Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 195

DIRECTORY
Banks and exchange There are many banks with ATMS
in the city centre, including BNI (Jl Trikora 1, just in front of
the post o ce). To exchange money, head to PT Gajahmas
Mulyosakti, Jl A Yani 86A, or PT Dua Sisi Jogya Indah, at
the southern corner of the Malioboro Mall, each offering
competitive rates.
Hospitals and clinics The Gading Clinic, south of the
Alun-alun Selatan at Jl Maj Jen Panjaitan 25, has English-
speaking doctors ( T 0274 375396).
Internet Wi-fi is available in numerous cafés across town.
There are also several internet cafés in each area (Rp7000/hr),
including Chaterina (daily 9am-11pm), across from Bladok in
Sosro, and Pendopo Cafe Net (daily 8am-11pm; W pendopo
cafenet.com), opposite Duta Guesthouse in Prawirotaman.
Police station Jl Reksobayan 1, near the Benteng
Vredeburg Museum T 274 512511 or T 274512940. Dial
T 110 for emergencies.
Post o ce Jl Senopati 2, at the southern end of Jl
Malioboro (Mon-Sat 6am-10pm, Sun 6am-8pm). There's
a smaller branch near Bladok on Jl Sosro 55 (Mon-Fri
8am-2pm, Sat 8am-noon). The parcel o ce is on Jl
Mayor Suryotomo (Mon-Sat 8am-3pm, Sun 9am-2pm).

the observation platform. All treks begin
in the dark between 3-5am. Bring warm
clothes, a torch or headlamp and a sturdy
pair of shoes.
ACCOMMODATION
Hotel Muriah Jl Astya Mulya T 0274 446 4257. This clean
and central hotel offers good-value rooms with TVs and hot
water. Friendly staff don't speak mu ch English, a nd treat
guests to snacks of roti bakar on arrival. Rp100,000
★

Vogel's Hostel Jl Astya Mulya 76, Kaliurang T 0274
895208, W vogelshostel.blogspot.com. This is a great budget
hostel, split into several parts: the rooms in the newer green
and white bungalows are beautiful (from Rp100,000), while
those in the old building are more spartan but good value.
The food is delicious (try the paniki Rp30,000), and there's
a good travellers' library. The staff can organize various treks
and the owner, Christian A wuy, a Man ado-nati ve, is a bo na
fide expert on Merapi. Dorm Rp25,000 , double Rp50,000

BOROBUDUR
Forty kilometres west of Yogya, surrounded
on three sides by volcanoes and on the
fourth by jagged limestone cliffs, is the
largest Buddhist monument in the
southern hemisphere. his is the temple of
Borobudur , the greatest single piece of
classical architecture in the entire
archipelago. he temple is actually a
colossal multi-tiered Buddhist stupa lying
at the western end of a 4km-long chain of
temples (one of which, the nearby Candi
Mendut , is also worth visiting), built in the
ninth century by the Saliendra dynasty. At
34.5m tall, however, and covering an area
of some 200 square metres, Borobudur is
on a different scale altogether, dwarfing all
the other candi in the chain. Abandoned
and neglected for almost a thousand years,
Borobudur was “rediscovered” by the
English in 1815, though nothing much
was done until 1973, when UNESCO
began to take the temple apart, block by
block, in order to replace the waterlogged
hill with a concrete substitute.

4

GUNUNG MERAPI AND KALIURANG
Marking the northern limit of the Daerah
Istimewa Yogyakarta, symmetrical,
smoke-plumed Gunung Merapi (Giving
Fire) is an awesome 2914m presence in the
centre of Java, visible from Yogyakarta,
25km away. his is one of Indonesia's most
volatile volcanoes, and some volcanologists
consider it the most consistently active
volcano on earth. hrough the centuries
its ability to annihilate has frequently been
demonstrated - as recently as 2010 an
entire mountain village was destroyed,
killing more than 350 people.
Nearly 1km up on Merapi's southern
slopes is the misty and ramshackle hill
village of KALIURANG . Bemos here cost
Rp12,000 from Jalan Simanjutak in
Yogya. In Kaliurang, you can join a
trekking group to reach high on the barren
flanks of Merapi (organized by Vogel's
Hostel ; US$15; see below), a fairly arduous
five-hour scramble, much of it through the
humid jungle that beards Merapi's lower
slopes. During Merapi's dormant months
(usually March to Oct) it's possible to
climb all the way to the top, but at other
times, or when the volcano is active, you
may have to settle for a distant view from

WHAT TO SEE AND DO
Borobudur is pregnant with symbolism,
and precisely oriented so that its four
sides face the four points of the compass;
the ticket o ce lies to the southeast (daily
6am-5.30pm; adult US$20/Rp190,000,
student or child US$10/Rp95,000;