Solo, Indonesia: Spirit of Java

August 30 - September 2, 2011

My Travel Rant:

since it was lebaran holiday here in Indonesia. we have a week - long holiday at work. literally 7 days! it was a first time in my gypsy life not to have a concrete plans for a long holiday. weeks came closer and i only came up with plan A (overseas trip). days came and obviously plan A is not gonna happen and i'm sans of any travel plans and it actually made me depressed! anyway, i was randomly looking through travel destinations around Indonesia and suddenly thought of road tripping my way to ANYWHERE just to get out of jakarta for a few days or so. hahaha! 

so originally, i was aiming to hit yogyakarta to spend at least 3 or 4 days via train (can not ride airplane for the moment due to personal reason) but my friend at work told me to why not go to Solo instead as she has a friend that can tour us (me, my housemate and her cousin) around and reaching Yogyakarta and Borobudur is accessible from Solo. soooo, thank goodness for BBM (blackberry messaging) i was able to reach Joe, my Solo contact  and new friend to help me organize this trip.

 with Joe, our guide and newly found friend :)

TIP: AVOID traveling during Lebaran Holiday. Traffic is horrendous, over crowded tourist spots and especially exorbitant prices for everything!

and on to my travel ramblings...

Solo(Surakarta)

According to yogyes.com - SOLO (often called Surakarta) is the neighbor city of Yogyakarta in Java Island, Indonesia. Most of the tourists are visiting Yogyakarta, but actually Solo has also many marvelous tourist attractions of its own.

GOING TO/FROM/AROUND

Jakarta (Gambir) to Solo (via Argu Lawu Train) - 552,500 IDR (~65 USD)

*we booked the train tickets (executive seats) through phone reservation and paid through bank deposit. just to make sure, we went to Gambir station in Central Jakarta 3 days prior our trip to get our train tickets.

it takes 10 hours from Jakarta to reach Solo. the experience was good. since i don't have any seatmate, i get the whole 2 seats for myself. as for the seats, it was kinda like plane seats that can be reclined and turned around. they also provided small pillow and fleece blanket for the trip. the only thing i didn't like was the aircon was not really cold. i wore sando with scarf on the entire ride. that how hot it was. haha!

The Argu Lawu Experience

just like any low cost carrier planes, the train also sells snacks and meals. and just for the sake of experiencing train food, i ordered nasi goreng and mie goreng during my train trip. sadly, it didn't really taste good. just something to keep your tummy from being hungry coz of the long travel.

(L)mie goreng; (R) nasi goreng

at Solo Balapan station

Around Solo and Yogyakarta (via car rental) - 350,000 IDR/day (~42 USD/day)

* Joe was kind enough to look for a cheap car rental that we can use to roam around the cities. Since it was a lebaran holiday, everything was increased 100%. ugh. that price per day was the cheapest car rental available.

and with that, gas was excluded with the car rental. as for the 3 days spent we consumed 200,000 IDR (~24 USD) worth of gasoline.

Solo to Jakarta (Gambir)(via Gajayana) - 652,500 IDR (~77 USD)

* we booked the tickets going back to Jakarta the same time we booked our solo-bound tickets

the train was full and i had a seatmate all through out the trip. and infairness, the train was very cold. i was wearing scarf and cotton jacket and all covered up by the train blanket. though the seats were not as comfy as the first train experience, i was able to sleep all through out the 10 hour trip.

Solo Balapan train station at night

ACCOMMODATION

originally we booked rooms at Asia Hotel via Agoda. However, upon calling the hotel to confirm our hotel bookings, we were informed that they don't have any connection to Agoda. so immediately i called Agoda about this and they informed me that they will call me back to confirm about this. a day passed and Agoda called and informed me that apparently they no longer have a contract with Asia Hotel and offered to move us to another hotel (better hotel) with same charge. of course, we agreed to the deal.

so, our hotel booking was moved to Solo Paragon Hotel. way way better than what we originally wanted. hehe.

my room was a deluxe room with twin beds. it was awesome! total damage was 134 USD (5,891.55 Php) - rate was inclusive of all charges and taxes BUT exclusive of breakfast

a deposit of 300,000 IDR was asked upon checking - in. any consumption of whatever at the hotel can be deducted from the deposit upon checking - out. 

