Senin, 10 Juni 2013

Between Gudeg and Becak Ride - Yogyakarta part 2

DAY 1

The Airasia flies daily from Singapore to Yogyakarta. The departure time was 11.15am, with about two-hour flight duration. The flight was full on the day we set off. It was no surprise as school holiday had just started. My family and I had to sit separately. My son and I sat next to each other whilst my husband sat across the aisle. Oh well…it was just about two-hour flight so it was okay.

The take-off was pretty smooth however the landing part was scary, not because the pilot was inexperience but it was because of the bad weather. It was a bumpy flight caused by turbulence and rain just before the airplane finally landed in Yogyakarta, and that was after it made several rounds above the city to wait for safer weather to land. Anyway…we were glad that everything turned out well, that the pilot was able to land the airplane smoothly despite the weather, that we were still here alive and healthy! Phewww….


Safely landed at Adisucipto Airport around 1.30pm local time, we were welcomed with wet weather still. It was drizzling, and the temperature was pleasantly cool. The short walk from the Airplane to the custom building was done under Airasia umbrellas hehe, what an interesting way to start our journey J

Done with the custom, we were met by my parents-in-law and Bapak Esfandiartho or Pak Fendy, our chauffer in Yogya. My parents-in-law flew from Jakarta with Garuda and had reached the town earlier than us. Pak Fendy then took all of us straight to Gudeg bu Djum in Wijilan, where a fantastic gudeg meal had awaited us! The dish disappeared quickly into our stomach as we were so famished by then! In fact, the portion was a tad too small for me at that time but I was too embarrassed to order a second serving, hehe. The kampong tea was a hit with my son too. The tea is fresh and fragrant. Served hot with just enough sugar...it was a good example of a simple pleasure indeed. Feeling contented, we then left for the homestay.




As soon as we reached Omahlawas the homestay, my kid shouted excitedly, “ Oooh…this place is so nice Bunda!” hahaaa….Okay, well I take it that he had agreed with my choice. We spent the afternoon resting and unpacking before going out again in the evening.

First stop in that evening was Malioboro. The ambiance was still pretty much the same Malioboro as what I remember from my previous visit more than 20 years ago! It was still a crowded and busy stretch of road, which I love so much! The sounds of the horse-shoes from the horse carriages trotting the road ferrying their passengers, the noisy horn of becaks and motorcycles, the loud pitch of street vendors’ voice offering their good to passer-by, people talking and laughing and singing, it was a marvelous atmosphere! This was the trade-mark of Yogyakarta!
Checking out souvenirs 

becak
Becak ride along Malioboro

Neon-light ride at alun-alun

After a becak ride in Malioboro, we moved on to Alun-alun and tried the neon-light ride! It was fabulous experience…for my son! Haha…If you look at the image above, you would agree that these interesting rides were actually modified becaks or bicycles.






The wise husband of mine proudly offered his expertise (and his muscles) to steer and wheel the ride, with all of us; my son, my parents-in-law and me as the passengers. After a few metre of pedaling the ride…he gave up and asked all of us, except the son to alight so he could continue the ride! hehehe

The alun-alun was transformed into a huge outdoor food festival and carnival. There were sellers selling toys and all sort of quirky and odd things, competing politely to attract buyers. It was wonderful chaos, with the smell of satay and the wet grass all mixed together. Lovely!





As it had been a long day for all of us, we retired early that night so we could leave early for Borobudur the following morning. Back to Omahlawas, had a good hot shower and soon we were zzzz-ing. Sweet dream.

Note: photos by me and better half

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