That was what she had in mind. The result was slightly different though. I turned back for a second and suddenly I heard some people screaming. I looked to the direction where she drove and found locals arguing with her. She had smashed the scooter on the billboard of a house and the locals were screaming something like: “fucking foreigner destroying our billboard!”
Luckily she didn’t get hurt. The front of the scooter though was less lucky, just like the billboard. She came back with the scooter and told us that, after stopping to turn back, when she tried to accelerate, she did it with too much power. We spent around 15 minutes laughing. It was so funny lol. What else could we ask for as a way to start the second of our 3 days in Yogyakarta? 😉
After speaking with the owner, who spoke with the people whose billboard got damaged, she told Mai she would tell her later on how much money was needed to fix the damages. She reassured her saying it wouldn’t be too much. She also helped us out calming the locals. In the end, it was just a funny way to start the day. By the way, why did we want to rent the scooters? Well, to go visit the biggest Buddhist temple in the world 🙂
About Borobudur
This masterpiece can be found one hour away by car or scooter from Yogyakarta. It is considered the biggest Buddhist temple in the world and it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. There is no exact date from its construction but it is believed it happened sometime between the 8th and the 9th centuries. The same goes for its creator and for the reason of its existence, they both are unknown.
Being the biggest Buddhist temple in the world it was used as a pilgrimage point. That, however, ceased for centuries until it was found by the British ruler of Java (Sir Thomas) back on 1814. Some native Indonesians informed him about a hidden temple and he sent a party to find it. It took them a while and plenty of hard work: cutting trees, burning down vegetation and digging away the soil. Eventually though, they found the astonishing temple.
The temple had experienced ever since plenty of restoration jobs, being the largest one the one done by the Indonesian government and the UNESCO between 1975 and 1982. It was then heavily affected by the eruption of Mount Merapi back in 2010. But with the help of UNESCO it was once again restored.
The temple compound is formed by three different temples, which were found connected by an straight line. The three temples are: Borobudur, Pawon and Mendut, being Borobudur the most well-known. Borobudur temple consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome. The level of detail is impressive, being decorated with 2672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa.
The temple is divided in three main levels, following the Buddhist cosmology: the world of desire (first stage), the world of shape (next four stages) and the world of formlessness (last stage, the one with the stupas). Every stage but the last one depicts different aspects and times of Buddha’s life. There are plenty of Buddha statues doing different mudras like “calling the Earth to witness”, “concentration and meditation” or “turning the wheel of dharma” (among others).
For a deeper understanding on Borobudur temple: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur
Visiting Borobudur
After the funny interaction of Mai with the scooter, we decided she would jump on the back of mine and Conti would be driving on her own. The ride to Borobudur temple took around one hour. The road was good, nothing to do with the ones at Nusa Penida :). During most of the ride we were passing through different towns, so, there was a lot of traffic.
Once at Borobudur, we started to walk to the main entrance. Conti decided to stay outside and wait for us there. She felt like the price of the entrance was kind of too expensive, and we kind of felt the same way. Nonetheless, we really wanted to check it out so we went in. The price for Borobudur was 450 K (25 $) and that was if you didn’t choose to enter during sunrise or sunset. At those times you have to pay even more.
We ended up paying 600 K (around 40 Euros) for both Borobudur and Prambanan (more on this later). It was still expensive, but way less than if you pay both tickets separated. I think they should really consider the money they are asking to visit these temples. It might be that in a non-far future the amount of tourists decrease. Not sure about what the current price is but you can find more info about it here: http://borobudurpark.com/en/temple/borobudur-2/
The whole Borobudur complex was really huge. Before entering we saw plenty of booths, where the locals were selling anything from food, to drinks to souvenirs. We agreed with Conti to meet her at one of those booths to have lunch later on. After that, Mai and I started walking to the entrance of the biggest Buddhist temple in the world with our sarongs on (the borrowing was included in the price of the ticket).
