Borobudur Sunrise in Yogyakarta, Indonesia was the main reason and attraction of our trip to Yogyakarta. This post is about our experience and how we did the tour. Seeing the sunrise at Borobudur was magical and we were so happy that we did it.
My family made a trip to Yogyakarta/Jogjakarta during a mid-term break this year. My husband was finally able to take some time off from work during our children’s mid-term break. We debated whether we should go to Bali or Yogyakarta. I had never been to Yogyakarta and after having talked to some friends, I came to a conclusion that I needed to see Yogyakarta before leaving Indonesia. So we did. We got on a plane and went to Yogyakarta and saw Borobudur!
学期の中間休みに、ジョグジャカルタへ家族で行ってきました。夫もやっと子供の学期の休みに仕事の休みを取ってくれました。バリに行くかジョグジャカルタへ行くか迷ったのですが、色々な友人に相談してみた結果、インドネシア離任前にジョグジャカルタを見ておいた方が良いという結論に達しました。それなので、飛行機に乗ってジョグジャへ行き、憧れのボロブドゥールを見てきました!
We got to Borobudur around 4:50 A.M. in the morning and it was still dark.
午前4:50頃ボロブドゥールに到着。まだ暗かったです。
I had my baby son in my Ergobaby Carrier and climbed the steps. It was actually easier than people have told me. The kids, 8, 6, and 5 years of age, had no problem going up to the top.
赤ちゃんである息子を、エルゴベビーの抱っこひもの中に入れ、ボロブドゥールの階段を登りました。聞いていたよりも楽でした。8歳、6歳、4歳になる子供達も、難無く上まで階段を上がって行きました。
Hungry Stomach
Sleepy Eyes
I was thrilled that we made a trip to Yogyakarta and saw Borobudur. Now I can say that I saw Borobudur!! I loved seeing the sun rise at Borobudur, which I have seen so many pictures on many blogs in the past 2 and a half years which made me long for it even more.
ジョグジャへ行って、ボロブドゥールを自分の目で見れた事は感動でした。ボロブドゥールに行って来たよ!ってもう人に言えます〜。過去2年半の間、ブログなどインターネット上で見て来たボロブドゥールの日の出写真。実際自分の目で見る夜明けのボロブドゥールは、幻想的で素敵でした。
Many of the photos you see on blogs and internet probably don’t show what it was like to be at the top of Borobudur because people look for angles or a spot where they can avoid having tourists to be in their photos. When we were at the top of the Borobudur site, it looked like this below.
ブログやインターネット上に載っているボロブドゥールの写真の多くからは、実際ボロブドゥールに居るとどんな感じかが分からないのではと思います。というのは、皆さん観光客が写真に入らないアングルやスポットを見つけては写真を撮影しているからなのです。ところが実際ボロブドゥールへ行くと、下の写真のような感じ。
Steep Steps
The steps were pretty steep and each step was tall, so it is not easy for elderly and little people to go down.
We went down the exit that leads to the Manohara Hotel (#4 Dark Blue on the map below) because we did a Borobudur Sunrise Tour through Manohara Hotel. If you do a regular tour entering from the regular Borobudur Office (#4 Light Blue on the map), I imagine that you will probably have a different exit. I heard from my friends that there are a few different exits and one of them is out to a long walk with souvenir shops. If you want to shop, that’s fine, but if you’re tired after the tour and want to go out, I hear that it could be tiring. They said that people guide you to go to this one exit that leads you to the market, but there is another exit and you do not have to go through the shopping. You might want to check before you go to Borobudur.
私たちはマノハラ・ホテル(下の地図上では濃い青の4番)を通じてボロブドゥールの日の出ツアーを行ったため、マノハラ・ホテルへ行く方面の出口を利用しました。通常の入り口(薄い青の4番)から入場した場合、多分他の出口があるのだと思います。友人曰く、出口がいくつかあり、人が誘導する方はお土産屋さんの並ぶマーケットがある道でまるで迷路の様で疲れるとのこと。買い物をされたい方には丁度良いかもしれません。もしすぐに出たい場合は、他の出口があるとの事です。行く前に調べておくのも手かもしれません。
I turned back to look at Borobudur again after we had descended. What an amazing place…
ボロブドゥールを出て下った後、もう一度ボロブドゥールを拝みたいと振り向いてみました。素敵でした〜。
via Wikitravel
We did a Borobudur Sunrise Tour. Thus, we went to Manohara Hotel (#4 on the map), hotel only 5-minute walk from Saraswati Borobudur Hotel (#8 on the map) which is where we stayed. We were instructed by the receptionist at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel to go to Manohara Hotel for the tour, and we paid IDR 250,000 (about US$25) with our KITAS, a foreign residency permit. The admission fee for the Borobudur Sunrise Tour for a foreign visitor who does not reside in Indonesia is IDR 380,000. With this ticket, you get a flash light, an escort to the bottom of the steps and a light snack with coffee or tea after the tour at the Hotel breakfast area.
I thought that it was quite pricy and I found out later that it was much cheaper to go to Borobudur during the regular hours which is from 6:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. The whole reason why we stayed at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel was so that we could see the sunrise at Borobudur with our young children, so it didn’t even cross my mind to check what the cost would be or if there are different charges for different times. It was, however, well worth the money and efforts to do the Borobudur Sunrise Tour and I do recommend it. If you want to do the Sunrise Tour, I recommend you stay near Borobudur. We stayed at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel and were happy with our accommodation. Do I recommend you to stay at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel? Sure. I don’t know other hotels, but we liked it. It was also recommended by a few expat friends to stay there.
From 6:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., the Borobudur regular tour opens to public. For more information, I recommend checking Wikitravel sight.
