I was ‘escaping’ to Yogja last week. It wasn’t my first visit, but to actually explore the city, it was the very first time and I have to say, it’s marvelous.

Yogja known with the Borobudur temple, one of the seven wonders of the world, but the city offers much more than that. Yogja has loads of history starting from the Sultanate, the Mataram Kingdom to our warriors history in fighting for independence.These what makes my trip marvelous, and you might consider to do when visiting Yogja

Wijilan Street, Centre of Gudeg
Gudeg is a traditional food from Jogja. The centre of Gudeg is at Wijilan Street and the best known one is Gudeg Yu Djum. Thinking about it now, already makes me want to eat 2 portions of it – must try!

The entrance of Wijilan Street – centre of Gudeg

Nom nom

The famous Gudeg in town

Kraton Yogyakarta (The Palace)
Jogja once governed by a Sultan and Kraton still stand up to now and function as the home of the sultan and family, completed by hundreds of royal servants who hold the traditions faithfully. Kraton Yoja is a must visit place where you can see the footprint and history of Yogyakarta Sultanate. Don’t worry, you will have guide to explain each story behind each of Kraton area.While you were there, don’t forget to visit Museum Kereta (Train Museum),Taman Sari (The Water Castle) and the underground mosque.

The Palace (Kraton)

The train museum – collection of trains used by the Sultanate

Taman Sari (The Water Castle) – this is the place where Sultan wives were swimming and Sultan threw a flower  from above. The wife who could catch the flower then took a bath with Sultan inside.

The lucky wife then can spent time on this bed with Sultan

Taman Sari entrance gate

The mosque built underground

Inside the underground mosque

Beaches in Gunungkidul
Yogya has beautiful beaches in south and the closest one is Parangtritis. However, this time I explored the natural beach in the Gunungkidul region : Baron beach. One thing I regret was that we came too late and it almost sunset so we only had few minutes on the beach. Please bare in mind the travel destination to beaches on Gunungkidul from the city is far, it took me almost 3 hours from city and you need to consider not to go back once its dark considering lack of lights and very few houses on the way back home. So go early in the morning and do visit many beaches in the region (only 5-10 minutes between beaches once you arrived).

Road to Baron beach

The beach that I visited was Baron beach. It was a natural, wild beach. Dangerously pretty – if I have to describe. The waves is big and you can’t swim, however what unique about this beach is that on the side it creates a pond where people can swim. Do visit beaches around the regions (Sepanjang, Siung, Sadeng etc) people said each beach has its own uniqueness!

Baron Beach at Gunungkidul

You can swim as the beach creates pond on the side

Borobudur Temple
Nothing to say. It’s amazingly pretty. Take a look for yourself.

The face of Borobudur Temple

You can request to be accompanied by guide like I did – which I recommended to do so  you’ll know the meaning on each floor or statue

The construction is using stones with L shapes

In front of the Stupa. On one of the Stupa, it was said if you can touch the Buddha inside then your wish will come true

Enjoying the view from above

Kaliurang
Here’s another place that you can explore, it’s located at the foot of Merapi mountain. You can see the top of Merapi mountain here. Do prepare for comfortable shoes as the climbing path layered by stones and yes it is tiring! Bring mineral water and do not climb alone.

The view after climbing – the top of Merapi mountain

Another must visit place in this area is Ullen Sentalu museum. It’s a really pretty museum and you will be accompanied by a guide who will reveal you the story about woman (princess and queen) of Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Solo kingdom

Ullen Sentalu museum. Only can take pictures on the exit gate. No pictures allowed inside

Malioboro
Enjoy the ambience of Yogya city, where you can shop for nice yet cheap Batik, eat at lesehan and meet Yogyakarta people.

The price is cheap here. Do negotiate with the seller, you can get much more lower than the first price they offer

Monjali (Monumen Jogja Kembali)
Do visit Monjali to learn more about our warriors and heroes in fighting for independence. There’s no guide though so you need to read to understand the history.

However, I missed some of interesting places such as Ratu Boko temple (I came late and it’s already closed. It’s located on the hill and the view was great), Ijo Temple, Prambanan temple and Kota Gede. To explore all the beauty of Yoga, let’s put 4 days 3 nights as the ideal time.

It’s been great, Yogya is one of the  must visit city in Indonesia!

