Day 9: ONLY - CANDI CETHO - CANDI SUKUH- MALANG
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Today when the alarm rings we return to the early risers that we like so much!
The alarm sounded at 4.30 in the morning. Today we have a long journey of Only to Malang by taxi visiting Candi Cetho and Candi Sukuh, from where we have our starting point towards Bromo.
We went down to breakfast before checking out at the Hotel Novotel Solo. Here we have early breakfast, we do not know exactly what it is, since when we enter we find a buffet full of food ... yes, some things, such as sweets, do not seem to be freshly made. With that doubt we stay, but we fill our stomachs a little, because today will be a long day.
At 6 we met Ari, who will be our taxi driver today, at the door of the hotel.
The first thing we do is go to Candi Cetho. Yesterday we had already discussed with Ari the itinerary we wanted to do, but we had not talked about the time it would take us to move from one place to another.
We leave when it is day, so we see the landscape around us. The journey of Only to Malang by taxi In itself, it is a joy. We cannot go very fast, so it gives us time to see details.
If you want to visit these two temples from Yogyakarta you can book this excursion with a guide in Spanish that also includes a visit to Surakarta to visit its famous museum, in addition to its markets and palaces.
The same thing is happening to us as when we were heading to Dieng, where the trip itself became an experience.
The landscapes of Indonesia as we gain altitude they become more impressive.
After an hour we arrive at the gates of Candi Cetho.
The last leg of the road becomes more difficult because the slopes are very steep and we have to stop a couple of times to make sure we are on the right path.
When we arrive at the parking lot, we leave the car, take out the tripod from the trunk and get dumbfounded with the views in front of us.
The first thing we find is an entrance similar to those of the Balinese temples and a great slope to face, before seeing the temple completely.
We pay 20,000 rupees for entry and there we go !!
Candi Cetho Solo stop to Malang by taxi
The more we go up, the more we are amazed. It is perfect. And if we look back, we find a shocking landscape.
Gunung Lawu views.Solo stop to Malang by taxi
And to think that yesterday, seen the problems to find transportation, we had almost decided to skip the temples !!
We would have missed one of the best things about Java and by the way, one of the least visited.
After the climb, we find this wonder.Solo stop to Malang by taxi
The Candi Cetho temple is divided into terraces, we go up each of them, stopping to see the details and take pictures.
We are about 1 hour visit in Candi Cetho, without crossing any other visitors. In the guide they make the observation, that being difficult to access, receives few visitors. And this is what we appreciate most, having the great opportunity to be alone in such a place.
As we go back we find these views:
Incredible views
We went down to the parking lot and before getting on our way again, we bought a couple of bottles of water at a store next to the parking lot.
After this we set off to Candi Sukuh.
We meet again with spectacular landscapes and after about 20 minutes, we face a pyramid.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Indonesia
- 10 essential places to visit in Indonesia
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Indonesia
We have read that it is one of the most enigmatic temples of Java Island. It is dedicated to fertility and in the center is a completely carved pyramid.
Here we also pay 2000 rupees for entry and we quickly go to visit Candi Sukuh.
Candi SukuhSolo stop to Malang by taxi
We find more visitors, who give the impression of being from television or something similar, for the equipment they carry.
The temple is impressive, but the environment in which it is located is equally incredible.
We are almost an hour touring the temple grounds, forgetting during this time the long road that still awaits us until we reach Malang by taxi.
Candi Sukuh in full.Solo stop to Malang by taxi
Views from Candi Sukuh
After this last visit, we go to the parking lot in search of the taxi, we ride, to face the hardest ... 7 hours until Malang!!
The first 4 hours we do quite well, especially for the landscape that is entertaining and surprising us at the same time.
It must be said that on many occasions we are about to have some mishap, since as we have commented at the beginning of the newspaper, here they drive without fear.
About 2 o'clock, we let Ari know, to tell her that it is best to stop to eat somewhere.
It must be said that Ari speaks a little English, but not too much, so we have some problem to understand each other,
In the end, on the road we see a hotel that says there is a restaurant. So we point it out with great enthusiasm so that it does not pass by and there we go.
We tell Ari to come in to eat with us, but when he comes in and finds a restaurant that is a bit "finer," he tells us repeatedly that he can't eat in that place. We tell you that there is no problem, that we are going to invite you, but the invitation continues to decline.
So in the end we only enter and we will give you an increase in the tip for the detail you have had.
We eat nasi goreng with prawns and chicken and a plate of fried chicken, a water and a coke. All for 85,000 rupees. Not too expensive to be a hotel, but expensive for the place where it is.
Then we return to the taxi and we already have the idea of getting to Malang as soon as possible, but Ari tells us that there are still about 2 hours left. We don't want to believe it.
Luck of the landscapes that make, as I said before, that the trip itself is a tour.
The truth is that just for that, it's worth the car dash.
We arrived to Malang at 4:30 in the afternoon or so, after several laps to find the Helios Malang Hotel.
When we park at the door, we cannot believe that we have arrived. We stretch as we can and laugh at the clock. A whole record: 11 hours from Solo to Malang by taxi.
We say goodbye to Ari, thanking him and reminding him to think about it next time before saying yes to 11 hours of travel 🙂
When we check in, we find a rather weak hotel, if not bad.
The truth is that we took it because in the guide they recommend it, as do the tours that make the Bromo, but at the moment the room is very bad. Tomorrow we leave at 1 am with the tour, hopefully that is not like the room.
Tomorrow we will tell you.
For now we will rest a little before going out again and fill our stomach.
Before going to dinner, we went down to the agency where we have the tour tomorrow hired, to confirm the departure and the price.
We leave everything closed and return to the room. We are busted from the journey of Only to Malang by taxi visiting Candi Cetho and Candi Sukuh.
It is soon, so we start reading before going down to dinner, which we do not do to fall asleep.
It is clear that knowing that we have to get up at 1 am has made a dent in us.
Good evening from the Helios Malang Hotel.
Day 10MALANG - BROMO - SURABAYA
