Jogja Days: Goa Pindul & Culinary Madness
Holla!
Back here for the last part of the Jogja Days series (finally). Sorry that it took me a long time before jumping to this post. Medstudent hecticness had me upside down, with all the exams and everything. But here I am for the last part! And here's how the story goes.....
I spent my last day in Jogja going to Goa Pindul. Goa Pindul is a cave located in Bejiharjo village, Karangmojo, near Gunung Kidul. It has an underground river flowing inside it, and the place is super gorgeous! The trip to Goa Pindul took around 2.5 hours by car from Yogyakarta. There are some activities you could do in Goa Pindul, like rafting and cave tubing. We wanted to do both, but there wasn't enough time. So we only went for cave tubing haha. It was my first time doing cave tubing, and it was so fun!
The preps are: life jackets, waterproof slippers, and lifebuoy (I'm not sure if it's the right term, you know the doughnut-shaped lifejacket thing haha). Other stuffs like headlamps were carried by the guides. We had to sit in the lifebuoys, and everyone was tied along to each other by using some sort of strap. We had 3 guides going with us, and one of them was a photographer. Yes, our very own photographer to take pictures of our every second there. Blame us girls, but that's how we end up with beautiful picture s ;) Anw, we had like 45-60 mins to go along the river, as we pass into the cave. There are 3 zones inside the cave, the light zone, the dark zone, and the eternal darkness zone (yeah the name is creepy.) The eternal darkness zone was very dark though, if you turn off your flashlights/headlamps you could barely see anything. Oh, and inside the cave were beautiful stalactites and stalagmites! We even saw snow stalactites, it's crystal-like and so beautiful. The cave was also home to several species of bats, occupying the roof of the caves. I personally think it's creepy watching all those bats (and lots of them) hanging up above your head. It's creepy, trust me, not that I watched too much of vampire movies, but it really is.
After passing the three zones, we arrived in this beautiful sanctuary-like part of the cave. It has an open roof, so lights come passing down. Here, we could take off the lifebuoy and go swimming, or climb up the caves instead. I did both haha. And! What is more challenging than jumping off the cave edges to the water? Ha! I did that too lol. See this is where the YOLO principle applies, I certainly do not know when I could go back there so I just had to do it haha. Pics down beloww!
Anyway after cave tubing, we head back to Jogja, in starvation mode. We stop by along the way to try a local food called "tiwul." It's made from gaplek, a kind of dried cassava cooked into some sort of flour consistency. And then it has to be steamed for about 10 mins, then served with coconut shreads on top! I watched it in the making, and it's so fun seeing how the locals cook their food. Tiwul is usually served with tea or coffee, and is best eaten while still hot. There isn't much flavor though, I thought it would taste better with some sort of brown sugar sauce haha. Besides tiwul, the kiosk we went to also sell fried grasshopper. Some of my friends tried this, but my YOLO principle certainly does not apply to eating fried grasshopper. NOT IN A MILLION YEARS.
And still in starvation, we ended eating in Gubug Makan Mang Engking, a restaurant located in Sleman. Gubug translates into shacks, or in my very own definition, it should be like a cheap eating place you find beside the roads. But this place brings the word "gubug" into a whole new definition, ehm! in price. It was certainly not the price of a regular gubug haha, but the food was great! Ambience was great, they have this gazebos beside a fish pond, and we could eat there Javanese style. Just relaxing and enjoying the view, and food. And everyone was so hungry that when the food arrives no one would stand back and let others go first lol.
After Gubug Makan Mang Engking, we stopped by a few snack places and tried local foods. Those include "Oseng-oseng Mercon" which is like a mix of meat (probably it was chicken), fatty strips, and lots of chilli haha. I didn't enjoy much of that, too little meat too many fat! :( And then we also went to "Angkringan Pendopo Dalam" which sells lots of traditional cakes and foods, and sego kucing! Sego kucing = cat rice, based on the rice portion, which they said will only be enough for cats haha. But I guess this has kept lots of Jogja students alive :')
Well that was it for my last day. Jogja has been a charming host to my unexpected extended trip. I love the simplicity and modesty of the city. I will miss every corner of it, the sight of Malioboro at night, the friendly locals, and the memories it gave me. Thank you Jogja for everything, I hope to see you soon!
xxx
Back here for the last part of the Jogja Days series (finally). Sorry that it took me a long time before jumping to this post. Medstudent hecticness had me upside down, with all the exams and everything. But here I am for the last part! And here's how the story goes.....
