Jogja.. I Can't Get Enough of You!

Beatiful 1O1 pool from our room's balcony

It's been bright and sunny down here in Portland. After taking in my car to the auto shop, I found myself rocking out to the tunes of Maroon 5. Bought the Overexposed -their album released in 2012 a couple days ago and must say that I've been liking it! What instigated my appreciation towards their music was a friend who was kind enough to drive me to Jogjakarta straight from Semarang. She got off work a little before 8 in the evening and on the road we were an hour later.

The drive to Jogja was as smooth as the album we were listening to while in the car. Yep you got it, it was Maroon 5's Overexposed! I've been knowing Maroon 5 since ages ago, liked some of their hits yada yada. But... I never really appreciated their music until that night, listening to Overexposed on the passenger seat.

Mr Shake Tea's boba, Jogja City Mall!

The initial reason on my trip to Jogjakarta (officially named Yogyakarta, actually) was to meet my parents who were supposed to be there May 13-15. But the plan sort of fell apart since my dad wasn't feeling well. Hotels were booked for two nights and it was too late to cancel so I thought I just had to make it happen regardless. My brother lives only an hour away to Jogja, and he was available to meet me there anyway. Jogja couldn't go wrong, could it!

Morning swim :)

I was kind of hesitant a few months back when deciding on which hotel to stay. I was considering 1O1 Tugu Hotel, Harper Mangkubumi, Jambuluwuk, and Gallery Prawirotaman Hotel. Ignoring location standpoint, I would probably go with either Jambuluwuk or Gallery Prawirotaman -Jambuluwuk being my first preference as I heard and read a lot of lovely comments about it. I also considered going back to Melia Purosani, but I thought trying out a new hotel would be more fun.

Finally decided on 1O1 Tugu due to its awesome proximity to Panti Rapih Hospital, where my parents and I were supposed to go -probably back and forth- when our plan still stood.

Me & my brother at 1O1

As far as hospitality goes, 1O1 did fine yet not quite up to par to Jogja's standard where everyone greets you with warm smile in a generous manner. Not a biggie, though. What I thought I could get better was the size of the room. Considering what I paid, room-size was a bit too small. However, our room on 7th floor was nicely decorated with a beautiful-view balcony -facing down we saw the hotel's pool and away was the city view.

Checked in at the hotel 11 PM, soon after that my brother joined us straight from Solo.

Another shot at brekkie

Our fun began the next day! Starting off the day, we treated ourselves a few laps of swimming down in the pool. We then munched our breakfast. Before leaving the hotel at 11 AM, Dyah my friend was kind enough to show her new talent as a make-up artist, which made me look a thousand times better!

Pastry & cereal corner at brekkie

We made the best of our full day in Jogja visiting Jogja City Mall, which was the newest mall in town. Dyah's friend joined us there. Spent about an hour or so before headed down to Mirota Batik for batik shopping. We spent a darn 2.5 hrs sorting batiks. Their batiks were just too lovely we couldn't decide on which ones to buy in a short time -and thought no cultured women ever could! XD

By the end of the time spent at Mirota, the guys were starved! Off we went to eat at Iga Sapi Bali (Bali Beef Ribs) in Sleman, just on the outskirt of Jogja for lunch. Food was so filling -well.. red meat contains lots of protein thus fills you up rather quickly!

Our room 7012

Not wanting our Jogja fun to come to an end that soon, we did an-hour karaoke. It was 8 PM when we got back to hotel. My brother immediately packed and headed to the Trans Jogja station across from the hotel to catch a night bus back to Solo. Parted ways with all the lovely folks at 8:20 PM.

Thought about getting a massage at the 1O1 hotel's spa after my folks left -service close at 10 PM so I only had a few minutes to decide, but was too lazy and tired to do it. I scheduled myself to leave for my hometown Cilacap the following day so I made use that night to pack my stuff. Didn't realize I left something in the room until I arrived in Cilacap.

Wanna guess what I left? Well, stay tuned 'till the next post!