It's day 4 of Yogyakarta and also another day of waking up at 4AM. We arrived to the compounds of Borobudur in pitch black darkness and was welcomed by a very chilly and cold air that I was unprepared for. Please, please, please wear a jacket and long pants to keep yourself warm because it was really no joke, especially when you realize that the smokey-stuff that comes out of your mouth during winter is happening there.

The entrance fee of IDR325K includes a torchlight, a scarf, and a free brunch after the session at the temple. After getting all of that, off you go towards the temple with only a torchlight in hand. We moved around quite a bit before settling down at a certain spot for the sunrise. I was at the second highest tier of the temple and actually had a fantastic view of the sunrise that emerged behind Mount Merapi. Here you go, a photo timeline of the sunrise:

After awhile, it's best to start heading down the temple and move on to brunch as the sun starts working away with the heat and with the amount of tourists, it can be slightly unbearable. Here's 1/4 of us waiting for the rest:

With brunch settled, we headed to Chicken Church, a very interesting place which was abandoned in the last decade but due to recent attention on social media, this place has been restored and construction completed. The owner had a dream about creating a place where people from all walks of life can come to this place to pray or relax their minds. So don't be puzzled by all the different praying areas for Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and many other more religions in this unique place. Apparently, it was supposed to be a dove instead of a chicken but the crown on top made it look like a chicken instead. 

Anyway, before we walked up the slope to the church, we spent some time with owls where for any amount you donate, you get to pick your favourite owl to perch on your hand while you have a photo with it. This was the closest I've been to feeling like I was part of Harry Potter and definitely my first time getting so up close to these amazing birds. I love petting them and they were really, really adorable, especially the smaller ones. Oh and don't mind the hen in the last photo, she was walking about the area while others of her kind fled away so I thought maybe she wanted the attention we were giving the owls and sure enough, after I took a photo of her, she walked off, happily I presumed!

I regretted that I didn't take much photo in the Chicken Church because I was so in awe with the place! It had paintings everywhere and it was so peaceful, especially at the underground praying area. The entrance fee of IDR30K included a drink and a snack which was just nice to fill up the tummy so don't miss it because the food was good. 

After awhile of chilling at the cafe with a really beautiful view of the hills and fields, Chloe and I headed up to the crown of the church where I took 2 photos but due to my lack of skills in handling my film camera, the 3 volcanoes was almost invisible in the two photos. The first one is of Mount Sumbing while the next photo had Mount Merapi and Mount Merbabu which I'm posting up too anyway because whenever I look at these 2 photos I will remember instantaneously of the view in my head. Sadly, the amazing view did not translate into my photos :(

Right after Chicken Church, we headed to Kali Biru where there were many photo-op spots we see bloggers take photos at these days. With a separate entrance fee of IDR30K, we basically only went for one photo-op because we were adamant to choose one that could fit all of us. Good enough, there was a platform that could have all of us on it and we made sure we spend at least 30-45 minutes up there.

The view of the blue lake (most likely is Kali Biru) was so beautiful and at times like this I always imagined how it would look like if I got to trek to the lake and see it right before me. I would even imagine having a small cottage by the lake (blame those generic paintings of a single house on rolling hills by the countryside that people hang at clinics, schools, homes, etc.) and wonder what would life be like if I stayed there, and my imaginations go on and on. Well, all this ended when one of the girls sprained her leg the moment we exited the platform. It was also then we found out that none of the 18 of us knew first aid so all we did was cheer her up as best as we could and made sure she was okay because that's what we are good at, being silly.

Next thing we knew, we were stopping by clinics at the nearby villages asking if they could treat her until we got to the hospital, our unexpected destination unlisted in the itinerary. Most importantly there was nothing serious with her leg so it was all good. We then decided that we should eat something better that night and opted for a dinner buffet at the sky restaurant of some hotel that I can't recall. Again, my expired film did not manage to capture some of the photos so here are some precious ones:

The last part of my Yogyakarta trip will be up next and till then, read the rest of the parts if you missed it: 

Yogyakarta Part 1: Alun-Alun Kidul 

Yogyakarta Part 2: Kali Suci Tubing

Yogyakarta Part 3: Timang Beach & Wedi Ombo Beach

Yogyakarta Part 4: Mount Merapi & Ullen Sentalu Museum

Yogyakarta Part 5: Prambanan & Ratu Boko

xx

R