PROs
- spacious room space
- comfy bed, fluffy pillow and soft sheets
- batik robe instead of terry cloth robe (cute!)
- very attentive and nice hotel staff (from reception to room service to hotel's restaurant)

CONs
- not so cold aircon(small bits of ice actually fell from the unit)
- slow reception service (takes a lifetime just to give our key card for safekeeping)
- not so much variety at the buffet breakfast

hotel reception

hotel's cafe

deluxe room

in my batik robe (loves it!!!)

OUR TRAVEL ITINERARY

it was kinda a letdown for us not being able to go to all the recommended sites around Solo and Yogyakarta because of horrendous traffic all over the place. imagine the normal 1 1/2 hours to reach solo from yogyakarta took us 2 1/2 hours! it was crazy! 

anyway, here's our condensed itinerary...

Day 1

- Travel from Jakarta to Solo via train
- Prambanan Temple
- Borobudur
- Yogyakarta city tour
- Late check - in at the hotel

Day 2

- Tawangmangu Waterfalls
- Candi Sukuh

Day 3

- Kraton Surakarta
- Srabi Notosuman Experience
- Batik Shopping at PGS
- Ngarsopuro
- Joe's place
- Travel from Solo to Jakarta via train

TOURIST SPOT/DESTINATIONS

Tawangmangu

according to YOGYES, Tawangmangu offers natural beauty and the cool air on the slopes of Mount Lawu. Enjoying the beauty of rice fields, misty mornings or taste the legendary sate kelinci will make you want to go back again and again.

Ticket Price:

Local - 6,000 IDR

Foreigner - 15,000 IDR

when we went there it was super duper crowded. going up and down from the 1250 flight of steps was like a pilgrimage. sadly, we were not able to enjoy the sight so much coz of too many people.

super crowded

Grojogan Sewu

Candi Sukuh

according to YOGYES, Sukuh Temple is one of the most interesting temple in South East Asia. It is full of erotic ornaments. Another unique thing is the shape of the temple looks like a Mayan pyramid from the Middle America. Unfortunately, this temple is still less-known.

Ticket Price:

Local - 3,000 IDR

best seen at late afternoon. few tourists when we came to visit.

Kraton Surakarta

According to YOGYES, As one of the Javanese cultural sites, Kasunanan Surakarta Palace is still standing firmly as monument of glory of the old Javanese culture with a charming touch of Europe.

Ticket Price:

Local: 10,000 IDR

the place was wide and airy. too bad it's not well - maintained. dusty on most of the statues and some structures were in dire need of re-construction.

Ngarsopuro

one of the public places to be seen at Solo. along the pedestrian lane adorns various statues and paintings. at night, some tents are put up to sell souvenirs of all kinds. best seen at night coz of cute lamp posts. hehe.

FOOD

i've heard that Solo offers a lot of traditional dishes to try and the not-so gastronomic adventurous side of me was put to a test and surprisingly i passed with flying colors! hahaha!

Solo Paragon Hotel

buffet breakfast at Coral Restaurant

TIP: better to start your breakfast at 7am as there are still a lot of food to choose from. at around 8am, they don't replenish the food especially the continental dishes.

ice creams and waffles via room service

i ordered this at 12 midnight as a semi - celebration of welcoming September. what a very sinful way to start the month. haha!

strawberry cake (d' breeze lounge) and iced lemon tea at Coral restaurant

i gave myself a dessert treat for my last night in solo. the cake was ok and i didn't like the drink.

"Sate Babi"

i'm used to eating sate ayam (chicken bbq) and sate kambing (goat bbq) back in jakarta but it's my first time to try sate babi (pork bbq). oh how i miss pork! it was super yummy!

menu

sate babi (pork bbq), nasi putih (white rice), es teh manis (sweetened iced tea)

"Sate Kelinci"

when Joe asked us if we would like to try rabbit meat, i said YES immediately. verdict? it was ok. tasted like somewhat rubberized chicken meat. hahaha!

sate kelinci (rabbit bbq), es teh manis (sweetened iced tea)

"Lesehan" and "Nasi Liwet"

Lesehan means having your meals on either a low table like a japanese tradition or in a mat. it was kinda nice to experience this type of dining style.

