I was invited to attend a conference in Bali from 29th April – 2nd May 2011 along with my wife, Devpriya. The last time we had visited Indonesia, it had been a family trip staying in a villa in Bali. At that time, we were staying close to Seminyak and did not get a chance to visit Ubud. Also it had been on the bucket list to see the temples of Borobudur and Prambanan near Yogyakarta, ever since our visit to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Thus we decided to add 5-6 days before the conference to make a short holiday in Indonesia. Though we also wanted to visit Mt. Bromo, it is a little difficult to reach there. It was a very long road trip from Yogyakarta to Bali via Mt. Bromo (3 days). Even after taking flights, it was too much travel for a day’s visit only. Hence we decided to drop Mt. Bromo from the itinerary.
On the last trip what had stood out was the hospitality of the people and this time it was no different. We got very good service at our hotels and restaurants and the best part is that it always came with a smile. Yogyakarta, though not much of a town by itself, is a must visit for the temple sites. The temples are truly magnificent and their massive scale and intricate design is proof of the progressive civilisation in Indonesia even 1000 years back. The stay at Ubud was also fantastic and before this I could not imagine Bali without its beaches. In fact, I could make fun of the idea of a holiday in Bali without the beach. However, since our conference was in a beachfront hotel in Nusa Dua and Ubud was highly recommended by our cousins, we gave it a shot. All I will say is that Ubud shows a different side to Bali and it a must include in a Bali itinerary.
Our itinerary was as follows:
Vacationers: Devpriya and Raghav Bihani
Outbound Flight: Malaysian Airlines – Bombay-Yogyakarta on 23rd April at 11:50pm, arriving at noon via Kuala Lumpur.
24th April: Yogyakarta. Overnight: Sheraton Mustika
25th April: Dieng Plateau – Borobudur – Yogyakarta. Overnight: Sheraton Mustika
26th April: Prambanan – Ramayana Ballet – Yogyakarta. Overnight: Sheraton Mustika
27th April: Yogyakarta – (Ubud) Bali. Overnight: Maya Ubud
Flight: Garuda Indonesia Departs Yogyakarta 0800 hrs and reaches Bali at 1015 hrs.
28th April: Ubud. Overnight: Maya Ubud
29th April: Ubud – Nusa Dua. Overnight: Nikko Bali
30th April: Nusa Dua. Overnight: Nikko Bali
1st May: Seminyak visit. Overnight: Nikko Bali
Inbound Flight: Malaysian Airlines – Denpasar-Bombay on 2nd May at 16:00pm, arriving 10:40pm.
Day 1: Our flight landed at around noon and the Sheraton Mustika was 2 minutes drive from the airport. The hotel was very luxurious and had good facilities. Rooms were spacious and swimming pools inviting. Location though is not the best if you want to spend time in the city. However, if the main purpose of visit is to go to Borobudur and Prambanan, the location will not bother you. Since both the sites are away from Yogyakarta, it does not matter where you stay. Staying close to the airport just makes arrival and departure a breeze. Other good hotels in Yogyakarta are the Melia Purosani, Phoenix Hotel and Hyatt Regency. If you are in a mood to splurge Amanjiwo (overlooking Borobudur) is the best resort but the location is not convenient for sightseeing (especially Prambanan). However, I was fully satisfied with the Sheraton and recommend it for a stay.
Since it was afternoon by the time we settled in, there was no time to visit the temples today. We took a shuttle to downtown for a relaxed lunch at the Bedhot Resto. It was an informal place with decent Indonesian food as well as Pizza. After lunch we booked the sight-seeing tours for the next 2 days. I preferred the private tours because you can spend time according to your wish at each place and have a flexible itinerary. We spent the evening on the main street called Malioboro which has all the shopping stalls, shops and malls. It is also a convenient place to change currency (Mulia at Garuda Inn Hotel is reliable) and get a mobile connection etc. We had dinner at Bladok Cafe which serves Western cuisine and it was excellent.
Day 2: This was a long day as we had planned to visit both, Dieng Plateau and Borobudur. The Dieng plateau is a good 3 hours drive from Yogyakarta and we left early at 7:00am. In one hour we reached a small temple next to Borobudur, Candi Mendut. We decided to visit it now as it would shut on our way back. The Mendut temple though small in size has a peaceful setting. The carvings on the exterior walls were intact and inside there is a Buddha statue. Worth a visit as it is on the way and takes very little extra time.