It was a pretty hot day. The way to the first stage of Borobudur was easy and flat. There were tourists but not too many. I guess that not going at sunrise or sunset, apart from a reduction on the ticket, has other good points. Most of the people we saw were either locals or from Asia. We didn’t meet many Western people. As we were about to make it to the first stage, a dad with his daughters approached us and asked us to have a picture with them:
We arrived at the first stage, the one of desire, and started to admire it as we surrounded it. The level of detail was really impressive. Through the whole stage there were plenty of reliefs showing parts of Buddha’s life. That would go on during the other stages as well.
After the first stage we made it to the world of shape, which was divided in four different stages. Again, plenty of reliefs but we also started to see some Buddhas statues. Some of them were missing the head or the arms, due to the earthquakes and other attacks they had been subject to. Every statue was doing a different mudra and, even if they were missing some parts, they, as a whole, were impressive.
As we were walking, now and then, we would see people staring at us and murmuring. I didn’t understand it at the beginning. I checked my clothes and felt like I was wearing well and sober enough. After a little while we found out what was going on: they wanted to have a picture with us lol. Up till that moment it had never happened to me. I guess in Bali they are kind of used to tourists. We had different requests throughout the time we spent in Borobudur and we always agreed with a smile. I felt like Messi 🙂
We kept on walking and awing to what we saw until, eventually, we made it to the last stage: the world of formlessness. At this stage, we found ourselves surrounded by stupas. A stupa is a type of architecture used widely in Asia. In Borobudur, they have conical form and they are used as a funerary symbol, with Buddhas statues inside each stupa. The tip of the temple is a huge stupa and, all around this one, there are a total of 72 smaller stupas. Borobudur is found between two twin volcanoes: Sundoro-Sumbing and Merbabu-Merapi. That, plus the stupas all around, provide you with an speechless landscape.
We spent a while at the last stage of Borobudur. The views were impressive. The feeling was magical, full of peace and serenity. We were really lucky to be able to enjoy such a masterpiece. To honor it, we spun around 😉
With our minds at ease and our souls full of joy, we started the descent from Borobudur. After a while, we were reunited with Conti and we had lunch. The food was good and the prices were alright, taking into account we were at a touristic spot. I paid 50 K for a couple of dishes and a drink, not bad huh?
Ramayana ballet facing Prambanan
When we checked the time we realised we were kind of late. We wanted to make it to Prambanan to see the sunset. Prambanan is another key temple you must visit if you are in Yogyakarta. I’ll provide you with more info on it later on.
As I was saying, when we saw we were kind of late, we tried to speed up. The road was good and we were professional drivers by then, so we felt like we could made it. And we did made it, in a way. Prambanan and Borobudur open daily from 06:00 to 17:00. We arrived at Prambanan at around 17:30 so we couldn’t get in. Regardless, on the way there, we were able to see the sunset as we were driving, and it was really beautiful.
We stayed for a while at the gate, thinking what to do, and we eventually decided to go see the Ramayana ballet. The owner of Chez Laelik told us that ballet performances were well-known in Yogyakarta. I guess it was no wonder, being Yogyakarta the capital of culture and fine arts in Java. She told us the one done within the Prambanan area was the best, as we would be facing the Prambanan temple at night. Thus, we decided to go buy the tickets. In case you are wondering, the ballet takes place every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 19:30 to 21:30. For further info: http://borobudurpark.com/en/activity/ramayana-ballet/
When life gives you lemon make lemonade. We didn’t make it on time for the sunset, but, being Saturday, we were able to see the Ramayana ballet facing Prambanan 🙂
We paid 150 K for the entrance but I felt like the show worth the money. The show lasted for 2 hours and it was pretty much the same I had seen back in Ubud. The piece depicts the battle of Ramayana, where prince Rama fights the devil Rahwana with the help of the powerful white monkey Hanoman. There were subtle differences though: the number of actors, the stage, the quality of the show and the views of Prambanan in front of us.
