Yogyakarta ... Indonesia's cultural city

Yogyakarta is the centre of classical Javanese culture. If you have interest on old ancient Javanese culture, you must come to this city. This city is one of the 'Special Regions' in Indonesia ... we call it Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta or 'The Special Region of Yogyakarta'. It is special, because Yogyakarta is the only province in Indonesia that is governed by the Sultanate which has been passed from generation to generation for years, namely the Sultanate of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat. However, the current Sultan, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, has announced his resignation as a governor. I think I kind of like him ... he is a nice person ... once I saw him in TV, it seemed that he is a humble leader.

Well, back to Yogyakarta. Yogyakarta is situated in Central Java. It is located between the mighty Mt. Merapi in the north to Parang Tritis beach in the south, a beach with the powerful Indian Ocean wave-swept. The airport is Adisucipto International Airport. Even it is International, there are not many international flights arrive in this airport. If you are a foreigner and want to visit Yogyakarta, you can go to Bali first and then take a domestic flight going to Yogyakarta. For me, I went there by car from Surabaya. On the way to Yogyakarta, I stopped by and visited many places, namely Solo (City), or Prambanan Temple, Borobudur Temple, Ambarawa ... then Yogyakarta. I spent 2 days on this trip.

Yogyakarta was part of Mataram Kingdom, the Javanese Empire. Then, this kingdom split up into two parts: the Sultanates of Yogyakarta and Surakarta (Solo), in the 18th century. The Kraton of Yogyakarta (Yogayakarta Palace), which is the centre of Yogyakarta, was bulit by Prince Mangkubumi in the 18th century. The Kraton still exists until now with its Javanese traditional life and culture.

There are many places of interest in Yogyakarta. You can visit beaches (eq. Parang Tritis), mountain (eq. Kaliurang), museums, batik research centre, the palace, traditional market, malioboro etc. Also do not miss to see the traditional Javanese music, Gamelan orchestra, and the shadow puppet (wayang kulit) performance. If you stay at the centre of the city, you should try the traditional public transportation, 'becak' and 'andong'. You can go around the city with becak (pedicab) or andong. During my visit, I went to The Palace and a museum nearby the Palace . This museum exhibits various unique 'andongs'. 'Andong' is a four-wheeled carriage drawn by horses. I also shopped in Malioboro street. I'll write about my visit on my next post, ok!?!

by Vilas Yang