Big people have big dreams and small people have small dreams. If you want to change who you are, begin by changing the size of your dreams- Robert Kiyosaki

Having big dreams in life is important. Big dream means you are setting a high goal in your life.You will not afraid to try and taking opportunities in front of you. You will not afraid to fail and learn from your mistakes.You will take risks and work hard to achieve your goal.

However, I also realize that many of us are not strong enough to hold on to our dreams.  Many of us don’t even have the courage to become big dreamers and too afraid to make mistakes.  Many of us forget our dreams and as the day go by, letting go our dreams washed away by routinity of life.

Since I was younger, I am having this  dream to meet new people from around the world, sharing thoughts and go to many places. I felt that my world is so small and I believe that world is much more bigger than what i know and has so many things to offer. I have this curiosity to explore and learn new things which I believe will makes me stronger and wiser as a person.

Asking my Mom to pay for it is definitely not an option, so back then I tried other way to achieve it.  And this is what I did

At the age of 19, I selected as the 1st winner of the international essay competition for young people held by the Goi Peace Foundation Japan compete against 5,254 entries from 109 countries. I was giving speech in front of ambassadors and students at Tokyo. My essay and thought about dream and hope for the future of the world is heard by multicultural people.

It didn’t happen in a blink of an eye though. I’ve tried several times to submit my writings to competitions before and as I think about it now, I guess I achieved it because I’ve tried so hard and I want it so badly.

Looking at those pictures above, it feels like it was a very long time a go and somehow I barely known myself. Now I am 26, it’s been 7 years a go and I don’t where my never-give-up spirit has gone away

The passions and dreams, I know it’s still there, but the spirit to achieve it is buried by routinity and the busy of day to day life. Routinity I think, can be a dangerous element which can washed away your dreams. Time flies, so fast. You won’t realize it’s already years and you are still standing on the same place and you start losing you way.

So dream big.  Dream something which is good for yourself and your society.
Setting up your dreams is very important
But continuously act to achieve it, is much more important.

And once you have, don’t ever give up on it and never let it go.

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them – Walt Disney

Dreamland – Bali Indonesia. 05 December 2009.

I was staying at Bali Ayu Hotel at Seminyak. Very recommended! It has Bali architecture and style, clean at a very affordable rate. Beside beaches, I also went to Monkey Forest at Ubud, visiting Indonesia Cartoon Museum at Kuta and Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA)

At the entrance of Agung Rai Museum of Art. Not allowed to take photos inside.

Having fun while working. It’s what everybody should do, so no one become too stressed and got into hospital. During job assignment in Bali, here are my top list of having fun :

1. Sea Walker
If you haven’t try this, try it! It’s pretty cool. As stated in the name, Sea Walker means we are walking at the bottom of the sea, wearing this big oxygen helmet which is quite heavy. But that’s fine because you are going  to see the beauty of the sea. Yes, you’ll see those fishes and few corals .You can give food so the fish will come to you. The Sea Walker last for less than 30 minutes. And if you want to be photographed like mine below, you’ll need to pay around IDR 115,000. Walking at the bottom of the sea makes your steps slower, like a snail. You need to stick within your group, which usually consists of 6 people.

hello starfishes!

2. Kecak Dance
I always love Bali culture, especially the dances. I love seeing kecak dance at Ubud with the sunset background. It’s amazingly pretty. This time, we hired a complete team of Kecak dancers to entertain the winners during the dinner at the hotel. The dance was great,  though I still prefer seeing their performance at Ubud.

3. Taking Pictures
This is my first trial using Canon D50. At the last day, we went to Dreamland to see the sunset. It was pretty. I saw this cute little girl and her dad playing on the beach. By the sunset, both were standing still and staring at the orange sky.

4. Delicious Seafood
I am a seafood addict.  It was the dinner on the second day and I ate crabs like crazy at Jimbaran. The food from the winner’s cooking class below were also yummy!

5. Yoga by the beach
I’m not really into Yoga, but to replace one of the media person, I joined the female team for Yoga class in the morning. My plus points will be the Yoga teacher and the sea view. Imagine doing Yoga with the sound of the wave and the wind slowly blowing through your skin. Perfect!

Nusa Dua, Ubud, Dreamland  – Bali Indonesia. Oktober 2009