[pinholecam] Ticket to Yogyakarta

[pinholecam]

#25

Full view of Borobudur, Yogyakarta

Here is a full view of Borobudur. It gets very crowded by 8am. I did not attempt to take the pano from the center of the structure as there were too many people.



#26

Portrait of a Buddha, Borobudur, Yogyakarta


#27

Pilgrim, Borobudur, Borobudur, Yogyakarta


#28

One of the many reliefs, Borobudur, Yogyakarta

After taking the sunrise, the time is just right to go about the various levels of Borobudur, admiring the wall reliefs which are splendidly lit with nice side lighting at this time of the day.
The wall reliefs in Borobudur depict many scenes of daily life in ancient Java as well as Hindu/Javan mythology.
There are just so many wall carvings on Borobudur, that I'd bore everyone showing all of them, so I'll leave it at one.
It just does not do justice to the beautiful carvings that were made centuries ago.


By the time we finished, it was about 8.30am.
Plenty hot and plenty of people.
(those planning a trip may want to take note on the timing it takes to complete Borobudur reasonably)

Lots of touts selling souvenirs line the pathway from Borobudur to the hotel.
I probably looked to cheap or local (poorly dressed and very tan) for them to bother, but my obviously non-local looking friends got bothered by some for quite a distance.
There is no danger though, so don't worry, and as usual with such things, just be firm about not buying.

Time for a quick breakfast, freshen up and leave for Dieng Plateau at 9.30am.

 

[roDz]

Good job bro..keep it coming..

 

[pinholecam]

On the Road to Dieng

Dieng plateau is located at an altitude of 2km above sea level, its a beautiful place. Rice fields, tea plantations, potato crops (a local favorite) and many more agriculture spans the left and right of the road we traveled.

Our objective was Arjuna Temple and Telaga Warna (the Colorful lake), but everything along the way was fresh, exciting and beautiful.

It takes about 3hrs from Borobudur to Dieng.
The roads are fine, but its single lane each way, so not too fast.
Of course it will take longer if there are more stops along the way for photo taking.
Its not easy to stop though, as its single lane each way.

Since its 2km up, it is cool (aircon like).
No need for special clothing, but my advice is to have warmer clothing as spare in the car or carry it with you. (more on this later.... )
A thin long sleeved pullover or/jeans should be fine unless weather is bad or staying in the area overnight.


Some photos along the way.
The following two from a brief stop in a small town of Wonosobo.

#29

Journey to town, Wonosobo, Dieng Plateau


#30

Chicken Tonight?, Wonosobo, Dieng Plateau



A few from the road, taken from the car.

#31

The MPV, Dieng Plateau


#32

One of the many stores along the way, Dieng Plateau


We sort of skipped lunch.
My advice is to take a bit more food from the hotel during breakfast, if you are particular about food or how food stalls look.
Otherwise, there isn't a problem of food stalls along the way, just that they are more simple if your are looking for something more sophisticated/clean looking.
Personally, I think most stalls are pretty fine and I don't expect to eat in a Michelin * restaurant in the middle of Dieng.
For us, it wasn't a problem, just that we had no idea of what was ahead of us (ie. remote w/o pp? ; no town? etc) , so we ate a bit more at the hotel before setting off.

 

[silence]

Beautiful series!!! I have been wanting to go Yogyakarta!!! Your photos just make me decided that I should go ASAP! btw, are the locals friendly? I have heard horrible stories from some friends saying that they were being "chope carrots" and intimidated by some drivers..

 

[pinholecam]

Beautiful series!!! I have been wanting to go Yogyakarta!!! Your photos just make me decided that I should go ASAP! btw, are the locals friendly? I have heard horrible stories from some friends saying that they were being "chope carrots" and intimidated by some drivers..

Thanks.
Hope you can go soon
The locals are friendly. People have smiles everywhere.
Very obliging if you ask to take their photos (my friend did portraits with permission; I typically prefer candids)
Young people are eager to take photos with foreigners. My Thai and Indian friend got asked a lot, so do Japs and AngMohs.
I was never asked (too local looking)

I did not take any other form of local transport though.
Travel was all with the arranged transport.
I mentioned the transport company here :
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/land...inholecam]-ticket-yogyakarta.html#post7899447
Pondok Transport. There are many others on the YogYes website.

