Yogyakarta is a cool, artistic city full of art, culture and interesting history. It was the colourful sights that first grabbed me but the city’s rich past made me want to stay and learn more. And I’m not usually much of a history buff but perhaps it was the arty scenery helped me digest it a little more easily here.
Watch the full video below or keep reading for my top 10 things to do in this cool city!
Take the train through Central Java
I travelled by train from the Indonesian capital Jakarta in West Java through Central Java to Yogyakarta, which has its very own region called the Special Region of Yogyakarta.
The journey took about 7 hours and the views of rice paddies against a mountainous backdrop were breathtaking!
Try kopi walik, an upside down coffee
This has got to be the craziest way to drink coffee that I’ve ever seen!! Upside down. This is the traditional way for the older locals to drink coffee here in Yogyakarta.
You have to very slowly lift the glass a tiny peep on one edge to let a small amount of coffee out onto the saucer and carefully sip it off, like drinking soup out of a bowl, before refilling with a little more from the cup.
It sounds and looks difficult but it is possible to successfully try it first time without getting a cup of brown coffee all over your lap – just take it slowly.
Ride in a becak
The becak is a local form of transport quite unique to Yogyakarta. The bicycle carriages are powered by pedalling with some newer ones fitted with a small motor.
They are banned in many cities of Indonesia but the becak is celebrated here in Jogja, forming a key part of the local transport system, and even appearing in many of the city’s souvenir designs and artworks.
Buy a local batik artwork
The local batik artworks are fabrics which are dyed using layers of wax to isolate areas of the fabric before dipping it in the dye.
The artists do this process several times, starting with the lightest colour first, building layers of wax to add different colours.
I bought a small hand designed batik wall canvas artwork to take home for around IDR 200,000 or $20AUD.
Watch the local archery, jemparingan
While I was filming around the front of the palace complex, I was invited into a former army yard behind it to film a group of men practicing archery!
This ancient Javanese art is called jemparingan, originally developed by soldiers for protection from enemies, but now it’s used as an act of peaceful mindfulness and concentration.
I was happy to watch them practice but I’ve heard that you can find places to try it yourself too.
Play the local game masangin
If you want to find out if your wish will come true or simply see if you can navigate walking blindfolded, you’ve got to try this local game called masangin.
In the city’s Southern Square stands two tall banyan trees. You have to put on a blindfold and try to walk towards the centre of the two trees.
I was told you have to make a wish and if you make it to the middle, it will come true. I didn’t make it…and funnily enough the wish I made that day also didn’t come true! So maybe there is something in it.
Eat street food
The Southern Square is a cool place to hang out in the evening with a fun vibe and vendors setting up food stalls all around with plenty of people selling the local satay chicken, which I’m told is a delicious signature dish of Jogja.
I opted for some fried tofu and tempeh that had been marinated in soy sauce with a side of nasi (white rice).
Walk down Jalan Malioboro
This busy tourist strip has a vibe! There are plenty of street vendors selling everything you could possibly need from souvenirs to street food and big air conditioned shops, restaurants and cafes.
I stayed at a local homestay down a little side street just off Malioboro Street and it was the perfect central location to get around.
Sunrise at Punthuk Setumbu
This is a lesser known local spot for sunrise.
We only found out about this from a local coffee lady outside Borobudur while waiting for the regular opening time after realising the exorbitant sunrise price there.
Punthuk Setumbu, or Setumbu Hill, is just around the back of the Borobudur complex.
It’s about a 15 minute walk up a hill to an epic view at a fraction of the price of the sunrise temple tour and you can just see it in the distance.
There are some awesome swings and platforms here too to get way cooler Instagram swing photos than the standard ones at Tegalalang Rice Terraces near Ubud in Bali.
Borobodur Temple
Now to the main attraction… the world’s largest Buddhist temple, Borobudur Temple. The 123 metre square temple was built in the 8th and 9th centuries AD during the Syailendra Dynasty, and was later restored in the 20th century. It’s now World Heritage Listed by UNESCO.
The Borobudur Temple was left abandoned for centuries before being re-discovered in 1814 during the British occupation of Java. It later had a major reconstruction in the 1970s.
There are 504 buddha statues at Borobudur – some you have to look closely to find with meditating Buddha statues inside each of those bell-shaped stone structures.
You can spend hours walking around admiring the carving and feeling the serenity of the area.
We had planned to watch sunrise from the Borobudur temple but the early entrance fee is expensive at 450,000 rupiahs or $45 AUD each.
Where next?
Riding around the streets of Yogyakarta, I felt that despite it being a big city, it was very much immersed in nature with lots of greenery.
So that’s my experience in Yogyakarta. I loved this city and would definitely go back for the cool and lively vibe that it has.
If you haven’t already, check out my other Java videos from Jakarta and Bogor and I’ll be back in Java again very soon so let me know in the comments where I should go and click subscribe to my YouTube channel Roxanne Taylor Media so you can come too!
