A lot of people travelling to Indonesia are headed to Bali. But Indonesia comprises seventeen thousand islands and in my trip, I managed to spend a day in Jogja as well.

Jogja is a city in the island of Java, brimming with cultural heritage. It is a Muslim-dominated region. But the biggest attractions at Jogja are its humungous Buddhist and Hindu temples from as early as 9th century AD!

Sights of Jogja

Sunrise at the Borobudur Buddhist temple

When the mist lifts and the clouds part, the sun rises at Borobudur against the Buddha silhouette. And you’ll be glad you didn’t sleep that extra hour.

The little treat for rising early to visit Borobudur: an egg cake and pisang goreng.

Now, being vegetarian in South-East Asia can appear daunting. I recall my family trip to Singapore where  bread and fruits kept us going on most days. In fact, a “South East Asian street-food enthusiast” I met before this trip was quite apologetic when I asked what foods I could look out for during my trip. “It’s all about seafood”, he said.

Now, however, I know better. Being an eggetarian helps, but even otherwise, there are tons of delicious dishes to find here.  

Like this pisang goreng. A batter-fried banana with grated cheese. (Or a pazhampori with cheese)

The Sultan’s palace

Jogja is the capital of the ‘Special Region of Jogjakarta’. It is a kingdom within the Republic of Indonesia, ruled by the Sultan. And a Sultan must have a palace. 

The Sultan’s palace hosts traditional dances for visitors. Stories of Ramayana are most commonly depicted in these dance forms. Crowds throng to view the dances in the open halls on the palace grounds.

Break for lunch at Prambanan temples

Prambanan is a temple complex with a hundred massive temples. Legend says a princess, in a bid to dissuade a king who was after her, agreed to marry him if he built a hundred temples overnight. What she didn’t know was that he had an army of ghosts that he set to work through the night, leaving the princess in quite a fix!

If you do visit Prambanan after Borobudur, the sweltering heat has likely made you tired and hungry. So, when you get there, first head to this canteen where they serve you unlimited food for a nominal price. There, I had my first traditional gado-gado. Gado-gado is mixed veggies and sprouts with peanut sauce. Here, it was served with rice, crackers and steamed vegetables. The Jasmine iced tea is a good sidekick with every meal.

Street food

Back in the city, we took a stroll down Jalan (Street) Malioboro. Street food doesn’t offer much to the vegetarians. Numerous vendors sell meat satays/kebabs.

For dinner, we went out further along Malioboro street to a row of food stalls. We had some starters and light snacks. Like pisang/banana with chocolate sauce. The main course that will fill your stomach is the nasi goreng/fried rice. Quite different from the Chinese fried rice, the nasi goreng wasn’t very spicy. And interestingly, you’ll mostly never find it hot. There isn’t a lot of fuss for hot food.

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The reason we came to these roadside stalls was mainly to try the one thing they were famous for- Kopi Joss or Charcoal Coffee. Coffee with a piece of hot coal thrown in. I have no clue why they make it that way but it was an experience to be highlighted. In the picture, you see sugar at the bottom, charcoal residue and then the milk.

While that wraps up my time in Jogja, we head next to Bali!