Even when we moved around the city, the trishaw riders were always friendly when asking for business.
As with such things, I believe there will always be some bad eggs in the business.

 

[pweijian]

Awesome load of information here and very very nice photos =) would like to visit the place too if I got the chance. Thanks for all the detail info!

 

[Daoyin]

Question: You finished Borobudor at 8.30 AM. How many hours should be allocated in all ?

 

[pinholecam]

Question: You finished Borobudor at 8.30 AM. How many hours should be allocated in all ?

There was some lag time due to waiting around and finding everyone.
So if we did not have this inefficiency, it might have been done by 8am.
If you plan and arrange ahead a meeting point and time with your friends, then it should be better.
Overall, we started at 5am (entry) and ended at 8.30am; So thats 3h30mins in total.
If you spend more time there, you can admire and 'catalog' more of the wall reliefs, but 10+ is plenty for me. (YMMV)

I'd think 8.30am is about the time to leave anyway, as the Dieng trip takes about 3hrs each way and there is need to get breakfast, toilet break, some folks need to do make up and so on.
I would suggest Borobudur > Dieng as well, since they are on the west side of Yogja.

Awesome load of information here and very very nice photos =) would like to visit the place too if I got the chance. Thanks for all the detail info!

Thanks and glad to provide the info for fellow travellers/photogs

 

[pinholecam]

#33

The wood carver, look out point, Dieng Plateau

We stopped at a look out point along the way. Its supposed to be scenic but it was misty by the time we reach there and the clouds had rolled in.
So the viewpoint looked ...meh..
But there is more to this look out point as we would find out much later in the day.... (will return to this later on in the thread)

This gentleman was a wood carver souvenir maker I met at the look out point.
He carves wood vases out of uniquely natural patterned wood.
The wood can be seen on the bottom right corner of the photo.



2 more photos from the road...
#34

#35

 

[silence]

Thanks.
Hope you can go soon
The locals are friendly. People have smiles everywhere.
Very obliging if you ask to take their photos (my friend did portraits with permission; I typically prefer candids)
Young people are eager to take photos with foreigners. My Thai and Indian friend got asked a lot, so do Japs and AngMohs.
I was never asked (too local looking)

I did not take any other form of local transport though.
Travel was all with the arranged transport.
I mentioned the transport company here :
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/land...inholecam]-ticket-yogyakarta.html#post7899447
Pondok Transport. There are many others on the YogYes website.

Even when we moved around the city, the trishaw riders were always friendly when asking for business.
As with such things, I believe there will always be some bad eggs in the business.

Thanks so much for all these info.. Must bookmark your thread for my future trip planning!!!!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[vincentckh87]

Thank you for the very nice photos and informative thread! This is my next stop after I "conquer" Angkor Wat

 

[Daoyin]

There was some lag time due to waiting around and finding everyone.
So if we did not have this inefficiency, it might have been done by 8am.
If you plan and arrange ahead a meeting point and time with your friends, then it should be better.
Overall, we started at 5am (entry) and ended at 8.30am; So thats 3h30mins in total.
If you spend more time there, you can admire and 'catalog' more of the wall reliefs, but 10+ is plenty for me. (YMMV)

I'd think 8.30am is about the time to leave anyway, as the Dieng trip takes about 3hrs each way and there is need to get breakfast, toilet break, some folks need to do make up and so on.
I would suggest Borobudur > Dieng as well, since they are on the west side of Yogja.





Thanks and glad to provide the info for fellow travellers/photogs

Thanks for the additional insight. Can "feel" the pleasure you experienced from your trip. Keep the photos coming.

 

[pinholecam]

Thanks so much for all these info.. Must bookmark your thread for my future trip planning!!!!!! :thumbsup:

Thanks again.

Thank you for the very nice photos and informative thread! This is my next stop after I "conquer" Angkor Wat

I am thinking of doing the reverse... go Ankor Wat next year.
But too many travel possibilities, so little time and $$$

Thanks for the additional insight. Can "feel" the pleasure you experienced from your trip. Keep the photos coming.

