Wednesday, 19th Feb 2020, drizzling afternoon!!
Thankfully the rain subsided just after we had our lunch! ♡＼(￣▽￣)／♡
We were not planning to stay late today, because we had so many walks and we had to catch a train back to our hometown tomorrow at 7AM. So we did the afternoon Wednesday in slower pace.
But before that, here’s a picture of me enjoying my chewy-vanilla toast I loved it SO much! I had the same toast for 2 nights in a row!! (/▽＼*)｡o○♡
Wednesday, 19th Feb 2020, very hot morning!!
After having a gloomy day on Tuesday, we got a suuuuper hot day this morning! And with that, we can follow our itinerary as planned! ヽ( ⌒o⌒)人(⌒-⌒ )ﾉ
We were still twinning out with our hats. And yes that was the batik I bought yesterday! ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡
We had about 12 stops today, so I have to separate them into 2 parts, like yesterday. Cyn agreed with the route I proposed. Our first stop was Taman Sari Water Castle. We called grab to pick us up before 9 in the morning.
Located near the Keraton, this place was also known as the garden for the Sultan of Yogyakarta. Tamansari was originally built for multiple purposes yet now only several buildings remain. Some of its original functions were a place to rest, to meditate, to work, to hide and to defend the Sultan’s family.
Taman Sari Water Castle ꦠꦩꦤ꧀ ꦱꦫꦶ
Address: Wisata Taman Sari Jalan Tamanan, Patehan, Kecamatan Kraton, Kota Yogyakarta
Phone No.:
Opening time: 6AM to 3PM
Entrance fee: IDR 5,000 (for local) IDR 15,000 (for international)
Tuesday afternoon, 18th Feb 2020, cloudy and rainy.
We are now heading to Prambanan Temple, which is about 1 hour away from the previous castle. Same as the previous temple we visited, I’m sure there are price difference between local tourists and international tourist. We did buy the combined ticket back in the first temple. So here me and Cyn just walked our way through the non-queuing ticket counter. Yes, the temple wasn’t so busy, probably because we visited during daytime and was not in any holiday. There were few students having a study tour, a group of Korean tourists, two Japanese ladies and us. (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
Did you know, this temple is the largest Hindu temple of ancient Java, and the first building was completed in the mid-9th century. It was likely started by Rakai Pikatan as the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty’s answer to the Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty’s Borobudur and Sewu temples nearby. Historians suggest that the construction of Prambanan probably was meant to mark the return of the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty to power in Central Java after almost a century of Buddhist Sailendra Dynasty domination. ヽ(・ω・)ﾉ
Candi Prambanan ꦕꦤ꧀ꦝꦶꦥꦿꦩ꧀ꦧꦤꦤ꧀
Address: Jl. Raya Solo – Yogyakarta No.16, Kranggan, Bokoharjo, Kec. Prambanan, Kabupaten Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta
Phone No.: +62 274 496401
Opening time: 6AM to 5PM
Entrance fee: IDR 40,000 (for local tourist, adult!)
Culture: Hinduism
Tuesday morning, 18th Feb 2020, sunny.
Our driver picked us up from our hotel and drove for about an hour to Borobudur Temple. We arrived at the parking lot at 8AM, and cheerfully headed to the temple. We walked slowly, found some photo spot and took our time to get to the temple. ＼(＾∀＾)メ(＾∀＾)ノ
We were lucky the temple was not crowded when we arrived. There were maybe less than 20 tourist including one Japanese group, less than 5 worshippers, and us.
FYI, 1 adult ticket is IDR 40,000. But if you buy combined ticket (Borobudur + Prambanan) or (Borobudur + Ratu Boko) it will cost you IDR 75,000 – cheaper! We bought the first combined ticket because we know we don’t have enough time to visit Ratu Boko anyway, so we gave it a miss.
Candi Borobudur ꦕꦤ꧀ꦣꦶꦧꦫꦧꦸꦣꦸꦂ
Address: Jl. Badrawati, Kw. Candi Borobudur, Borobudur, Kec. Borobudur, Magelang
Phone No.: +62 293 788266
Opening time: 6AM to 5PM
Entrance fee: IDR 40,000 (for local tourist, adult!)
Culture: Buddhism
…… I had extra 5 weeks off after I left my previous job in mid Jan, and before my new job started in March. I initially just wanted to have one week back to my hometown to check out my parents then head back to Singapore to be a homebound tourist (everything is expensive in Singapore especially if you’re jobless!). But thanks to the virus I was stuck in my home land for more than 4 weeks! (⇀‸↼‶)
What did I do during my holiday? Oh I really wished I could hopped on to trans-siberian train for a week or two, stayed for another two weeks in Москва and St. Petersburg, learned Cyrillic Alphabet, but instead I was too afraid of being in an airport with strangers I wouldn’t know where they’re coming from – or maybe I’m just getting old and those non-sense anxiety started to hit my reality?
