Where to go to have all kinds of fun :
Yogyakarta.
Jellyfish season, nasi kucing, temples and statues, Nyi Roro Kidul.
Two of my best buds and I went to Yogyakarta last year, leaving on the Pramex train from Balapan Solo station, with more friends who were also going to Yogya. We decided to go sightseeing together in Yogya, starting with Yogyakarta Palace and Taman Sari Park, the beautiful water garden complex belonging to the Sultan of Yogyarta (Yogyakarta's King). Unfortunately, since it was Friday, the Palace was closed, so we went straight to Taman Sari Park where a guide took us on a tour.
The next stop was the Parangtritis beach. It is said that you shouldn't go to the beach wearing green clothes because the mythical queen of the Southern Seas, Nyi Roro Kidul, will take you to her realm by drowning you if you're reckless enough to wear her color. There was a lady in green at the time and we watched her to see if the myth was true.. Since she didn't seem to come to any harm, we began to laugh at the myth, until one of my friends found out that he had lost his watch, which was green!
The beach was beautiful and the weather perfect, not too hot nor too cold with enough of wind and waves. It was jellyfish season by the beach and we could see transparent, squishy domes of jellyfish in green, white and pink. Luckily we had been warned that jellyfish sting could knock us out, otherwise I would have scooped up the pink jellyfish just because I love the color! The sunset was not really spectacular since the beach opens to the south, but I had fun riding a pony up and down the beach.
Afterward we had nasi kucing for dinner. This dish, served on banana leaves, consists of a very small portion of rice and kering tempe, which costs Rp700. In addition we could choose eggs or satay usus for only Rp500 and various fried food items for a mere Rp150 each. A huge glass of sweetened hot tea cost us Rp800.
The next day we went to visit Prambanan Temple complex. The three main temples in the complex house the three most important Gods, Brahma, Wisnu and Siwa. The smaller temple accommodate the statues of other gods like Ganesha, as well as the rides of the gods. like Nandi the bull, the steed of Brahma. While we were taking pictures in Prambanan, a couple of foreign tourists asked to take pictures with us.