No prob. Any questions, just shoot

 

[pinholecam]

#36

Pano View from Dieng look out point; Dieng Plateau

I mentioned the misty/cloudy weather at the look out point in #33, so here is how it looked like.
Nothing much of an attention grabber (.. for now.... ) ;
Nice weather, cool and refreshing though, and the vast expanse of land below is certainly welcome to the senses.



#37

Scenery along the way; Dieng Plateau

Managed to come out of the car to take a quick shot of this rather scenic spot.



#38

Farmland along the way; Dieng Plateau

Grab shot from the car. Wish I could stop, but not possible due to the single lane roads. Potato crops if I am not wrong.

 

[pinholecam]

Arjuna Temple

#39

Arjuna Temple 1, Dieng Plateau

After roughly 3hrs from starting (~12.30pm), we arrived at Arjuna Temple.
Ticket price is RP25,000 for a combined ticket for Arjuna Temple and Sikidang Crater

What is left (~8 temples) was once part of a very large complex with hundreds of temples in the vast area.
The Hindu temples date back to about 7th-8th century, probably the oldest Hindu temples in Java.
Located in a large field surrounded by temperate flora, with rolling mist, its not hard to imagine why the temples were built here.

If I am not wrong, there are 2 entrances.
We sort of took the long one, walking across the large expanse of park/farmland to the temple complex.
This is perhaps a 10-15min brisk walk, which is quite refreshing in the cool and fresh air of the place.
There seems to be another entrance at the other end nearer to the temples, we only found out when we got there, no idea if its really another entry gate.
We used the former cause our driver bought us by that route. (it more scenic though).
Those who don't want to walk, can suggest the other entrance to their driver.





#40

Arjuna Temple 2, Dieng Plateau



#41

Arjuna Temple 3, Dieng Plateau

 

[Janetleeyj]

Love this 2 fotos, simple but beautful. The lotek look too dry, must ask for more sauce ;p you try gudeg, bakpia n nasi kucing? My favorit food ;p

#21

Main Stupa oversees the celestials, Borobudur, Yogyakarta

Guests opting for the Sunrise tour can make for wake up call arrangements with the reception.
Of course we also set our own alarm clocks.
Then everyone gathers at the reception at 4.30am and will be given a torchlight and a sarong.
You can dispense with the sarong if you are wearing long pants or jeans.
Next, the guide will lead everyone to the gates of Boroburdur (~5mins walk)
Its pitch black outside (no street lamps), so the torch comes in handy.

#21 was taken before sunrise.
Personally, I struggled to find something relevant to shoot for the first 15mins of reaching Boroburdur.
The foreground is very dark since its grey stone and unlit.
The background is either very dark (no lit places) or distracted by flood lamps.
YMMV
This mixed with the awe of entering such a grand, ancient and holy site and the urgent need to get things moving if I was to get some decent photos made for a dilemma.
Soak in the atmosphere or rush-rush to get photos taken?

Bhumisparsa mudra, "Calling the Earth to witness, Borobudur", Yogyakarta

Borobudur, was constructed in about the 9th-century.
The monument is both a shrine to the Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage.
The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument (there are six levels) and follows a path around the monument to the top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kāmadhātu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness).
Through the stairways and corridors, the person walking thru can view the many narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades.

 

[pinholecam]

Love this 2 fotos, simple but beautful. The lotek look too dry, must ask for more sauce ;p you try gudeg, bakpia n nasi kucing? My favorit food ;p

Thanks Janet.
I did like this version of the lotek the best out of the 3 times I ordered it, but I'd certainly order again if I have the chance and try out more versions.
Gudeg...sadly, a Filipino version of it (different name of course) made be turn this one down, even though it was widely avaliable.... sorry.. :embrass:
Bakpia, I really regret not trying this one. As OceanPriest above mentioned to me earlier in this thread.
Each time I passed a shop selling it, I was either too full or too into shooting to think about eating.
These 3 items on my must try list if I can find locally or if I go again.
Also the Soto Ayam (driver misunderstood and brought us to a vegetarian place)

 

[pinholecam]

Some shots from the Arjuna Temple area.

