Last month, I received an invitation from my cousin to attend her wedding at Solo.
I just can't pass this occasion for a chance to explore Yogya and Solo for a weekend's gateway.
So I booked a round-away trip CGK-JOG.
The original plan was that I would meet my parents at Yogya, then we would depart to Solo together.
Since there was some family issue, we changed the plane.
Instead of me going to Bantul, I had to go straightly from Yogya to Solo by myself.
At first, I'm pretty shocked, because I've never travelled from Yogya to Solo or vice versa by myself.
My father told me to took the Prambanan Ekspress.
At the first thought, I was thinking "How could you expect me to travel from the airport to the railway station and then waiting at Solo by myself?"
But then I encouraged myself.
I'm 28 years old and I've travelled a lot, what should I scared of? It is still on the same island. I didn't have any problem travelling outside Java.
So okay, let's do that.
4:15 AM : depart from my house to Blok M (thank you my dear...)
4:30 AM : depart from Blok M to CGK Terminal 3
Since Mandala announced their bankruptcy, Terminal 3 seems very quiet with Air Asia as the sole airline company.
6:00 AM : depart from CGK, headed to JOG
7:00 AM : arrived at Adisucipto International Airport.
I didn't have any idea what I'm gonna do. So I looked around and found the sign "Meguwo Railway Station".
I bought a ticket, oh gosh, it's only IDR 9k.
Prambanan Ekspress have several routes. The farthest route is Kutoarjo-Solo Jebres (Solo has 3 railway station: Purwosari-Solo Balapan-Solo Jebres). The regular route is Tugu-Solo Jebres. There is also Prambanan Ekspress Wisata (wisata = tour)
The train itself is clean and comfortable enough.
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| Prambanan Ekspress |
8.00 AM: arrived at Solo Balapan
I was a clueless tourist. I was looking around the railway station, trying to open my Google Maps, searching for a clue, how to get away my self to Klewer or to Slamet Riyadi area. Then, a man approached me.
He said that his name is Jarot, and he offered to accompany me getting around Solo. At first, I was suspicious (heyy, I've been living too long at Jakarta). But at the second thought, I think that's a great idea.
So, let's the adventure begin...
Because I was starving, I asked where I can have some breakfast.
He brought me to Warung Soto Gading 1.
No words need to be said. The picture will say what it need to be said.
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| Soto Ayam - Warung Soto Gading I |
I only have to paid 10k IDR for a bowl of Soto Ayam and a glass of hot orange.
After that, Jarot took me to Kampung Batik Kauman.
There are several batik shops around here. The price range varies from the cheapest to the most expensive one, depending on the technique used to produce the batik.
I really want to share some picture about the batik processing, but no picture is allowed.
After that, we resumed our journey to Kraton Mangkunegaran.
There are two Kraton at Solo, Kraton Pakunegaran and Kraton Mangkunegaran. Since I have gone to the first one 3 years ago, so I decided to go to Kraton Mangkunegaran.
It's a beautiful place. But I think there is a lot of review about this place. So I think, I don't need to review this place a lot. But I found an interesting fact. There is a lot of picture of Mangkunegaran VIII around this Kraton. What I mean a lot is really a lot. Comparing with the other Mangkunegarans, Mangkunegaran VIII has a lot of picture taken. FYI, the current Mangkunegaran is Mangkunegaran X.
Actually, after Kraton Mangkunegaran, I thought that's the end of the journey.
But Jarot asked me, "Why don't you go to
Sangiran?"
Me: "Sangiran?"
What do I know about Sangiran is only what mentioned at the history books.
A place where fossils were found. That's all.
But I never thought about visiting it.
Maybe because I thought that the place is in the middle of nowhere?
So I pick up the bait.
It's kind of surprise me to see the site.
Too modern?I'm thinking about an Indiana Jones's adventure, not some modern site.
But overall I think it's nice that the local government show some interest in building some local tourist attraction. Inside the area, it is quite resemble ITB's boulevard. The museum is small, I think the size is about Museum Sri Baduga at Bandung.
After looking around for a half hour, I took a look at my watch. I decide it's the time to go back to Solo.
My parents booked
Hotel Dana at Jl Slamet Riyadi.
It's a three starred hotel owned by the Mangkunegaran. My cousin's wedding reception will be held there, so I think that's a nice choice.
After taking a short break, my parents and I took an evening walk to
Klender, a traditional market famous for its batik product.
For dinner, we ate at
Ayam Goreng Mbak Yuli. The fried chicken is delicious and cheap. I highly recommend you to try this.
At the 2nd day, mainly I attend my cousin's wedding reception. It's really differ from the other wedding that I've ever attended.
At Bandung or Jakarta, mainly wedding reception use buffet system. Sometimes the chinese people use table system.
My cousin's reception use chairing system (she is Javanase-Palembang, and her husband is from Aceh) with servant.
So I have to sit on the same chair (with a very small table, only to put your glass) for 3 hours and waiting for the servant to deliver foods and beverage.
From that moments, I understand the importance of Among Tamu.
In traditional Javanese wedding reception, Among Tamu has to be familiar with the guest list. He/She has to identified who are the guests and show them the correct seating position. Any mistakes on this matters could cause a great annoyance for the elderly.
After the reception finished, my parents and I headed to Solo Balapan, because my flight would be from Yogya.
From Yogya, I only want to share this picture.
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Adisucipto International Airport Boarding Gate
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I like the color combination... black, white, red....
That's all from the trip of "
Visting the Homeland of Java Man"
