10/4: Jogja Day Trip: Waterfalls, Tea Plantations & Sunset at Ratu Boko

What a lovely find staying at the 4 room Bamboo Bamboo Guesthouse has been; the staff has been amazing from the moment we entered; so very friendly and helpful in every regard. We’ve had trouble since arriving in Indonesia withdrawing money from ATM’s and, when we can, then only in very small amounts which has meant lots of charges from our bank at home. One of the younger staff members was even willing to give us her own Indonesian rupiah cash in exchange for charging that amount on our credit card!

Our room was just off to the left of the left bamboo screen above.

The breakfast options changed daily but somehow we were able to finagle it so we had chocolate pancakes (they were really the most decadent crepes though) two of the days we were there. If there is a chocolate heaven, I sure was in it! Breakfast always started with a huge helping of fresh fruit salad so at least I had something healthy to start out the day!

So glad we did fortify ourselves as we had a long day trip planned in front of us. We’d hired Jundi, the driver we’d used previously, to take us for a drive in the country to 2 temples we’d read about located several hours NE of Jogja. We also wanted to stop at a another place each en route on the way back. As sometimes happens when traveling abroad, there is a breakdown in communication because of language issues. Even an hour or so into the trip we had thought we’d be stopping initially in the city of Solo before going to the temples but Jundi explained that would make it impossible to see the other places.

Photos from our road trip:

Motorcross riding is huge in Indonesia, Jundi explained.

 Jundi commented that antique mosques were influenced by Hinduism. He thought that 80% of Indonesia’s 300 million citizens are Muslim which makes it the most heavily populated Muslim country in the world and the fourth most populous country in the world. I could certainly believe him when he said 60% of Indonesia’s population lives in Java if the crowds and traffic we’ve experienced were any indication!

When I mentioned to Jundi that there were so few dogs in Java, he said that Muslims generally don’t have them as pets because part of their religion insists on cleanliness at all times and that would preclude a dog licking them as the saliva is considered dirty, he said.

Gas in Indonesia is only available through Pertamina, the government owned gas company.

We chatted with Judi about becak (akin to pedicab) drivers; he said that they have to rent the bikes for 10K rp a day (.70) which is a chunk of money to many of them. Jundi said he has one friend though who is a becak driver who has been able to send three children through medical school! He mentioned that the tourist high season is mainly July and August but that Christmas and New Years runs a close second for the hospitality industry.

It never seemed that we drove from one city to another as it was just like one non-stop city. Steven and I joked that you’d have one minute of rice fields or a crop growing between cities and that if you blinked, you’d miss the rice field altogether.

Detour or roadblock Indonesian style: Interesting that there were no Detour signs once you left the road so you knew how to get back on it further ahead!

Looking for the way back to the 'highway.'

This one's for you, Adam! Toko means mall shop in Bahasa Indonesian.

Wedding party and reception in the street above and below.

Carrying rice plants used for feeding cows, Jundi explained.

Finally in the countryside after 80 minutes of driving.

After three and a quarter hours of driving, the last part on a dirt track essentially, we finally reached Air Terjun Jumog aka Jumog Waterfall. Sure hope it'd be pretty spectacular.

Photos from Jumog Waterfall:

Strawberry plants growing on hill opposite Jumog Waterfall parking lot.

Photos from Jumog Waterfall:

Were we ever happy to get out of the car and stretch our legs by that point! Jundi had again never been there but he was content staying by the car, taking a cigarette break while we wandered to the falls.

ONLY Western tourists there which made us quite a novelty. It seemed that everyone wanted to take our photos and have us take their photos too. How easy to please and feel so good.

This one family wanted their photo taken with me.

An unintended foot massage; may have been comfortable for others but not so much for me!

Picnicking along the river.

Incredibly cheap prices because the restaurant's only clientele are local Javanese who come here for the day. We've been eating a lot of Nasi Goreng, the vegetable and rice dish, here in Indonesia but have been paying ten times this rate of just 5K rp or 35 cents.

Food stalls lined one side of the path to the falls. Can't get any fresher french fries than these ones served in a brown paper bag! Only 3k rp per bag too - about .20!

After a great break, we got back in the car and drove toward Candi Cetho, a 15th C. Javanese-Hindu temple, next. 

