Foreign, foreign, foreign. I have heard some locals say that if you haven’t been to Jakarta, you haven’t been to Indonesia. This is definitely one of the most special regions of the country, not only because there are some of the most famous UNESCO world heritage site temples just outside of the city, but also because it is the heart and soul of Javanese arts and culture. Yogja, as the locals call it, is definitely a great mix of both modern and traditional Japanese culture, so I’m really excited to show you guys the area. But before we get into that, there is something very special that I’ve been meaning to try that I’ve never seen before, and as a coffee lover, I feel like it’s an absolute must.
Alright, guys, so this is definitely unique. It’s called Kopi Joss. This isn’t the only place in the city that serves it, but I heard this place has really good reviews. Basically, it’s charcoal coffee. Like an actual chunk of charcoal goes in the coffee, and it’s supposed to really make the taste even better. I don’t know what to expect, a little bit… Alright, so it’s hard to touch the glass because it’s obviously super hot, so I’m using my mask. Let’s give this a first taste. I’m a little scared… Oh no, that’s fine. I was expecting something really… Well, I don’t know what I was expecting. I’ve never had charcoal and coffee, but that’s actually pretty good. It’s like a very smooth and slightly sweet coffee because they said they were going to put a little bit of sugar in there. Slightly sweet coffee, but smooth. I don’t know what it would be like without the charcoal, but as is, very nice.
Now, I do have to tell you guys that it’s not just charcoal coffee that they have here in JoJo. There’s a lot of awesome local coffee shops that have really good coffee from all different parts of Indonesia. And if you’re a big coffee lover like me that likes to try different coffees from all around the world, I would definitely recommend checking out the sponsor of today’s video, which is Atlas Coffee Club.
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So, this is the main drag of the city, guys. This is called Malioborough, and it is this long street that stretches all the way from the train station at that end all the way down to the Sultan’s Palace, which is one of the main attractions of the city. Personally, I would recommend staying somewhere close to the street just because then you’re centrally located to get to a lot of different places and also have lots of shops, restaurants all around you. But to be fair, this street actually doesn’t come alive until evening, where a lot of street food vendors set up and everybody’s coming out after work. So I think after our day of exploration, we can come back here, and I’ll show you guys the sights.
Today is a very exciting day where I hired a private driver off of Airbnb experiences, actually, to take me around to all the different temples that are near and do a private sort of tour because a lot of them are like a 30-40 minute drive away from the center of the city, and there’s not really any public transit to these places as far as I’m aware of. But one thing that I didn’t anticipate, I just went through security there, I didn’t… I guess I didn’t bother to check, but the prices to actually get into the temples are pretty high. But I am very excited to be here today, and I’m going to be starting with the famous Buddhist temple, which is called Borobudur.
It is absolutely stunning. I mean, it was expected, but when you actually get here in real life, it does take on a whole different meaning. The only thing that’s a little disappointing but understandable is the fact that they actually aren’t letting people go to the top of the temple anymore. I think it was before the pandemic they were allowing people, but with all of that happening and with the fact that it’s a thousand-year-old temple, I think actually a 2,000-year-old temple, so it’s understandable why they don’t want people climbing all over it. So now you’re only able to go around the perimeter of it.
This is definitely the most unique church that I have ever seen in my life. My guide Ari calls it the chicken church because even though it’s supposed to be a dove and like, you know, doves are symbols of Christianity, I agree it does look more like a chicken. So this is a unique tourist attraction here in the area. I think you’re able to go inside. I guess we’ll find out, but it’s actually supposed to be a place where people from all cultures can come to pray. So come to church, my friends.
Alright, guys, this was wild. We just climbed to the top of the dove’s head, and the view is ridiculous from here. I can see why they chose this location. It is beautiful.
Sorry, what is this called again? Yeah, okay, yeah, snakeskin fruit. It definitely does look like that. I’ve never seen anything like that. Perfect. Wow, that’s so cool.
Okay, guys, first impression, snakeskin fruit. It’s really nice, and there’s like a pit inside as well. Very unique, worth trying. Wow, so this is what the trees look like. It’s almost like a cactus, and so the fruit just grows out of the branch. Oh, there it is. Wow, that’s a good patch. Oh, wow, that is so cool. That is a first for me. I feel like I know quite a few unique exotic fruits, but this is something else.
Oh no, guys, last stop of the day, and it’s starting to rain. We are here at Prambanan Temple. It looks amazing. It’s the most famous Hindu temple in the area, but yeah, I’m really hoping it doesn’t just all of a sudden start pouring rain. It actually might. Oh no, I have to take cover.
Yeah, this is definitely the highlight of Yogyakarta for me, guys. This temple is out of this world beautiful. Borobudur was also amazing, but because you can’t really go to the top, you can’t really get up close and personal and really see all the intricate details. So I definitely would recommend going to both, but this one was my personal favorite.
Thank you, guys. This brings us to the end of today’s video. I hope you found it helpful and it gave you some ideas of things to do in Yogyakarta. Let me know in the comments if you have ever been here before and if you have any suggestions. And as always, I’m sending you guys so much love. Hope you’re having a fantastic day and keep being your own kind of beautiful. Bye, guys.