There it is, the third article of the Wonderful Indonesia adventures, this time in Yogyakarta (Yogya). Culturally this was one of the high lights of the trip. From royal palaces to ancient histories to craftsmanship workshops.
I am so bummed that I lost the video of day 6, that would have shown you perfectly what we have done and seen in another dimension. Sorry for the disappointment, but I hope you enjoy this new episode!!
Ps: there is still a few days left to submit your video to win a trip to Komodo island (at the end of this article)!!
Day 5
Itinerary
• Kota Gede – making silver jewelry
• Lunch at Sekar Kedhaton Restaurant
• Ratu Boko Keraton
• Sunset and dinner at Prambanan temple
• Ramayana ballet show
Kota Gede
Kota Gede is internationally well known for its silver crafting. We went to one of the many silver shops in this area to see their craftsmanship. Watching the pros making the silver jewelry seems like a piece of cake, until we had to make a simple silver hanger ourselves. Frustration hits after a few minutes ‘amateuring’ with the tools. A new found respect for these guys and it will make you think twice when bargaining on silver wear the next time *lol.
Sekar Kedhaton Restaurant
Right next to the silver workshop we had our lunch. Indonesian buffet with fresh watermelon juices. I can never resist these pretty tiles here in Indonesia, find myself making a lot of #fromwhereistand photos during this trip.
Ratu Boko Keraton
After lunch we drove more than an hour to Ratu Boko Keraton, an archaeological site, 196 m above the sea level on the highest point. You can see the Prambanan from up here, where we were heading next.
Prambanan temple
Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, located in North East Yogya. An UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walking on this compound is surreal, to think that people have built all these towers in the 9th century.
I did a little shoot here during the golden hours (see here) and after this our battery died and I left the spare one in the bus. We did capture the magical sunset in a little time-lapse with the action cam that you see in the video. This is such a majestic place to witness.
Prambanan dinner
Dinner with the Prambanan temple view. This restaurant was next to the Ramayana ballet venue.
Ramayana ballet
The Ramayana ballet is a visualization of the epic Indonesian Ramayana saga. I had my new Indonesian friends explain this love story to me while watching the artists perform the dance and drama without dialogue. This show is in the open air, it’s really cool located with the almighty Prambanan temple in the background.
Day 6
Itinerary
• Royal palace
• Water palace
• Bale Raos Royal Cuisine lunch
• Museum Batik Yogya
• Designer Lulu Lufti Labibi (free time)
• Dinner Indische coffee Benteng Vredeburg restaurant
Royal Palace
Started day 6 with a visit at the Royal palace. Here you can see the history of the recent sultans of Yogya.
Taman Sari; Water palace
It was just our luck to visit the water palace without water due to renovation. I was looking forward to this place, so it was a little bit disappointing. Still, this royal garden was really nice to walk around. I loved the area around as well, which was really arty with colorful painted houses. We ended this tour at the underground mosque with crazy architecture, like a painting from M C Escher. Check out my full article with photos of this incredible mosque, here.
Bale Raos Royal Cuisine restaurant:
Lunch at a Bale Raos restaurant. The Indonesian dishes here were really tasty. They say when the Sultan of Yogya comes he likes to eat here.
Batik Museum
From silver jewelry making to another craftmanship: Batik! This traditional technique of making clothes by applying wax-resist dye is obviously more my cup of tea. It requires top concentration which is also good for your Zen 🙂
Seeing the end result of your own creation is very rewarding. Like the silver wear you will have even more appreciation for batik after this workshop.
Designer Lulu Lufti Labibi
After the batik workshop, we had some free time before dinner. As a fashion blogger, I spent mine wisely by visiting a local designer Lulu Lufti Labibi. I met Lulu, the designer, who showed us around his cute showroom with a little Japanese garden. I was totally fascinated by his Japanese and Indonesian fusion signature collection with its drapes. I was so fun to play dress up in his creations, check out the little shoot we did at his place, here.
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This trip was in collaboration with The Ministry of Tourism Indonesia
WIN A FREE VACATION TO KOMODO ISLAND
Wonderful Indonesia is giving away a 3-days trip to my favorite destination of this trip: Komodo island.
Submit a short video of yourself explaining why you should win this trip to Indonesia. I would be so jeally of you if you are 1 of the 10 winners!!
Find more inforation about this contest and all T&C at www.indonesia.travel/inatopbucketlist
Good luck!!
x Lily