one of Solo's traditional food is called "nasi liwet", rice cooked in coconut milk with chicken and sauce.

nasi liwet

"Serabi Notosuman"

Serabi Notosuman is a Solo delicacy. there are a lot of stores selling these cakes but we went to the most famous one. so famous that there's a reporter from one of indonesian TV network and interviewed me about it. hahaha!

verdict: it's yummy. but better to eat it while it's hot. it becomes soggy when put into fridge. it's also better to consume within the day coz it's not that good after a day.

serabi notosuman (internet photo)

Depot Daniel

a mere walking distance from the serabi notosuman place is a restaurant where they offer traditional dishes from Surabaya. so it was like we already had a taste of Surabaya. haha!

i ordered rujak cingur. i like ketoprak better. hahaha!

"Ceker"

ceker means chicken feet. in the Philippines, we call it "adidas". i rarely eat chicken feet but this time, i ate some and enjoyed it. ceker was very soft and tasty. i actually liked it.

nasi putih, ayam, ceker, krupok

Street Ice Cream

walking along ngarsopuro, we saw this guy selling ice cream and we were curious how it tasted like. the ice cream was like a coconut sorbet. though too sweet for my liking.

SHOPPING

we went batik shopping at PGS. it's like a mall that sells batik stuff, souvenirs, and anything under the sun. they say batik in Solo is way way cheaper than anywhere else in Indonesia. I clearly have no idea since this was my first time to buy batik stuff. i bought batik bags (ranges from 15,000 - 20,000 IDR for small bags), batik kimono (ranges from 40,000 - 60,000 IDR) and batik wrap around skirts (ranges from 30,000 - 40,000 IDR).

for "oleh - oleh" ("pasalubong" in Tagalog) can be found all over the city. since we don't have an idea which were good, we just grabbed anything that looks yummy and according to my co - workers and friends, they loved the foodies we brought them. 

COSTING

this excludes food and other miscellaneous expenses...

FASHION TIP/S

when you travel, it's a choice between blending with the locals or channel a tourist-y look. and for this trip, i opted to look like a tourist, VAIN tourist to be exact. 

since weather in Indonesia is like forever summer, i brought summer-y looking outfits for this trip. 

Things to bring when exploring Solo and it's neighboring sites:

1. sunblock - you'll be seriously needing this or else, you'll have sunburn
2. hat - my personal preference, not only it covers your face from the sun but also it's a nice accessory
3. umbrella -  to seriously protect yourself from the sun
4. sunnies - my personal preference, it protects your eyes from the sun's glare and of course, it's one of summer accessory must have
5. scarf - for those cold moments like the train ride. also, if you want to cover some part of your body as a respect for the place's culture or whatever and of course, it's a nice accessory
6. flats - you'll be walking a lot and climb a lot of steps so better to wear flats like sandals to avoid any chaka moments and not wear your feet too much at the end of the day
7. lipstick - if you're vain like me and wants a pretty look when traveling then this is a NEED! choose a bright color to brighten up your look.
8. summer-y clothes - shorts, tank tops, skirts, dresses, the works! i don't have to explain this. haha!

basic travel essentials (summer-y look): red floppy hat, sunnies, red lipstick and bold earrings

Traveling in Style

for our first day, i want to wear a dress and be extra girly. haha!

details

on our day 2 since i was advised by Joe to sport an outdoorsy look, this is my maximum ability to have a sporty look. hahaha!

details

on our last day, i wanted something casual yet girly and chic.

details

i opted to change to a more covered and comfy look for our train back to Jakarta.

details

Final Thoughts about Solo

despite the last minute arrangement of this trip causing extra stress and expense, it was worth it. i would do it in a heartbeat all over again. haha!

i'm OC when it comes to traveling and it kinda shook my OC-ness when i let someone else handle the itinerary plus this is my first time not to allot a specific budget for a trip coz i didn't know how much to spend for food and tours.

Solo has been my quick escape from reality. i'm so happy that Solo kept my sanity in check. hahaha! i may have gained a few pounds and had a shade darker complexion but at the end of it, i became healthy. healthy in all the right aspects.

and what makes Solo more fun was meeting and gaining a new friend. i don't know yet if i'll be coming back anytime soon but if given a chance, it's definitely a YES!