私たちはボロブドゥールの日の出ツアーをしました。それなので、サラスワティ・ボロブドゥール・ホテル(地図⑧)から徒歩5分程の距離にあるマノハラ・ホテル(地図④)まで歩いて行きました。サラスワティ・ボロブドゥール・ホテルの受付の方に言われた通り、マノハラ・ホテルへ行き、KITAS(外国人在留許可証)を見せ、250,000ルピアを日の出ツアーの入場料として払いました。インドネシアに在住ではない外国人観光客であると、380,000ルピアであるそうです。(2013年現在)このチケットを購入すると、懐中電灯、ボロブドゥールの下までのエスコート、そしてツアー後に、簡単なスナックとコーヒーまたは紅茶が頂けます。
値段がとても高いなと感じました。また通常の開園時間である午前6時以降に行くと、値段が全然安いことを後になって知りました。でもサラスワティ・ボロブドゥール・ホテルに泊まった理由は、ボロブドゥールから徒歩で行けるホテルであるため、朝早くても子供達も連れてボロブドゥールの日の出を見にに行けると思ったので、ボロブドゥールへ行く入場料の値段に違いがあるかなどを調べようとも思っていませんでした。振り返ってみて、お金を出しても日の出ツアーをやって良かった、と思います。またボロブドゥールで日の出を見たい方は、ボロブドゥールの近くに滞在する事をお勧めします。私たちはサラスワティ・ボロブドゥール・ホテルに宿泊し、良かったと感じました。お勧めかと訊かれたら、お勧めと答えますね。
午前6時から午後5時までは、ボロブドゥールの開園時間となります。詳しくは、こちらをご参照ください。
I enjoyed our whole trip in Yogyakarta even though I started to feel sick a day before we returned to Jakarta. We were staying at Hyatt at that time and thanks to the hotel, I actually had a great time even though I wasn’t feeling well. On the day we flew back to Jakarta, I felt even worse. Apparently I had a stomach virus. It was very challenging for me to go to the airport, get on the airplane and come back. I wasn’t sure if I could make it, but thanks to my friends and family’s support, I did. Thank you!! What a relief! Thus I did not blog for a quite a while because I was on vacation and then had been sick in bed. I’m better now.
My 2 Cents
We stayed at two different hotels during our 5-day trip in Jogja. We first stayed at Saraswati Borobudur Hotel, which is located literally 1 minute walk from the gate to Borobudur, for the first 2 nights and then we moved to Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta for the last 2 nights. We were happy about the way we scheduled our stay and I recommend both hotels for people who want to visit Jogja, but for different reasons. I will write posts about both Saraswati Borobudur Hotel and Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta next.
ジョグジャでの旅行は全て楽しかったのですが、実は最後の方で体調を崩しました。帰る前の日に既に調子がおかしかったのですが、ジャカルタへ戻る日が一番辛かったです。どうやらウィールス性の腹痛にみまわれたようです。飛行場へ行き、飛行機に乗って、タクシーで戻るのがしんどかったのですが、夫と友人たちが手伝ってくれてなんとか戻ってきました。戻って来て、ほっとしました。旅行、そして体調を崩していたという理由がもとで、しばらくブログからはご無沙汰していたのですが、お陰さまでやっと体調も戻ってきました。
私のお薦め
ジョグジャ滞在中、私たちは2箇所のホテルに宿泊しました。最初の2日間は、ボロブドゥールの門から歩いて5分のサラスワティ・ボロブドゥール・ホテルに、そして残りの2日間はハイヤット・リージェンシーで泊まりました。宿泊を分けて正解でしたし、これからジョグジャへ行かれる方に両方のホテルを、違った理由でお勧めします。ホテル・サラスワティ・ボロブドゥールとハイヤット・リージェンシー・ジョグジャカルタに関しては、後ほど掲載したいと思います。
Julia says
Love the photos and post Kaho! I’m glad you are feeling better now.
Kaho says
Thank you for leaving me a comment!
Ana Gaby says
Hi! Gorgeous pics Kaho! We didn’t do the sunrise tour but now I kind of feel like doing it! It is just amazing!
Kaho says
It was serene, peaceful and reflective. Kids loved it, too. I highly recommend it! Thank you!!!
chilliandmint says
Looks a fabulous little trip. Nightmare being ill when travelling. We are in Hoi An at the moment and my 3 year old was very ill, but thankfully she is also better now thanks to the hotel doctor.
Kaho says
I’m sorry that your little one was ill in Hoi An… We loved Hoi An when we visited the city two years ago. I hope you’re enjoying your stay!!
Annon says
I can see that your second child has grown a little! You and your friend have beautiful children and your son is looking more and more adorable. The pics of them made me smile with admiration hehe…so cute
Kaho says
Thank you for your sweet comment! Kids grow so fast. I love my son, but it’s hard to keep up with him!
Ike says
wow!! The best way to enjoy Borobudur is at the sunrise. So peaceful and perfect!! While during the day, the sun is so hot. And too many tourist around. My husband is originally from this town. And we still do Borobudur sunrise trip, once in a while. I am glad you enjoyed it. And the photos are nice.
Kaho says
Thanks, Ike! It was not hot at all and comfortable. I heard that it would be very hot during the day, so I was glad we did it in the morning when it was cool especially we did it with a year old baby. He fell asleep for like an hour in my baby carrier, so he was quiet. It was great! I loved Yogyakarta and wish I had more time to see the city…
Shoko says
unreal! so incredibly beautiful!
Kaho says
Shoko, thank you!! It was gorgeous!!
hajime says
hi there…what a lovely collection of pictures. i’m so thrilled to go backpacking there and visit Borubudur! great and thanks for the detail of your journey.
Kaho says
You’re welcome! Good luck with your trip! I think you’ll enjoy the beauty of Borobudur!