Indonesia - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 200

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
By plane Adi Sumarmo Airport is 10km west of Solo and
just 2km north of Kartasura. The Solo Batik Trans bus
service links the city centre (every 15min; 1hr; Rp7000). A
taxi (30min) will cost about Rp65,000 from the airport to
Solo, and Rp50,000 in the opposite direction.
Destinations Jakarta (13 daily; 1hr 10min); Kuala Lumpur
(3 weekly; 2hr 25min); Singapore (2 weekly; 2hr).
By bus Buses terminate at the Tirtonadi bus station in
the north of the city. Just across the crossroads by the
northeastern corner of Tirtonadi is the minibus terminal,
Gilingan. From the front of the Hotel Surya , overlooking
Tirtonadi, orange angkot #6 (Rp3000) departs for the
town centre, stopping at Ngapeman, the junction of Jl
Gajah Mada and Jl Brig Jen Slamet Riyadi. To reach the
bus station from the centre, catch a #05 orange bus from
Matahari dept. store.
Destinations

other royal knick-knacks. An archway to
the west leads into the Susuhunan's living
quarters. Many of the buildings in this
courtyard are modern copies, the
originals having burnt down in 1985.

Pura Mangkunegaran
he second royal house in Solo, the Pura
Mangkunegaran (Mon-Sat 9am-2pm,
Sun 9am-1pm; Rp18,000; T 0271 644
4946) stands 1km west of the kraton and,
like Yogya's court of Paku Alam, faces
south towards the Kasunanan Palace as a
mark of respect. With its fine collection
of antiques and curios, in many ways the
Pura Mangkunegaran is more interesting
than the Kasunanan Palace. It was built
in 1757 to placate the rebellious Prince
Mas Said (Mangkunegara I), a nephew
of Pakubuwono II, who was given a
royal title, a court in Solo and leadership
over four thousand of Solo's households
in a peace deal. he palace hides behind
a high white wall, entered through
the gateway to the south. he vast
pendopo (the largest in Indonesia) that
fronts the palace shields four gamelan
orchestras underneath its rafters, three
of which can only be played on very
special occasions. he pendopo 's vibrantly
painted roof features Javanese zodiac
figures surrounding the main batik
centrepiece that took three years to
complete. A portrait of the current
resident, Mangkunegara IX, hangs by
the entrance to the Dalam Agung , or
living quarters, whose reception room
has been turned into a good museum,
displaying ancient coins, ballet masks and
chastity preservers.

Frequent buses to Bandung (12hr);
Banyuwangi (12hr); Jakarta (13hr); Malang (7hr);
Semarang (3hr); Surabaya (6hr); Yogyakarta (2hr).
By train You'll pay about Rp15,000 for a becak and
Rp20,000 for a taxi from outside the Balapan train station,
300m south of Tirtonadi, to Jl Dahlan. Avoid the pre-paid
taxi stand inside the station, which charges Rp30,000 for
the same trip.
Destinations

4

Bandung (5 daily; 8hr 50min); Jakarta (5
daily; 10hr 30min); Malang (daily; 6hr 25min); Purworketo
(6 daily; 3hr 15min); Surabaya (6 daily; 3hr 20min); Yogya
(14 daily; 1hr 30min).

INFORMATION AND TOURS
Tourist information Solo has two tourist o ces, one
located at the airport (daily 8am-4pm; T 0271 781164)
and another behind the Radya Pustaka Museum at Jl Brig
Jen Slamet Riyadi 275 ( T 0271 711435). Only the latter
(daily 8am-5pm; T 0271 711435) is of much use, with
details of events, a reasonable range of brochures and
maps, and, when Patrick Orlando is around, English-
speaking staff.
Tours Several hotels in Solo organize a range of excursions.
Cycling tours are popular, among the most rewarding run
by Istana Griya (Rp120,000), Cakra Homestay (Rp125,000),
Warung Baru (Rp100,000) and the friendly Patrick
Orlando ( T 081 3296 03992, E patrick.orlando@ymail
.com; Rp125,000), often found at the Tourist Information
O ce; each includes a visit to a gamelan factory, bakery,
tofu factory and even an arak manufacturer.
Travel agents Inta Tours & Travel, Jl Brig Jen Slamet
Riyadi 96 ( T 0271 655600), are recommended.

Radya Pustaka Museum
A kilometre west along Jalan Brig Jen
Slamet Riyadi brings you to the
well-kept Radya Pustaka Museum
(Tues-Sun 9am-2pm; Rp10,000,
camera charge Rp5000). Built by the
Dutch in 1890, this is one of the oldest
and largest museums in Java, housing
an extensive Dutch and Javanese library
as well as dusty collections of wayang
kulit puppets, kris , and scale models of
the mosque at Demak and the cemetery
at Imogiri.

GETTING AROUND
Becak Unlike the ones in Yogya, Solo's becak do not
charge a higher rate if there is more than one person in
the carriage. As ever, bargain hard.