#42

Vendor selling roasted corn, Dieng Plateau


#43

A harvest of potatoes, Dieng Plateau


#44

Stall in compound of Arjuna Temple selling the local staple Kentang Goreng, Dieng Plateau


#45

Kentang Goreng (deep fried local potatoes), Dieng Plateau

 

[pinholecam]

Telaga Warna (Colorful Lake)

#46

Telaga Warna (Colorful Lake) #1, Dieng Plateau

Next up. Telaga Warna (Colorful Lake).
Entry fee RP9,000.
By then it was about 3pm.
It isn't far from the Arjuna Temple area, perhaps 10mins drive at most.
The lake water is known to change color when exposed to sunlight and the different colors of the sky (ie. white clouds/blue sky/sunset color).
When we arrived, it was overcast and the only color we saw was cyan.
The lake water has a high sulfur content, which is also one of the reasons for the white and cyan color as the sediments cover the bed of the lake.



#47

Fallen log, Telaga Warna (Colorful Lake), Dieng Plateau


If there was a place in the whole trip that had so much promise and potential for good shots, but I had no chance, this place would be it.
By the time we arrived, it was about to rain.
Sky was dull and the lake reflected much of the overcast sky.
Without much time to loose, I reckoned that scene #46 was just near the entrance and might probably be my only shot of the place before the rain.
The potential of leading line from the fallen logs was great for a shot.
Too bad a local (maybe park keeper) thought it was a good idea to clear off some branches there too at the same time, and I had to compromise composition to avoid him.

We were told that the path leads to a hilltop where there is a scenic view of the lake, but we never made it there.
It started to rain and blow quite heavily.
We managed to take shelter in a proper park shelter, but wind+rain+cool weather was no joke, and we had left our warmer clothing in the car.
I was lucky to have a cheap plastic poncho in my camera bag, and was able to weather the cold wind and rain splatter.
I'd advise fellow travelers to at least carry their warm clothing with them if there is any hint that it might rain.

By the time the rain subsided enough for us to get back to the car, it was already 4.15pm. No too bright anymore and still drizzling to be able to take any photos.
Actually I tried, but almost froze from the cold rainwater.

So just 3 record shots from such a beautiful place....



#48

Telaga Warna (Colorful Lake) #2, Dieng Plateau

 

[pinholecam]

#49

Sikidang Cater (Jumping Volcanic crater)

With whatever time we had left, we ventured to the last tourist spot of our itinerary for Dieng.
Sikidang Crater; RP20,000
This is an area of geothermal activity, the smell of sulphur is strong in the air.
Visually, its like an expanse of yellowish rock and mud with some small mud pools that vents steam.
There are 2 main craters as of writing. One is supposed to be newer than the other.
Upon approaching, the rising steam seen in the distance gives way to a crater that is filled with boiling grey water. (more than 100degC)
Approach with caution.

I failed to find a reasonable way to photograph it aesthetically, other than a couple of documentation shots.
Personally, I think is place is more of a tourist that photography site (YMMV).
However, might as well visit it since its so near the other sites.
I'd admit this, if I have read more about this place, I may not have ventured to step in
There is supposed to be a magma chamber under Sikidang crater and steam blow outs do occur. :sweat:

The light was falling and the sky was clearer after the rain.
Found a rock as foreground and took a shot of the place (#49)
The steaming crater can be seen in the distance (top right)

We really ran out of time for trip up Dieng.
It was already 5.30pm and we still had that 4hr back to Yogya and check in our hotel.
That meant 9.30pm arrival!



#50

Lookout point with Mt Sindoro in the distance, Dieng Plateau

The falling light and cleared sky provided a beautiful sunset.
We passed by many scenic spots, but could not stop as we were rushing back and due to the single lane road.
I mentioned the lookout point in picture #36, that was covered in cloud?
#50 is that same spot once the sky cleared.
Mt Sindoro stood grandly before us to greet the sunset.
Too bad we just dashed out of the car, took a few quick shots and hurried off.



#51

Just me and You, Dieng Plateau

#51 is a unique scene to me along the way back with the 2 trees and their unique silhouettes (a man and woman) keeping each other company.
Shot from the car.