But really. What did I do during my holiday! I learned to cook few Indonesian and Thai dishes, chocolate pound cake and a failed loaf, hung out with a handful of friends (I’m quite picky in choosing friendship because not all deserves my time and attention – no I’m not gonna describe it any longer here), went shopping with my parents, watched Japanese tv series, and last but took most of my time was playing The Sims and blogged about it. (*¯︶¯*)
So that Thursday afternoon, I had this impromptu thoughts of getting out from my hometown and explore another city, like Yogyakarta, for example. And luckily I had a friend who said yes to that! ヽ(≧◡≦)八(o^ ^o)ノ
🎵🎵🎵
This is based on the best early account of the story sourced from Sir George Grey’s ‘Polynesian Mythology’, first published in 1855.
Hinemoa was the daughter of a great chief who lived at Owhata, on the shore of Lake Rotorua. She was very beautiful, and because of her beauty and her high rank, many young men desired her as a wife. One of these was Tutanekai, but he knew that though he was of good birth, his rank was not high enough for Hinemoa’s father to accept him as his daughter’s suitor.
So for a long time Tutanekai hid his love. He saw Hinemoa only when there were great meetings of the tribe, for his home was far across the water, at Mokoia Island in the middle of the lake.
When the people gathered together he would content himself with gazing at Hinemoa from a distance, and yet it seemed to him that sometimes she would return his looks. But he thought to himself, ‘There are many other young men more worthy than I of winning Hinemoa’s heart. If I approach her to declare my love, perhaps she will be displeased.’ Read more
Saturday, 17 Aug ’19,
Today we had to catch the afternoon flight. We had ample time to enjoy our breakfast in the hotel before we headed to the bus stop. (*・∀・)爻(・∀・*)
We booked SkyBus bus to transfer us from Auckland city center to airport which cost us S$18 per person. To help my readers, please see here to find SkyBus time table; https://www.skybus.co.nz/auckland-city-express/timetable
And see here to find where you can hop on the bus and alighted; https://www.skybus.co.nz/find-your-stop
SkyBus ticket is an open ticket, it can be used anytime before the expiry date – 3 months after you bought the tickets. This bus is very convenient especially if your itinerary keep on changing and suddenly you decided to try the local train to (or from) the airport. ☆⌒(≧▽° )
Here are some of the leftover pics I have on my phone and please respect the proprietary. (*_ _)人
Rotorua Museum Government Garden Tours Read more Friday, 16 Aug ’19,
By 6:20AM we already sat outside the i-Site Rotorua, waiting for our shuttle to go Hobbiton, GlowWorm and Ruakuri Caves, then transfer back to Auckland with our big luggages. ٩(ˊ〇ˋ*)و
We took this activity 2 Caves & Hobbiton END AUCKLAND from VIATOR and cost us more than S$334 per person. We thought this was a good offer since we don’t need to worry about our transfer back to Auckland and additional cost if we took bus or train.
Our first stop was Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata. It took us about 1 hour to travel from Rotorua city center to Matamata.
Thursday, 15 Aug ’19,
Finally a sunny day!!!
We decided to wake up late this morning and missed our mud pick up at 8:50AM. We desperately needed our beauty sleeps many days with long walks. And also we needed to wake up early morning tomorrow and the day after tomz. (￣▽￣)
On this beautiful sunny day we walked around the city and checked out Rotorua Lake.
Rotorua Lake is the second largest lake in the North Island of New Zealand by surface area, and covers 79.8 km2. The lake was formed from the crater of a large volcano in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Its last major eruption was about 240,000 years ago. After the eruption, the magma chamber underneath the volcano collapsed. The circular depression left behind is the Rotorua Caldera, which is the site of the lake.
Wednesday, 14 Aug ’19, drizzling in the morning
Today we are going to 2 different farms. We booked both tickets from KLOOK; Rainbow Springs Nature Park including Kiwi Encounter (cost us S$52 per person) and Agrodome Farm Show and Tour Combo (cost us S$36 per person).
As recommended online, it is better to come to the Rainbow Park early in the morning (they open at 9AM) and quietly watch the Kiwi bird before the crowd comes. So off we go to to the Park from i-SITE via bus #1 and only took about 10 minutes to go there. ╰(*´︶`*)╯