Drove through the fair sized city of Karanganyar en route to Candi Cetho. Jundi told us he had a much easier time speaking with Italian and Spanish tourists than native English speakers because the former like he both speak little English.

The road climbed steeply as we headed into the mountains. Loved it how the infrequent distance signs would always include a' plus or minus sign' for each destination!

The first tea plantations I had ever seen. Visible in every direction as far as the eye could see.

Just kept hoping the load wouldn't fall off the truck and cause an accident and massive traffic jam on the narrow, twisty road.

Photos from Candi Cetho AT LAST:

Ready for the long climb up to the temple.

Almost exclusively young adults and families it seemed at Candi Cetho.

At the top of Candi Cetho, about 1500m above sea level.

Only foreigners we saw at Candi Cetho was this man from Taiwan
 and 2 young women from Montreal.

It seemed like Candi Cetho was THE hang out spot for young locals. I was very surprised at how very warmly dressed most of them were as it was another hot day.

About 30 boys and girls all playing together in a field off to the side. Wondered if they were in a group like Scouts or something like that?

Back in the car en route to another temple but discovered it was undergoing massive renovations when we got there so that drive was all for naught! So we motored on, this time to stop at Ratu Boko at sunset.

As you can probably tell from all the photos, we had passed by HUGE numbers of rice fields on our day trips with Wi in Bali and also with Jundi the last few days here in Jogja. I had always wanted to take photos of the actual rice visible at the top of the plants but hadn't seen any. Eagle eyed Steven noticed some here, asked Jundi to stop and walked back to take these photos for me/you and also brought a few 'stalks' too with the idea we could take them home and frame them. 

P.S. Unfortunately when they later dried out, there was nothing left to take home and frame.

The rice stalks he collected framed against my black pants.

As we drove, Jundi talked about liking to go factory outlet shopping as a lot of the big brands we’re familiar with have factories in Indonesia: DKNY, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch, etc. Can’t remember the last time we were at a ‘real’ factory outlet!

Glad that Jundi also told us that badminton is hugely popular in Indonesia as I had thought the nets we'd seen elsewhere in Indonesia were for volleyball. I think he mentioned proudly that Indonesia's players rank among the best in the world.

Elections being held for the village leader, Jundi said.

Finally arrived at 4pm at Kraton (i.e. palace) Ratu Boko, a large architectural site on a plateau located very close to Candi Prambanan where we'd been just last night. According to wikipedia, the original name of the site is still unclear but local inhabitants named this site after King Boko, a legendary king. In Javanese Ratu Boko means 'Storm King,'

 Photos from Ratu Boko:

Christine: Think these sheep need a good shearing, don't you?!

In front of the wells.

Prambanan Temple in background.

After being in the car for 8 hours, it was great to wander around Ratu Boko as it was so quiet and peaceful there. Too bad we were on a direct flight path from Jogja's airport.

Totally parched and barren ground.

The Sheraton relic looked a little out of place here.

Only dogs we had seen since leaving Bali days before.

Steven said it was hard for him to smile after being in the car for so long.
I sure knew what he meant too.

Very unpleasant fishy smell coming from the pools here.

Nice profile at sunset.

Above and below the 'caves' we'd been walking to.

After walking through the complex, we enjoyed, on the balcony overlooking Prambanan, the rice with vegetables and tea included in the admission fee.

Students making batik in the entrance to the restaurant at Ratu Boko:

Steven and I later chatted wondering, if  knowing what we know now, would we have skipped this long day trip and, in hindsight, shorten our stay here in Jogja? Hard to tell. It was fun being the only foreign tourists enjoying Jumog Waterfall and seeing it through locals' eyes. Likewise it was fantastic getting out of pretty ugly Jogja into the countryside finally. 

I really enjoyed viewing all the tea plantations on the drive to Candi Cetho and it was neat climbing to the top of the temple and later be at Ratu Boko at sunset. But taking close to 14 hours for that? 

We both weren't sure if it was a glass half full or a glass half empty day. Some days are just like that on these long trips as it's sometimes hard to get a grasp from reading Trip Advisor and other reviews how truly special some sights or drives are going to be. We realize naturally not everything we see can possibly be first rate or out of this world but it's hard to know if it's worthwhile to build in what may just be an OK day.

Posted on 10/14 from Hoi An, Vietnam.