The level of the performance was superb: the music, the effects and the dances were just amazing. There were plenty of people so I guess it is kind of an interesting event for both locals at tourists. At 21:30, as the show came to an end, we walked to the parking to find our scooters and drove to our hostel. The second day of our 3 days in Yogyakarta had been just amazing. Now, it was time to catch some energy for the next and final day.
Day 3: Hindu Gods and a lost watch
Mai and I woke up early our last morning in Yogyakarta. Time was passing by and our 3 days in Yogyakarta were coming to an end. As we couldn’t visit Prambanan the day before, we decided to return on Sunday morning, our last day in Yogyakarta. Conti decided to stay at the hostel and arrange some other stuff. After having breakfast, we left Chez Laelik and drove our scooter to the biggest Hindu temple in Indonesia: Prambanan.
About Prambanan
Like with Borobudur, we find this masterpiece an hour away from Yogyakarta (by car or moto). The biggest Hindu temple of Indonesia is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The first temple of the compound was built around 850 CE as the Hindu’s answer to the construction of Borobudur.
Like Borobudur, it was abandoned for centuries. The trigger was probably the eruption of Mount Merapi somewhere around the 930s. The temple collapsed during a major earthquake in the 16th century. It remained abandoned until first in 1811 and eventually later on in 1880, thanks to the British and then to the Dutch, its rediscovery started. The reconstruction started on 1930 and it still continues nowadays.
There used to be 240 temples in the complex but many of them have deteriorated or been looted, leaving just scattered stones. The temple was designed to mimic Mount Meru, the holy mountain and home of Shiva. Just like with Borobudur, the temple is divided in three zones, going from the less holy to the holiest realm.
The outer zone, where common mortals bound to desire live, was used as a park or relaxation area for the priests. The middle zone, occupied by holy people who were starting to see the light of truth, consisted of 4 rows of 224 identical, concentrically arranged shrines. The inner zone, the holiest and the one reserved for Gods, was designed as an squared elevated platform surrounded by a wall with stone gates on each four cardinal points. In this zone we find the three main shrines, called Trimurti (three forms), dedicated to the three main Hindu Gods: Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Keeper and Shiva, the Destroyer.
The Shiva temple is the tallest (47 m) and largest structure of the complex. This temple is located at the center of the complex and contains five chambers, four smaller ones in every cardinal direction and one bigger one in the middle. The east chamber connects to the one in the middle, housing the largest temple in Prambanan, with a 3-meter high statue of Shiva. The other three chambers contains statues of Gods related to Shiva, like Durga, Agastya and Ganesha.
In the inner zone there are also two shrines dedicated to Brahma and Vishnu. Both temples face east and each one contains only one larger chamber with statues of their respective Gods, one of Brahma and one of Vishnu. The other shrines within the inner zone are dedicated to the Vahana (vehicles) of the Gods and to other less holy Gods.
Visiting Prambanan
Like during our visit to Borobudur, we went to Prambanan by scooter. It also took us around one hour and its price was also kind of expensive. As I had mentioned earlier though, we goth both tickets to Borobudur and Prambanan as a combo for 600 K, still expensive but better than buying each one separated.
By the time we arrived to the temple, the ones who had made it to see the sunrise had already left. The temple opens at 06:00 and we arrived there at 08:15, so it was just perfect. Even if it was just 08:15 it was already hot. As we approached the temple after having left our scooter, we started to see something like this:
It was really beautiful. Although, from my point of view, the closer you get to it, the less beautiful. I liked it better as a whole, from the distance. Nonetheless, we spent a while walking around the different temples that were still remaining. Many of them were damaged by earthquakes and/or eruptions, but they were also looted. Not sure how they looted those stones but it must have been fun to watch 🙂
Like during our visit in Borobudur, we got plenty of requests from locals who wanted to take a picture with us. We always said yes with a smile on our faces. We visited the different temples and took some pictures, although most of them were not very good as the inside was preserved in the darkness, to avoid further damage. The level of detail on the reliefs of the temples were impressive, but I got more impressed by those at Borobudur.
