Yogyakarta is a place dominated by motorbikes and becak (rickshaw) with only a handful of taxi and small buses. Its streets are teeming with enterprising locals who want to earn a buck or two by selling fresh fruits and their juices, tofu, dimsum and dumplings, and gasoline in Vodka bottles. It has warm people who are cheerful and ready to aid damsels in distress. They might have a hard time communicating with non-Bahasa speakers, but they can help anyone with a map or written address of destination.
Becak or rickshaw is one of the most common modes of transportation in Yogyakarta. The fare varies and the passenger is free to haggle with the driver. Just remember though that the driver is using a lot of physical strength to transport his passengers from point A to point B.
Becak near Taman Sari. My first few becak rides almost gave me a heart attack because the becak seems too fragile to compete with other vehicles.
I asked the becak driver to stop so I can take photos of the odong odong, then I asked the owner of this car to take my photo with his car. 🙂
The odong odong vehicles at night. They park around Alon-alon Park and are available for rent. Three rounds around the park cost IDR 30,000 (US $2.32). I also asked the becak driver to stop so I could take these photos. 🙂
Some of the vendors peddling their goods in the streets of Yogyakarta. The photo on the bottom left is that of a cart selling bottled gasoline. Motorbikes buy bottled gasoline because it is convenient. I did not see a lot of gasoline stations in Yogyakarta.
Our side trip to this batik store with royal family connection led Virg and I to this batik cloth and the things used for batik making.
This is a wedding carriage. This was parked in the driveway of the batik store where we stopped for a side trip.
Our second stop on our side trip led us to this store that sells batik paintings. The cloth is reversible. I thought that what they were doing was something unique, but I found out later that day that there were other stores selling the same goods, but with different prices.
These cost from IDR 100,000 (US $7.72) to more than a million rupiah. The man I talked to said that all things on display were made by local artists and they donate part of their proceeds to charity, but the store has no name.
Here is a video of batik making taken at Mirota Batik Mall:
The Wayang Homestay
The nice and friendly people of The Wayang Homestay: Winnie and Cek. They gave us free fish cake and iced tea on our last day. Cek gave me packets of sugar with cute designs. They let us leave our bags in their office while we visited the Kraton and Taman Sari after we had checked out. Thank you. 🙂
Tugu Station
Tugu Train Station. Our train arrived at 10pm, but we were at the station more than two hours before.
Tugu Train Station. The train station was clean (compared to the ones I am used to), with a large sitting area and funny images on its toilet doors.
The executive seat of the sleeper train has ample space for my suitcase, a big bag I bought earlier in the day and two smaller bags. Each passenger is provided with a charging station. A TV set showed an old English film. This was my seat from 10pm until 1am.
This was my seat from 1am until 6am. Virg and I sat in wrong seats, same seat numbers but different cars. I panicked for a nanosecond thinking what if we boarded the wrong train? The rightful owners of the seats did not speak English and our Bahasa was close to nil. Thankfully, a third party helped us out and explained the situation to us. We apologized and skedaddled. The officers of the train helped us put our stuff to the overhead cabin. 🙂
The sleeper train looked like this as we neared Jakarta. I did not know how to say “help us in taking our luggage out of the overhead cabin” so I just acted it out. The man nearest to us readily helped us without second thoughts. 🙂
The train from Tugu to Jakarta was not overly cold, contrary to what I heard. I prepared my scarf, Thai skirt and batik to cover me from head to toe had the temperature inside the train become unbearable. I barely used the scarf and the last two items did not see the light of day. To say that the train ride was noisy would be an understatement. The eight-hour ride was like being inside an operating washing machine that was made of metal, but I was reclining comfortably so I still fell asleep. If one is to take this train, earphones are a must. On a positive note, it arrived in Tugu on time and it reached Jakarta on time and the people-from the officers to the passengers-were kind.
