The Singapore Forum

Worth it?

Yes

Been many years since I've been there so I suppose Yogyakarta might have changed - but Borobodur can't have. It was magnificant.

Thanks. Just wondering as given the amt of time I have been in SEA its easy to be a bit jaded on the temple thing.

Totally worth it. I haven't been to Borobudur in more than 20 years but I can still remember it vividly. And I've seen A LOT of temples.

Cool. all booked. Not bad for a cheapy 80bucks deal.

Next on the list - Nepal - am thinking about going for Diwali - anyone been?

Kathmandu is a bit of a toilet, but trekking is great. Every man and his dog seems to go to Everest Base Camp, but it is worth the walk

Many years since I've been there too but I'd love to go back even if just for Bhaktapur. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaktapur. Sounds like you've got yourself a great bargain flight to Java. Please give us an update on your thoughts when you return!

Borob: any recomendations for hotels? Price is not an issue. Like smaller boutique places...

Can(t) can(t) - I was a skint backpacker when I was there.

Rumah Sleman was highly recommended by a friend, but it's not near the city centre.
Another one that my friend mentioned was The Phoenix Hotel, on the main Malioboro road.
I haven't stayed in any of these but my friend is very fussy and he loved these places.

I would say stay in the city centre - that's why you are there. I stayed around the corner from Durbar Square and still have vivid memories (and it was 92 I was there) of going out for an early morning walk on my own around the almost empty city centre. The mist was rising and the Square looked like something out of the medieval ages.

I just had a quick look on Trip Advisor and it looks like the chain hotels still haven't arrived there (hurrah). Some of the guest houses sound nice and I recognise their names although can't remember which one I used.

Ummm... the chain hotels are definitely there; Sheraton, Novotel, Accor, Melia, Ibis to name a few.

BeesKnees is talking about Kathmandu I think. Though there seem to be big chains there too now

Nope BoD, I do mean Bhaktapur (although the architecture in Kathmandu is great too). I couldn't see any chains mentioned on tripadvisor re Bhaktapur so assumed that was the case.

Ah sorry, the thread title says Yogya

Aaa okay I see I've got my Borobs and my Bhaktaps muddled up! JJ was asking about a hotel in Borobodur and I was dreaming of Nepal and Bhaktapur. Sorry for the confusion - I do this all the time.

With the way threads get wayyy off tangent in this forum, you're not the only one confused BK

JJ did also ask about Nepal. So I blame her

Yep, Its all my fault. When I read through this morning, I also got confused ... ahh well... its age... senior moments abound.

Borob: I have seen this one www.saraswatiborobudur.com ... anyone stayed there? They also recommend the Monohara but I think the Saraswati looks better...

Nepal: Baktapur looks great. I am only planning on taking a week there for a quick visit over Diwali... As I am planning a big trip to either Kenya/Ethiopia or Chile later this year, my holidays are very tight at the mo (even with some unpaid leave). Is that enough - I can always go back later if I really like Nepal?

The Saraswati place looks nice but it's in Magelang, not Yogya. It's about an hour away from Yogya and it's a tiny town, there's nothing to do and nobody speaks English. Yogya itself is a lot more charming, and if you stay in Yogya you can visit the palace. It's one of the very few in Indonesia that still has a real royal family living in it, and the only province still headed by a monarch.

EDIT to add that the airport is in Yogya. I see that the return flight is at 7.25AM on Air Asia, if that's what you're flying If you stay in Magelang you'll have to wake up an hour earlier.

Thanks Nev - thats useful. For some reason I got the impression that Yogya was just the airport destination and the place to go was the temple at Borobudur. Hence the Saraswati hotel ... Obv I need to read up on all this before I go but I have alot of time....

Thinking to go directly to Borobudur first for a couple of days and then spend only the last day in Yogya itself (hankering to get out of cities and off the beaten track at the moment!)... but if you think Yogya is worth more of a stay then...

I remember the palace. Tourists have a nice little air-conditioned entrance building and pay several USD to get in. Locals use a rusty gate and pay a few cents.

I dont remember being that enamoured with Yogya, but Borobudur alone is worth the trip and then there is Prambangan ( yes another temple), which is almost as impressive

I usually get ideas from Wikitravel, here's the one about Yogya: http://wikitravel.org/en/Yogyakarta. If you like local souvenirs, Yogya is the place to shop. A lot of the stuff you get in Bali came from Yogya.

That said, if you're looking to stay in the hotel and just visit Borobudur/Prambanan temples perhaps Saraswati would be great.

JJ - where did you end up staying?
I am trying to plan our honeymoon - we are most likely going to run in and out just to see the temple and then go to Bali so I'm thinking Manohara might be sensible ...