Live in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

twas the excitement,
I shall be back to Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 

Out of all places that I have been so far, Yogyakarta remains the most memorable one;

The first scam, missing the train, the run to the train station, the old lady,the trishaw ride the stranger turned friend and most importantly my sister was with me all the way. 

This is lesehan or Angkrigan where you can eat for RM 1.60 ( 50 cent)

Yogyakarta, Indonesia offers more than just Borobudur and Prambanan Temple. The kind-hearted friendly people, the scrumptious Angkrigan and Lesehan (street stalls) food, the TransJogja and the amazing view of Mt Merapi made it a special city on its own on the vast lands of Indonesia. My memories carved a sign that says " I MUST COME BACK".

my favourite "7-11" in Indonesia, the Alfa Mart!

And so I planned for a comeback, initially thinking of Bali all thanks to Elizabeth Gilbert and her Eat, Pray, Love novel. But as I sat down and talked to my Indonesian friends and reliving the memories I had while I was in Yogyakarta, it sounds like a better plan.

So yeah, am moving to Yogyakarta, Indonesia for 2 months. Well, I want to write my book and publish it first in Indonesia but you know me, I will definitely backpack in Java! So many great things to discover in Indonesia and I am already excited! 

Now I have to think about my KITAS Visa or Social Visa in order to stay more than 30 days in Indonesia. Well, Malaysian only gets 30 days VOA for free. Plus these  visas require an invite letter from a person living in Indonesia who has a KTP (sort of identification card). It is a little bit hassle but I got friends who are willing to help. So fuhhh, glad about that! :D

Malaysians will get this, hence why I should learn Indo fast! hahhaa

In term of housing, I found that it is cheap to rent a KOST ( shared housing area) which will cost me around RM 400 (USD 150) to RM 600 (USD 200) for a sort-of studio house. Equipped with all the necessities such as internet, TV with cable and laundry.

Well,  we'll see how it goes. Till then, keep on traveling peeps! :D

Indonesia: Fly with KLM to Jakarta.

So, here is the beginning of my adventure in Indonesia. Where I traveled the Land of Java for 8 days from Jakarta to Jogjakarta and then to Bandung before flying home. Well,  this time around, I didn't go backpacking alone, I have my "sister" tagging along. Wait till you hear the story how we got separated in Jogjakarta for few hours with no means of communication, I almost wanted to call the embassy! 

When we wanted to book our tickets to Indonesia, we were considering taking AirAsia but after researching, we discovered that it was cheaper to fly with KLM for the dates we selected. And this being the first time for me to actually travel on KLM, I jumped on the opportunity! I only paid RM 445 ( USD 145) for return tickets on a international full-service flight! 

The flight was a transit flight for the Amsterdam-Jakarta route, serving 1 flight a day for Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta route. The departure time was 4.20pm and we arrived slightly earlier then 5.20pm (Indonesian time). It was something exciting for me as it was my very first full-service (not low cost airline) flight.

Here comes the Big Blue Bird! I was super excited while waiting for boarding! 

Boarding was fast and easy. We actually book for seats behind the galley for the extra legroom but when we checked in we were given different seats.  No harm done, we were happy with those seats as we were seated at double seats. 

Legroom was fine for a plus-size guy like me. And we were seated at the wing area, which has one of the nicest view from the airplane! Plus, I enjoyed the IFE on this flight as they had some American dramas that I've been wanting to watch! Seat configuration on this flight was 3-4-3 and mind you, I have never flown on a big airplane before! So,this is relatively new experience for me.  

Food were served 30 minutes after take-off. And no worries, food on KLM flight to and for Jakarta is Halal, eat your heart out! I was served some Vermicelli Thai Salad for appetizer, Nyonya Curry Chicken with Rice and some Cream Pudding for dessert. All food served was by Christang and KLM partnership. 

The food were delicious and having to eat it at 29,000ft was just amazing! Cheers to the journey and adventure with my Orange Juice! Two thumbs up KLM!

We landed safely though I was surprised that it was raining heavily and 6pm in Jakarta looks like 8pm in Malaysia. Immigration was breeze in Bandara Soekarno Hatta Airport and within minutes we were already running for our bags and Damri bus for our next adventure! 

More stories on Backpacking in Indonesia soon! Till then...keep on traveling peeps!