Arrived at Jogjakarta past noon and Mr Didik came to pick us from the airport to our hotel. Got a free upgrade to Premier Suite cause Junior Suites were full hehe. Checked into our very nice and spacious room before we went to the nearby shop for lunch. It specialised in fish and it was so affordable like we couldn't even believe how affordable it was (Peihao says cannot say cheap HAHAHA) and it was super yummy too!! It was a really satisfying first meal in Jogja. Walked down the streets and explored the place a little, got some bread and essentials from the mart (conveniently right across the road from our hotel) and went back to our hotel to watch some Blue Planet. We're cultured aren't we HAHAHA.


We ate dinner at the hotel lobby and it was the only meal that wasn't as satisfying because we couldn't picture what the menu was saying and it turned out to be finger food rather than proper meals. Peihao was so silly, he lied that he had to go back up and submit some documents using his laptop while we were waiting for the food but he actually went to prepare such a sweet surprise for me! He traveled to various locations just to pick saga seeds for me and collected so many of them! There are 1053 over there and i'll treasure every single one of them because those are all his hard work. Don't know what i've done to deserve so much of his love, how lucky i am to be with him.


Mr Wijaya drove us over to Borobudur Temple from 3.30am in the morning. Sunrise plan failed though, it was too cloudy and the sun didn't come through. I mean, it rose of course but the sky just brightened up, didn't see Mr Sun appear himself. Nevertheless, the temple was still a really pretty place and it felt nice somehow sitting with Peihao waiting for the sunrise in the wee hours of the morning. So our ticket entitled us to some snacks too and they were delicious as well! I really love the food there, simple yet so good.







Made our way to Chicken Church next. We had to walk up a rather steep slope and wearing my useless pair of rubi slippers caused me to sprain my ankle one day into the trip LOL oh well. Fortunately it was just a minor one and i still managed to function pretty alright. So anyway, the church was literally shaped like a chicken but there wasn't much over there. We got to try some free Indonesian potato snack too which tasted not bad! Explored the basement before we went on to visit Mendut Temple. It was the first Buddhist temple built in Jogja! It overlooks a massive banyan tree with chickens running around HAHAHA. The security guard was really friendly too! He helped us take photos from various angles and the photos turned out really nice! Seems like he had been helping lots of tourists HAHAHA or learning from them, either works.









Last two stops of the day were Sultan's Palace and Tamansari. Walked around (though we couldn't understand most of the things in the palace because only a few had english translation), took a few photos and decided to head back to our temporary home. Was supposed to go to Alun Alun Kidul but it was raining so we just settled for dinner at a roadside stall opposite of our hotel. Didn't expect much from street food but omg that was the nicest nasi goreng i've ever eaten in my life and the mie goreng tasted awesome as well. Best part about it was the cost, only $1.30 for each of them! Miss it already.

Next day started off at Jomblang Cave where we descended about 30 meters or so to the bottom and started our short trek to the famous phototaking spot. Well i enjoyed the trek for itself as well! Was fun having my first (kind of) cave exploration experience! Lunch was provided so we moved on to river tubing after filling up our tummies. That was really relaxing like going down the lazy river in Wild Wild Wet but in a natural environment with bats sleeping upside down in the cave we went through and our experience of going through a mini waterfall HAHAHA that was funny. I feel bad for the tour guide though, he had to pull us along the whole trip and it must have been really taxing on him. Indonesians are really hardworking.







We washed up briefly and got changed for dinner. Stopped by a roadside stall for some durian and i bought one for only $4! It was sooooo yummy. Wanted to have more but we were going to have dinner already so oh well. That was our day 3 in Jogjakarta!

Day 4 started early with sunrise at Mangunan Fruit Garden. Seems like we have no fate with the sunrise because it was very cloudy that morning as well. Oh well we got to enjoy a magnificent view nevertheless! Visited various places to take photos (like there were specific photospots) for most of the day. Highlight was our visit to Timang beach because we had lobster for lunch (my first time eating lobster and omg i love it) and we rode the gondola! Wasn't as scary as running man portrayed, felt pretty stable actually and both Peihao and I could ride it at the same time. It was a unique experience and i'm glad we tried it! Probably got sunburnt there because we both became significantly darker afterwards.












It was another night out looking for street food but since we couldn't find something more enticing/inviting than the one we already tried just across the road, we went back to the same shop and ordered different things from the menu. It wasn't too bad but i would have preferred their nasi goreng. Love how the drinks are at 30cents too HAHAHA encourages me to drink more which is kinda bad but kinda good. You get what i mean.

We changed the sunrise at Mt Merapi to just a regular medium jeep tour. It took about 2 hours in total but it actually felt shorter than that. Didn't actually feel like i was on a volcano at all but i guess i could at least say that i've been there HAHAHA. Got to take some photos with an owl too so im happy hehe. Went over to Umbul Ponggok for some snorkelling after having lunch and that was an okay experience. Well, i mean i love anything that has to do with animals but it was still limited to the size of a swimming pool albeit it being better than the one at Adventure Cove back in Singapore. The water was so cold the both of us were freezing! But Peihao strong HAHAHA he didn't use a life jacket even though we can't touch the ground most of the time.






Showered at the place and went over to the city for the Ramayana Ballet performance. We decided to take up the buffet dinner there as well for about $10 and woah it was much better than i expected and so worth it for the price we pay. No regrets choosing that dinner! The ballet performance was quite interesting and we had a story written English for us to follow the play too.

Last day in Jogja was sports attire day. Traveled all the way to try the Ayunan Langit and to me it was worth it! I was scared though HAHAHA it was evident from my facial expression that i couldn't wait to get back onto flat ground. But that was special hehe. Next up was Pule Payung and Kalibiru National Park, both of which felt like a carnival kind of thing, just that they only have photospots and a couple of activities involved. Walking around that area was tiring in itself though because of its terrain! And driving there gave me motion sickness, the slopes were pretty bad. We got to travel around by a motorbike though! That was fun with all the steep slopes and a little challenging considering i was holding onto the bike itself and not the motorcyclist.


















We went on to the sand dunes afterwards for some sandboarding action HAHAHA. It was a new experience for me even though i've tried sandboarding in Sydney before because we did it standing up this time! After a few falls we have semi-mastered the art of sandboarding, or so i think. We even tried going down the slope together on one board while sitting down. Failed like 3 times but succeeded once eventually! Skilled we are (not really). Visited the nearby beach as well, which was supposed to be special because it was a black sand beach but it turned out to be a little underwhelming. At least we had a yummy hotdog there!

Mr Wijaya drove us to a shop near his grandparents' house for dinner. Their bakmi goreng was so good i can't even start describing how wonderful it tasted. Peihao and i were both so mesmerised by it HAHAHA every mouth was like a wow. I think that's the thing we miss most about Jogja, considering to go back there just for the bakmi goreng already. Such a good last meal it was. Last stop of our trip is at a bakpia factory (i assume it's one) and bought some bakpia back for our family and friends. Then it was back to our temporary cosy little home for the past one week to watch Stranger Things while snuggled up under the blanket.

Managed to catch some sleep before Mr Wijaya came to send us to the airport at 5am in the morning. Wished we could have stayed longer and wished this photo was clearer HAHAHA. But yes, had so much fun during the one week in Jogjakarta with Peihao! He always made sure my injuries were okay, that i had enough food and he was my personal barista through the trip, making coffee for me every morning and night just because he knows i need my coffee. So thankful for having him around to take care of me and so thankful for his presence which made everything so enjoyable. I can finally call him my boyfriend now hehe. Can't wait for more of such adventures with him!