Central & East Java Trip - Day 2

Day 2 marks our "disaster" day. A few of us suffered from motion sickness (and that went on for days), while there was a big problem with time control which caused us to rush through our last major destination of the day, Borobudur.
--Breakfast @ Rumah Palagan--
This was the place where we had our breakfast. There were coffee & tea, bread, and some asian food for us to choose.
The garden behind the dining area.
--1st Stop: Dieng Plateau, Arjuna Complex--
I think this was the start where some of my tour mates suffered from motion sickness. The journey from our GH to Dieng was about 4 hours. I've experienced longer travelling time on mountainous roads, but the 4 hrs to Dieng seemed tougher somehow. I guessed one reason was the vehicle, while the 2nd reason was some of us were not feeling well in the 1st place.
On the way to Dieng. It's interesting to know that Indonesian farmers really fully utilised the mountains. Not sure if that's a good sign though.
Lots of beautiful sceneries along the way, but the van was just too bumpy for me to take decent pics. Managed to take this~

We finally reached Dieng, but did not expect the weather to be so cold! I did not bring my winter jacket along~ According to Lonely Planet, Dieng is about 2093 m above sea level.
Dieng Plateau is a marshy plateau that forms the floor of a caldera complex on the Dieng active volcano complex.It is the site for eight small Hindu temples from the 7th and 8th centuries, the oldest Hindu temples in Central Java, and the first known standing stone structures in Java. They are originally thought to have numbered 400 but only 8 remained. The Dieng structures were small and relatively plain, but stone architecture developed substantially in only a matter of decades resulting in masterpieces such as the Prambanan complex and Borobudur. Its mists, poisonous effusions and sulphur-coloured lakes make it a particularly auspicious place for religious tribute. The temples are small shrines built as monuments to the god-ancestors and dedicated to Shiva, rather than acting as a convenience to man. (Credits: Wikipedia)
Side view of a Candi.
One of the remaining Candis.
--2nd Stop: Dieng Plateau, Kawah Sikidang--
While walking towards the crater, the whole place was filled with pungent Sulphur odour.
Need to be very careful while walking towards the crater.
Walking up~
It's hard to take a gd shot of the bubbling mud ponds, as there were too much steaming vents.
The locals sell lots of potatoes in various sizes. They loved to eat Kentang Goreng (equivalent to French Fries).
Spotted a few trucks carrying n number of local tourists. Pretty amazing huh?
--3rd Stop: Dieng Plateau, Telaga Warna--
Entrance.
You might think this is somewhere in China. Haha! Simply beautiful~ The lake has turquoise hues from the bubbling sulphur deposits ard its shores. I spotted 3 turquoise hues in the lake. Plus, the whole lake was covered with mist.....super lovely!
--4th Stop: Lunch @ Asia Restaurant--
We had our super late lunch at Wonosobo. We had problems explaining what's vegetarian to our guide Anjar and the restaurant waiters. Even after listing out everything, they might still get the wrong order. Even for those who are eating meat, orders cld be still wrong too. A big problem travelling in Indonesia is many front liners do not understand English. Many misunderstandings wld occur, and that will eventually lead to unhappiness during the trip.
By now, we already knew our time was very tight, as the distance from Wonosobo to Borobudur was quite far. Anjar failed to control the time spent on Dieng and it was about 3pm when we were told that Borobudur's closing time was at 4.45pm! What's worse? We need 1.5 hrs to reach there. I was thinking abt the worse come to worst back up plan if we fail to make it to Borobudur while our driver chiong his way there. He sped at 100 over km/h and his driving was really dangerous. (We were not on highways, just 2 lanes mountain roads.) But again, I cld not blame the driver for that. I truly appreciated his efforts to rush us to Borobudur, and it was a super tiring job as the van struggled to move up slope, and ppl who drives manual cars shld know how terrible it was to drive using 1st gear.
--5th Stop: Borobudur--
We finally reached the temple 5 mins after closing time. I bet we were one of the last grp of visitors to step into the compound. There's a local guide who brought us up to snap a few pics. All tourists need to leave the temple by 5.30pm. So, we had only about 30 mins or so! I knew all of us were very disappointed, as Borobudur was the main reason why we were here for.
Finally, after a few mins walk within the temple compound, I finally saw the temple.
Borobudur is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument near Magelang, Central Java. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside perforated stupa. Evidence suggests Borobudur was abandoned following the 14th-century decline of Buddhism and Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. (Credits: Wikipedia)
A Buddha in a stupa.
The stupas.


I've seen this view before in other photos, but can't believe that the photos were original as the mountains looked like paintings. Now I have to believe that the photos were real. Haha! Thanks to the mist effect, the mountains looked like being paint-brushed. Stunning scenery!
We did not have any time to look the reliefs, but I managed to take a few shots of them. They were well preserved and depicted life of Buddha.
Buddha statue cld be found above the relief panels too.
Wall of relief panels...
Last pic of the temple as it closed for the day.
--6th Stop: Jalan Malioboro--
We returned to Yogyakarta and gotta settle dinner on our own. Had Mac at the mall as we cld not find other interesting stuff to eat. Ha! Jalan Malioboro is Yogya's shoppinng street, but I guessed we were too tired to be in shopping mode.
Very modern shopping mall.
On the streets of Jalan Malioboro. There were a lot of horse carriages and many locals took them for taxis. Bascially, the street itself was nothing special. Just 2 rows of shops with some malls or hotels. Most shops sell the similar stuffs too, so do know how to bargain.
Street performance. Jalan Malioboro was quite lively~