The Nitty Gritty Details/Breakdown of Expenses for 3 Days in Yogyakarta
| Particulars (Days 1, 2 and 3) | Local Currency | In US Dollars |
| Becak (Rickshaw) Ride to Mirota Batik | IDR 10,000(IDR 20,000/2) | $0.77 |
| Pasalubong/Souvenirs (Mirota Batik) | IDR 264,500 | $20.45 |
| Dinner Day 1(Ramentin 3 Resto and Cabaret Shop on the top floor of Mirota Batik) Nasgor Sumringan, Dawet and Water (because the Nasgor Sumringan was too spicy) | IDR 49,000 | $3.79 |
| Water and Miscellaneous Expenses (Indomaret) | IDR 44,000 | $3.40 |
| Sleeper Train Ticket (Executive Class) from Yogyakarta to Jakarta | IDR 372,500 | $28.80 |
| Fare (Van for 8-10 people) to Borobudur Exotic Sunrise at Setumbu Hill and Prambanan (Kresna Tourist Service) with breakfast Day 2 | IDR 155,000 | $11.98 |
| Entrance at Setumbu Hill + Entrance at Borobudur and Prambanan | IDR 30,000 + IDR 375,000 | $31.31 |
| Lunch Day 2 (Bu Ageng) Nasi Campur Baceman Kambing (Goat) and Es Cincau Hijau + tax + tip | IDR 50,000 | $3.87 |
| Becak Ride from Bu Ageng to Wayang Homestay | IDR 17,500 (IDR 35,000/2) | $1.35 |
| Dinner Day 2 (Kafe Nenenku Semog) Sego Semrawut and Neneners Lychee + Pancake Durian + tip | IDR 42,500 | $3.29 |
| Becak Ride from Wayang Homestay to Kraton Palace | IDR 15,000 (IDR 30,000/2) | $1.16 |
| Big Bag (original cost IDR 60,000) | IDR 25,000 | $1.93 |
| Kraton Ticket + Use of Camera | IDR 12,500 + IDR 1,000 | $1.04 |
| Tip to tour guide (Kraton) | IDR 30,000 | $2.32 |
| Becak Ride from Kraton to Taman Sari | IDR 15,000 (IDR 30,000/2) | $1.16 |
| Taman Sari Ticket + Use of Camera | IDR 12,500 + IDR 2,000 | $1.12 |
| Tip to tour guide (Taman Sari) | IDR 20,000 | $1.55 |
| Bak Pao | IDR 9,000 | $0.70 |
| Lunch Day 3 (Restoran Kedai Kebun Forum) Nasi Goreng Lada Hitam and Ice Buah + tax + tip | IDR 49,250 | $3.81 |
| Taxi from Wayang Homestay to Tugu Train Station | IDR 20,000 (IDR 40,000/2) | $1.55 |
| Dinner Day 3 (Gudeg Yu Djum) for 3 people | IDR 8,500 (IDR 17,000/2) | $0.66 |
| Deluxe Twin Room at Wayang Homestay for 2 nights (with hot and shower and inclusive of breakfast) | IDR 184,185 | $14.22 |
| Total | IDR 1,813,935 | $140.23 |
The Wayang Homestay: Jalan Minggiran, Gang Pisang, Mantijeron, Yogyakarta 55141. Phone Number: 081392240645/081210224436. Facebook: The Wayang Homestay. Twitter: @TheWayang
Kresna Tourist Service: JI. Prawirotaman No. 5. Phone Number: (0274)375912/ Hotline (0274)7438640. Website: kresnatourjogja.com
Interesting tour…
Yes, Pats. 🙂 Kakalapoy galing.
Yes, we were able to ride bajaj… mukhang na over singil nga kami kc mali ang narinig na price ni heir apparent Juvy.. I am waiting for your Jakarta blog entries.. dun mega-relate na ako… hahaha.. 🙂 mabuti mabait naman ang mga driver ng becak…
Sana mabasa ito ni heir apparent Juvy. I think madedemote na sya soon. Hehe. I will write the Jakarta entries next week; I hope they will be at par with your expectations. 🙂 Thank you for reading. And yes, the becak drivers were nice and PATIENT, considering the overwhelming heat outdoors. The heat was enough to fry brain cells and make people unreasonable, but they still managed to smile while they drove. Some of them pointed interesting places to us, “that is Alon-alon Park”, “the Water Castle is behind that gate”, etc. and they stopped or slowed down so I could take photos, on their own accord.
Me gusta experimentar ir en becak… ¿ Has experimentado para ir en bajaj (como un tricycle) en Jakarta? No puede repetir la ultima palabra jaj porque… (alam na…) =P
Hello, Emee. Yes, we saw some bajaj (so it is spelled that way) in Jakarta but did not ride any. I will include a photo of it on future Jakarta entries in your honor. Nakasakay kayo ni heir-apparent Juvy?