Indonesia - First Stop, Dieng Plateau

When my friend and I came back from Semarang, Indonesia, back in 2012, we immediately planned for another exploration in the country. Coincidentally, AirAsia mega sale was on and we managed to grab two more of our coursemates to join us, this time to Yogyakarta. Flash forwards to April 2013 and the four of us were on the flight to Semarang.

Wait a minute. Didn't I say Yogyakarta? Then, why were we flying to Semarang then? As both cities are only about 3 hours apart, we decided to fly to Semarang and back from Yogyakarta. Alright, more like AirAsia decided for us as we can't find promotional prices to Yogyakarta for return flights. However, we didn't stop and explore the city (since the two of us already done that) and once we arrived, we rented a taxi in the airport to bring us to Dieng Plateau, our first stop.

We stopped by a tahu (tofu) factory for a quick snack

Fried tahu - quite delicious

It was a 4 hours journey from the Ahmad Yani Airport to Dieng Plateau and when we reached the highland, it was already 1 p.m. The ride along the way was really beautiful but since the road taken was almost the same from the one when we first when from Semarang to Magelang, I fell asleep halfway. 

When we were getting nearer to Dieng Plateau

Dieng Plateau, Wonosobo is not a major tourism destination in Indonesia and this is an advantage for us. There were barely any tourist around when we arrived Candi Arjuna Complex, the main attraction in Dieng. There are about eight Hindu temples scattered across the complex. While none of them are as grand as Prambanan, they are still quite a sight themselves.

Candi Arjuna

The entrance fee for the complex is IDR 25,000 (about RM 8) which I think is rather affordable. There are about eight small temples in Dieng Plateau and are said to be the oldest standing temples in Java. Out of these eight candis, the main one is Candi Arjuna. The names of these temples are said to be inspired after the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

Taking photo with the candi

One of the eight temples

What I really enjoyed when in Dieng Plateau was the peacefulness of the place. There were little tourists in the complex, allowing us to explore the area in a relaxing pace. The weather was also enjoyable and cooling, considering it being an upland. We saw a lot of bell-shaped flowers here in Dieng Plateau and it was really pretty. Too bad we had no idea what their name is.

That bell-shaped flowers on the left

Hydrangea

After spending about an hour exploring the complex and taking photos, we decided to head to another landmark in Dieng Plateau, Telaga Warna.

Group shot

*TO BE CONTINUED*

Sharing is caring. A word of advice and a piece of information.

We decided to hire the taxi for the whole day, with him bringing us to Manohara Hotel in Magelang at the end of the day. The whole trip costed us IDR 900,000, which was about IDR 225,000 per person (about RM 72). While you surely can't find such a rate anywhere in Malaysia, I do believe you can find a cheaper one in Indonesia. When I told how much we paid to my friend, he told me to hire a minivan instead. The rate is about IDR 250,000 for half day and it comes with driver. We just have to pay for petrol, which costs about IDR 100,000. Hence, arrange your transport to pick you up from the airport with minivan.