From Candi Mendut the way to Dieng Plateau takes around 2 hours mainly because the road is not in the best of conditions. The Dieng Plateau has 3-4 sites which take 2-3 hours to visit in a loop. Since we had to visit Borobudur on the same day we were a little hurried. We reached the first site called the Arjuna Complex of temples around 10:15am. This sites consists of ruins of 5 temples which remind us of a bygone era. There was at one time more than 400 temples in Dieng, which is evidence of the rich civilisation which existed 1000 years ago. This is also the first set of temples predating even Prambanan. The structures are pretty simple but beautiful gardens and flowers in full bloom make it a peaceful and serene atmosphere. The entire is surrounded by hills and the air is fresh and clean. You feel transported to the previous era imaging the glory they had attained a millennium ago. Suddenly, the loudspeakers from the nearby mosque call out to pray in full volume, breaking the tranquility of the scene and bringing you back to 2011.
Next in Deing Plateau we visited the Telaga Warna (The Colourful Lake). This is an emerald coloured lake set in a forest surrounded by mountains. The lake has a pathway that goes around it and as we take a walk we can see the lake in different shades and views. There was a smell of sulphur in the air because of chemicals present in the area. It is a mesmerising location and we would have loved to spend more time here. The full walk would take a lot of time and it had started to drizzle so we made a dash to the next stop.
We then proceeded to the Sikidang Crater. The landscape completely changes from lush green lakes and mountains to a vast barren stretch of space. The entire place is full of volcanic mud lying in bubbling pools of water. most of the ground is also slush and you have a chance of slipping unless you stick to the proper path. The crater itself is still active and you could see it covered with fumes coming out of it. The contrast of Dieng is very apparent when you visit the Crater after the Colourful Lake and temples. We saw another temple on the way out to Borobudur. The temple was nothing special but just outside was a bunch of trees in full bloom. They made a beautiful view and Dieng was full of these flowers in spring. The way to Borobudur took 2 hours and we reached just in time at 14:30.
Borobudur is a colossal structure standing grand by itself in the middle of nowhere. Even before one reaches the actual temple to see the carvings you are overwhelmed by the sheer size of the structure. Built from 2 million blocks of stone it is square-shaped size of approx. 120m x 120m. Thus one circumference is nearly half a kilometre. There nine levels in all out which 6 are accessible as of now. There is a pilgrim’s walk which takes you through each level and its teachings and is about 5 km long. Each terrace is full of carvings depicting the teachings of the Buddha. The first few levels depict Desire and as you go up levels you progress towards enlightenment till the you reach the topmost level of Nirvana. In this spectacular fashion the entire Buddhist faith is replicated systematically in Borobudur. The entire complex was covered with volcanic dust due to eruptions of Mt. Merapi. However, that has now been cleared up and you can visit most of the site. The entire temple is symmetrical with each level in perfect squares as you climb up. In all there are 432 Buddha statues staring out of symmetrical cornices. The architectural marvel is masterpiece and it being built more than 1000 years ago with simple hand tools is unimaginable.
The top most levels of Borobudur are depicting the Buddhist state of Nirvana. Climbing on to these terraces were out-of-bounds. But you could clearly see all the levels. They mainly consisted of 72 Buddha statues enclosed in Stupas in a meditative state. The site had quite a few hawkers and it is apparent that the authorities treat it more like a money-making business than a revered site. A guide is a must as they are hardly any signs or books which can guide you. Also the officials are very pushy and try to vacate the site even before closing time. This was in stark contrast to the way Angkor Wat complex in managed in Cambodia. The people and authorities have a respect for the site which was completely missing at Borobudur. The broken statues and stupas remind you of a bygone era. The entire site when it was originally built was one of the grandest man-made structures of its time. Though Angkor Wat is splendid in the number of temples and exquisite carvings, Borobudur as a single monument is unbeatable. The bad part is that the authorities do not allow you to linger long enough to enjoy the sunset from atop the Borobudur. The place shuts down at 5pm sharp and they do not allow you to stay back at all.
