Treasures in Jogjakarta: Prambanan

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Aaron in Aaron's Blog | Comments Off

Pranbanan, along with Borobudur, is one of the wonders around Jogjakarta, Indonesia, and draws in thousands of tourists each year. This UNESCO World Heritage site lies 18 km outside of the center of Jogjakarta and easily reached either by renting a motorbike (about US$5 for the day), or, more easily, by joining a tour or hiring a car and driver for the day (US$45 for the car & driver).

Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia and one of the largest in all of Asia. It was originally built around 850 CE, but was then abandoned less than 100 years later when the group of people responsible for the construction moved further to the east part of Java. Standing on the grounds, it’s amazing to think that after completing such a monumental task, that the people would just up and leave. It would be like building the pyramids only to grind them down a few years later when you need sand for the sand traps on your golf course. Of course, one of the possible reasons for the migration was the eruption of a nearby volcano, and since this temple predates lava insurance, it is somewhat more understandable. Additionally, a large part of the temple was destroyed later in an earthquake in the 1700s. Since then, a large amount of restoration work has gone into recompleting the temple.

Found in Indonesia: The New Chick in Town

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Aaron in Aaron's Blog | Comments Off

I can only assume that the presence of this CFC restaurant means that California has finally decided to challenge Kentucky for the crown of best fried chicken.

Found in Jogjakarta: The Instant Karaoke Box

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Aaron in Aaron's Blog | Comments Off

This gives me great hope for the future. While I was in Japan, I made sure to never take the abundance of private Karaoke rooms for granted, because you never know when that sweet, sweet bastion of shitty singing will be wisked away from you. However, with the advent of the instant Karaoke box, Karaoke could be shipped anywhere. Imagine being able to airlift these anywhere around the globe where they’re needed most. Sure, a hurricane may have just destroyed your house, but at least you can still sing “Don’t Stop Believing” until the goverment gets around to providing you a place to stay.

Treasures in Jogjakarta: Borobudur

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Aaron in Aaron's Blog | 1 Comment

Yogyakarta, pronounced and often written as Jogjakarta, is a city of about 400,000 on the large Indonesian island of Java (the same as Jakarta). When it comes to World Heritage sites, Jogjakarta is well endowed. It boasts the largest Buddhist temple in the world in Borobudur as well as one of the largest Hindu temples, Prambanan. Both temples are about an hour drive from the center of the city, though in slightly different directions. There are many tours offered that hit up both temples, as well as a few minor temples, in one day. Find out about the majesty of Borobudur below and then check out Prambanan in our upcoming post.

Borobudur

Borobudur is a place that I had wanted to go for quite a long time. It just seemed a place steeped in mystery and culture, as well as being a place where it seemed impossible to take a bad picture (not actually the case). This being the case, we decided to do a sunrise tour in order to take the most advantage of the light. However, it is worth noting that during the time of year we visited (January), the temple does not actually open until after sunrise and the only way to get into the temple for actual sunrise is to stay at the one hotel located on the temple grounds. Otherwise, the common tour path is to see sunrise from a hill overlooking the temple and then go down to the temple itself. Read more

Food in Bali: Mojo’s Burritos

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Aaron in Aaron's Blog | Comments Off

When you think of food in Indonesia, Mexican is probably not the first thing that comes to mind, but if you’ve been in town for a while and the thought of another Nasi Goreng has your stomach doing flips, I would highly recommend Mojo’s Flying Burritos. The original store is in Ubud, not far from the central market, but there are other shops now open in Kuta and Seminyak. In addition to dine-in, Mojo’s also provides delivery service for those moments where you just want to sit and watch the sunset from your hotel with a delicious burrito in your hand.

In addition to the requisite burritos, they also offer a fantastic enchilada, which instantly became our favorite and is not to be missed if you make it to Mojo’s.