Comparisons are awful but I know some of you like them. Thus, if I had to choose and I could just visit one temple, it would be Borobudur. I liked it better as a whole but also because of its level of detail. Prambanan is also truly impressive, don’t get me wrong. But I think Prambanan looks more stunning from the distance. All in all, we had the chance to visit both masterpieces as well as to spin at both of them!
Looking for the lost watch
After feeling satisfied with our time in Prambanan, we drove our scooter back to Yogyakarta. We were going to meet Conti at the hostel but, before that, we stopped at Malam Hotel. And why was that? Were we changing accommodation for a few hours? Well, not really…
I met Roberta (a girl from Bologna) 4 years ago, during my first calçotada. For those of you who are not familiar with the word “calçotada”, it comes from “calçot”, which is some sort of a long onion grown in Catalunya. During the calçotada, we eat calçots, but we also drink tons of wine and, in our case, we went on a hike through Collserola, which was really beautiful.
Anyway, I met her during that party and we became friends. She visited Indonesia the summer of 2018, so, a few months earlier than me. She texted me saying that she forgot her watch at Malam Hotel when she was in Yogyakarta. The owner and her were in touch and she was told he would send her the watch, but that didn’t happen.
Thus, I went to the hotel myself to try to get the watch back. I spoke with the people in charge but they didn’t know where the watch was. The one who knew, Renzo, wasn’t there. So, after a while of searching and searching, we thanked them for them time and we left, thinking the watch got cursed and it had to remain there forever. Before that though, one of the people working there asked for my phone number, just in case they found something out before I left Yogyakarta.
Taman Sari: it wouldn’t be a drama if you miss it
Back at the hostel, we arranged our stuff and went outside to enjoy the few hours we had left. We had read that there was an amazing place called Taman Sari and we decided to go check it out. The place used to be a former royal garden of the Sultanate of Yogyakarta.
We walked there, paid the 15 K entrance and started our visit. The price of the ticket was low (less than one euro), but what we saw there was kind of low as well. The place was supposed to have different functions, like a resting area, a meditation area, a defense area, etc. Apparently, the place was mostly built so the Sultan could have fun.
There were a few ponds and some balconies and stuff, but, overall, you really needed to make a tremendous effort to imagine what that place had been. And, it might be that back in the day the place was indeed magnificente, but, as of now, none of us felt that way. Thus, from our humble point of view, if you miss it, it won’t be a drama. There are way better places to visit in Yogyakarta.
So long Yogyakarta!
We decided to overcome the disappointment of the visit to Taman Sari by enjoying a good lunch. That time though, we decided to go for something different. We felt like we wanted to have some Western food for a change and, after doing some research, we found the best possible place.
We made it to Nanamia Pizzeria right on time for lunch. The place was both huge and beautiful. There was a lot of space, tables, benches and chairs. It looked like some of the wedding places we have in Spain. The people working there were very professional and kind. And the food was really good. We ordered pizza, gnocchi and pasta and we all were pretty satisfied with the quality and the quantity. We also ordered some drinks and desserts and we ended up paying 125 K each. So, if you have the chance and feel like you want to try some Italian food, go to Nanamia!
Back at the hostel Conti and I grabbed our stuff and said goodbye to Mai. Mai was going to Karimunjawa, a paradise on the Javanese sea. She was leaving the next day early in the morning. Conti was taking a nightly flight to Bali and from there she was going to Nepal. And I was going to… more on this later 😉
We had an amazing time together and I am really happy I met them both. They are fantastic girls. Conti and I took a Go-Jek to the airport (25 K each) and, as we were arriving to the terminal, I got a phone call. It was the girl from the hostel. She had found the watch and she was bringing it to the airport! How nice of her was that?
After thanking her a lot and taking the above picture to prove that the watch wasn’t cursed and it wanted to return to her owner, I got ready to walk to my new destination. Before that though, after checking I was going to Terminal B and Conti was going to Terminal A, we said goodbye. I want to use this post to send my greetings to both Conti and Mai. Thanks for having shared such an amazing time with me in Java. I hope to see you soon again!