Day 3: The plan for today was to see Prambanan. However, since we had also booked the Ramayana Ballet in the evening at Prambanan we decided to leave after lunch. The morning we spent relaxing in the hotel and had lunch there itself. Prambanan is not far from Yogyakarta and takes only about 45 minutes to reach. The temples themselves are not as awe-inspiring as Borobudur but impressive nevertheless. These also date back to the 9th century and are based on the Hindu holy trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. The three main temples are devoted to these Gods and each one of them has a temple in front of them devoted to their carrier i.e. Garuda, Nandi and Hansa. Besides these six temples they are 2 more side temples and 4 corner temples. These main temples were surrounded by 224 temples all of which lie in ruins. Nothing can be seen of them other than a few blocks for each of them. The entire site with all the 250 odd temples must have a spectacular sight to behold. Such an example of ancient Hindu architecture is not found anywhere in India even. These temples prove that the ancient Hindu civilisation was very much advanced in aspects of science and architecture.
These main temples are relatively well-preserved and all have statues inside them. In the passages there are intricate carvings from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Some restoration work was on in the Shiva temple whose inside was closed. The carvings are still intact and one can make out what the scene is being depicted with a little assistance from the guide. The carvings are especially interesting for Hindus as they can very easily relate to the stories behind them. The major difference from Angkor Wat is that the temples still have the original idols intact and can be used for praying. Around the main temple complex there are sets of other temples but most of them are being restored and are currently not in a state to see from inside.
We stayed back at Prambanan to see the Ramayana Ballet in the evening. There is time gap between the temple closing and the ballet and we used the same for an early evening dinner. The ballet takes place in four parts depicted the Ramayana in the open air theater. Thus you can only see one part in an evening. Alternatively, you can see the condensed full story in an indoor auditorium but with less performers. However, the ballet at Prambanan is much better choice than the one performed daily in Yogyakarta city.
Day 4: We had a morning flight to Bali, since we had decided to skip the long drive to see Mt. Bromo. However, luck was on our side. It was an absolutely clear sky and halfway through the flight we got a clear view of Mt. Bromo from the skies. In fact, the pilot made the announcement and all scrambled to get the views out of the window. We could clearly see the huge crater and the smoke coming out of the mountains. Our hotel for stay was the Maya Ubud which is essentially a spa resort. Other great hotels to stay in Ubud are the Chedi Club, Four Seasons Sayan and the Royal Pita Maha. The Maya Ubud is especially known for its pool and spa which are accessed via a lift which takes us straight down a cliff. The Pool and Spa are set beside the river in the middle of a rain forest. The spa restaurant called Riverside Cafe has an amazing spa menu and the Spa Lunch is a must.
We spent the evening taking a nature walk in the hotel itself, conducted by a naturalist. This shows the most beautiful settings I have seen for a resort. The walk took us all around the resort by the river, including a waterfall and lovely picnic spots along the way.
Day 5: Today morning was our spa session (you need to do it everyday) after which we set off for lunch. Sari Organic is a restaurant set amidst the rice fields and the entire menu consists of organic food and mostly procured from local farmers. It is 15 minute walk through the pathways that brings you to this quirky place, which offer 360 degree views of paddy fields. We spent the rest of the afternoon viewing the various artist villages in and around Ubud. Each village is dedicated a single craft – wood carvings, stone work or paintings. One can spend hours browsing the shops here and the prices are a bargain compared to Kuta / Seminyak.
For Dinner we had booked a place called Mozaic. This is chef Chris Salan at his best and the tasting menu is one to die for. The seven course meal is extremely well presented and there is nothing to fault. Right from our welcome to the complimentary dessert, everything is perfect. Ubud being set amongst rainforests and paddy fields is full of delightful walks. We followed 2 walks, Monkey Forest walk and Campuan Ridge walk, outlined in the Lonely Planet (Ubud Chapter) and thoroughly enjoyed them.
This ended our holiday in Indonesia and the next three days were spent in the conference. All in all it was an enjoyable experience. Borobudur and Prambanan are often overlooked by travellers as they are not as famous as Angkor Wat in Cambodia. But I can vouch that they are equally magnificent and true Wonders of the World. Ubud was a pleasant surprise and showed a side of Bali which most people ignore in favour of beaches. I was glad that I took time out for these places and would definitely revisit Ubud on another trip to Bali.