"The land of fabulous princesses" Yogyakarta by Assenczo

First impressions of any place and Yogya is no exception to this rule, are influenced a lot by the destination one comes from. In this particular case Yogya was to be compared unwittingly to Jakarta and especially Bandar Lampung since this was the place of direct reference. There is no question that Yogya was the big winner. Despite its “regular” congestion and motorbike noise it was nowhere close to the horrific traffic jams of the capital and at the same time had sleek, sophisticated look, light years away from the crude environment of Bandar. From this point on everything else came as plus – the almighty kraton, the colourful rickshaws, the magnificent Prambanan temple even the mystique Merapi volcano that finally showed up out of the clouds on the fourth day as a most timid bride. Yogya is a typical place that has developed net worth some time ago and by this virtue it continues to reap the rewards as much as similar towns in this respect do (Venice or Dubrovnik come to mind immediately). The times of the great sultans have passed and their power curtailed but the kraton is still there to testify to their achievements. Or further back in history, the temples of Prambanan, equivalent to the contemporary skyscrapers, were built in honour of Gods who have given Yogya the power of attractiveness and hence business vitality even nowadays despite falling into irrelevancy. The right investments seem to never lose value and arguably add more and more of it with the years passing by.

• Pros:Java, made nice and easy
• Cons:Leaning towards the touristy side
• In a nutshell:Heritage unhindered by modernity