I spent my last day in Jogja going to Goa Pindul. Goa Pindul is a cave located in Bejiharjo village, Karangmojo, near Gunung Kidul. It has an underground river flowing inside it, and the place is super gorgeous! The trip to Goa Pindul took around 2.5 hours by car from Yogyakarta. There are some activities you could do in Goa Pindul, like rafting and cave tubing. We wanted to do both, but there wasn't enough time. So we only went for cave tubing haha. It was my first time doing cave tubing, and it was so fun!
The preps are: life jackets, waterproof slippers, and lifebuoy (I'm not sure if it's the right term, you know the doughnut-shaped lifejacket thing haha). Other stuffs like headlamps were carried by the guides. We had to sit in the lifebuoys, and everyone was tied along to each other by using some sort of strap. We had 3 guides going with us, and one of them was a photographer. Yes, our very own photographer to take pictures of our every second there. Blame us girls, but that's how we end up with beautiful picture s ;) Anw, we had like 45-60 mins to go along the river, as we pass into the cave. There are 3 zones inside the cave, the light zone, the dark zone, and the eternal darkness zone (yeah the name is creepy.) The eternal darkness zone was very dark though, if you turn off your flashlights/headlamps you could barely see anything. Oh, and inside the cave were beautiful stalactites and stalagmites! We even saw snow stalactites, it's crystal-like and so beautiful. The cave was also home to several species of bats, occupying the roof of the caves. I personally think it's creepy watching all those bats (and lots of them) hanging up above your head. It's creepy, trust me, not that I watched too much of vampire movies, but it really is.
After passing the three zones, we arrived in this beautiful sanctuary-like part of the cave. It has an open roof, so lights come passing down. Here, we could take off the lifebuoy and go swimming, or climb up the caves instead. I did both haha. And! What is more challenging than jumping off the cave edges to the water? Ha! I did that too lol. See this is where the YOLO principle applies, I certainly do not know when I could go back there so I just had to do it haha. Pics down beloww!
about to enter the cave!
it's about to go super darky
bat poop. well.
snow stalactite
the sanctuary (light zone)
YOLO JUMPERSSS
(please mind our faces down below)
where is fenny going? lol
tiwul
grasshoppers, anyone?
And still in starvation, we ended eating in Gubug Makan Mang Engking, a restaurant located in Sleman. Gubug translates into shacks, or in my very own definition, it should be like a cheap eating place you find beside the roads. But this place brings the word "gubug" into a whole new definition, ehm! in price. It was certainly not the price of a regular gubug haha, but the food was great! Ambience was great, they have this gazebos beside a fish pond, and we could eat there Javanese style. Just relaxing and enjoying the view, and food. And everyone was so hungry that when the food arrives no one would stand back and let others go first lol.
get ready for FOODPORN!
After Gubug Makan Mang Engking, we stopped by a few snack places and tried local foods. Those include "Oseng-oseng Mercon" which is like a mix of meat (probably it was chicken), fatty strips, and lots of chilli haha. I didn't enjoy much of that, too little meat too many fat! :( And then we also went to "Angkringan Pendopo Dalam" which sells lots of traditional cakes and foods, and sego kucing! Sego kucing = cat rice, based on the rice portion, which they said will only be enough for cats haha. But I guess this has kept lots of Jogja students alive :')
sego kucing
Well that was it for my last day. Jogja has been a charming host to my unexpected extended trip. I love the simplicity and modesty of the city. I will miss every corner of it, the sight of Malioboro at night, the friendly locals, and the memories it gave me. Thank you Jogja for everything, I hope to see you soon!
xxx
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