When in doubt ask around and inquired I did, not just to anybody but to travel experts in this cool travel community I'm a part of. Paul and Joshua, two fellow travel bloggers who have recently spent a week at Yogyakarta were quick to recommend this hostel when I made the inquiry about a place to stay while at Yogyakarta at our Facebook group. It is the community I'm talking about which is composed of travel addicts who currently capers rehab by constantly wandering on the road. Edu Hostel was the top choice and after making a quick study of a handful of other options I booked this hotel online a week prior to my departure for Jakarta.
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| Dorm room. Photo credit: http://www.eduhostels.com/photo |
After walking out of Tugu Station at Yogyakarta and with my butt still numbed from the almost 8-hour train ride I quickly looked out for a becak to take me to EDU Hostel, one driver didn't know the place so when I asked the other one I handed him my booking printout showing the address and instantly off we go. While passing by downtown district, a jolt of excitement ran through my nerves and realized that the feeling of being in a new place is like being blown away by a benevolent blues and in the process slowly opens myself to a new wider part of the world.
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| Lobby. Photo credit: http://www.eduhostels.com/photo |
I stayed at Edu Hostel for three nights paying for a bed (300 pesos per night) at one of its dorm-type rooms which fits six travelers on three double deck beds which also has a private shower and spacious lockers for each guest. Aside from the whole day of temple and stuppa immersion at Borobudur and Prambanan, I mostly spend the day walking around Yogyakarta with the downtown part of Malioboro Street just a merely 10 minute walk away from the hostel.
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Every time I go back to the hostel to rest I always hanged around at the common area where I get to talk with other travelers who were updating their social media websites, some like me can be seen trying to fit in some work because they also do online based jobs. I guess, more travelers nowadays are finding opportunities to earn doing online work and which is the reason they do find a lot of time to travel long term.
There was this long-haired South Korean guy named Jin who dresses up with a batik blouse, baggy slacks and a high heeled closed shoes but talks about falling in love with a girl in Boracay when he found out I was from the Philippines. Nathalie and Kristie from Sweden gave me a list of must-eat street foods telling me I should never leave Yogyakarta without trying those. I think I was able to try out half of the foods they listed before I went back to Jakarta.
The Hostel staff was very friendly that by my first night they already calls me by my name which they pronounced as "MORK". The third day when I went back to the hostel to take a quick shower after a whole morning of walking around, I chanced upon one of my roommates in the middle of his Muslim prayer and as I was closing the door silently behind me I turned around and saw him just concluding his prayer with a deeply concentrated mumbling and afterward he introduced himself as Eko, a local traveler from Jakarta.
My other roommates just passed by for a night or two, some are going straight to Mount Bromo, while the other one is headed to Bali. I had the impression that most have been traveling in Indonesia for a long time, Magnus and his girlfriend Stef, both German has been traveling there for three months already. Over breakfast they asked me if its worth it to go to the Philippines, I told them "yes and make sure you have at least 4 months to spare, as there are many beautiful places to see". Their eyes lit up with excitement - the same thing I felt when I finished up my plate and the thought of exploring Yogyakarta for another day is just about to start.
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Cebu Pacific flies daily to Jakarta, Indonesia. Yogyakarta can be reached via plane or an 8 hour train ride from Jakarta. For the latest seat sales and promos, go to www.cebupacificair.com, call (02)7020-888 or check Cebu Pacific Air’s official Facebook and Twitter pages.
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