Yogyakarta Getaway - SMPK 1

Yogyakarta, a culturally rich city located on the Indonesian island of Java. Known for its prominent cultural heritage, it is the only Indonesian region governed by a monarchy. This city's eminent traditional arts, including batik textiles, wayang kulit (shadow puppetry), and numerous notable temples has offered a blend of ancient Javanese traditions and a vibrant contemporary scenery, making it a popular destination for travelers seeking both cultural immersion and natural beauty.

On the first week of October 2023, SMPK 1 BPK PENABUR held a school trip  to Yogyakarta for the 9th graders. A perfect getaway after an exhausting term of school work. And after loads and loads of plannings and preparations, the school managed to successfully bring their students  on their first school trip after the COVID pandemic.

DAY 1 - SALOKA THEME PARK

It was a bright breezy Monday morning, and all students were expected to be in their designated buses -parked infront of the school gate - by 5am. I had just packed my luggage a day beforehand thus I was worried to have forgotten anything. As I reached the bus, my friends and I waited for quite some time before beginning our journey, ensuring no students,  nor belongings were left behind. By 5.30am, everyone had settled and the bus began heading to our 1st destination - Saloka Theme Park.

Throughout the 6 hours in the bus, my friends and I slept, snacked, chatted, and even had a bus karaoke session. We had taken a stop in a decent rest area for the people who'd like to use the restroom, meanwhile my friends and I briskly walked to the nearest mini market to stock up on more snacks. However time flies when you're having fun, and without realisation, we had reached our destination - Saloka Theme Park. 

We got off our buses, applied a great deal of sunscreen, took a group photo session and quickly went to a restaurant located inside the theme park. The weather was blazing hot, yet we had been too excited to start enjoying the rides available that the heat was no disruption. As we got to the restaurant, we took our seats where on the tables had been provided boxes of food and bottles of water. Impatient, we gobbled down our food of rice, fried tofu and beef, and instantly got on our first ride - "Arung Jeram".

We spent the rest of our time in Saloka riding available rides like roller coasters, ferris wheel, drop tower, bumper cars, and many more. The heat started getting to me that my friends and I simultanously went back and forth purchasing cool beverages and ice creams. 

6 hours in Saloka went by quickly and it was time for us to continue our journey. We had a stop at a restaurant with a breath-taking scenery of the sunset for our dinner of rice, noodles, meatball, and sweet iced tea then continued to head to our hotel in Yogya. 

By 9pm, we all had reached our hotel. We claimed back our luggages which were previously placed in a compartment, checked in our rooms, then quickly got ready for bed. Yet after such a long exhausting day, my roomates and I still couldn't sleep and we kept on chatting until 2am.  

DAY 2 - MERAPI & PURAWISATA

On the 2nd day of our trip, my roomates and I woke up at 6am to immediately go down to have our breakfast. And eventhough it was really early, in no time, the breakfast area had quickly filled up. 

As soon as we were done eating, we went back up to our rooms and got ready for another long exciting day. By 8am, all students had been expected to be in their buses to head for our first destination of the day - Mount Merapi. There, we rode a jeep which gave us a tour of the mountain, its history, notable stops, and an immersive fun experience of getting wet. 

The 1st stop was a museum, "Museum Mini Sisa Hartaku", remaining old buildings and furnitures which had barely survived from the burn of the Merapi explosion not long ago. The 2nd was "Batu Alien" an area with a breath-taking scenery where there stood a massive rock. Lastly, we rode on our jeep, going through some rocky, muddy slopes in a fast speed. This experience resulted to wet my whole body, yet the hassle was worth the fun. 

We then ate lunch on the mountain then headed back to the hotel to rest. However, despite the purpose of taking a rest, my friends and I went swimming in the hotel's immense pool. The water was deep and freezing, yet we enjoyed the pool as time went by so quickly. After spending 3 entertaining hours in the hotel, it was already 5.30 pm and we had to quickly get on the bus to head to our next destination - Purawisata.

There, we had dinner and watched a spectacular, astounding, traditional performance by the locals. A musical narrating the story of Ramayana. We closed the day with a photo taking session with the actors and a quick stop at a mini market to stock up on more snacks, then headed back to the hotel, into our rooms. This time, my roomates and I had been to tired to chat that we instantly went to bed.

DAY 3 - BEACH & MALIOBORO

On the 3rd day, my roomates and I once again woke up at 6am to immediately go down and have our breakfast. We then went back to our rooms and got ready, then finally got on our bus to head to our destination for the day - Ngandong Beach.

As we reached there, we had class group photo sessions then proceeded with our own activities. My friends and I played the sand, took pictures, and ran around the shore, having too much fun which resulted to a series of unplanned events - wet pants, lost of 2 eyeglasses, a feet injury. However, despite all the chaos, this destination was unarguably the best destination throughout our whole trip. We then had a delicious lunch of rice, fried squid, fish, and sweet iced tea. 

After, we head back to the hotel with a purpose to rest, yet once again, my friends and I decided to spend the time playing billiard. We had our dinner there then got right back on track. This time, our night destination was Malioboro.

It had only taken 10 minutes to get there, yet our time there must be one of the most unforgettable ones in the trip. 

Initially, we visited several restaurants to get a taste of their foods, yet we got lost in time when we encountered a German family. We talked and talked until it was time for us to get back. 

On our way to the bus, we had initally planned to go on a quick little haunted house ride, yet things took a turn and in no time, we were in a real life haunted ride. My friend had nearly got pickpocketed, and we had noticed a creepy looking old man in bloody torn shirt stalking us. Panicked, the whole 9th graders got together and aborted our plans, going back to our bus. 

Fortunately, all of us managed to reach the bus in a safe condition. We rode our bus back to the hotel and quickly got some rest. We chatted and chatted until 2pm, trying to make the most out of our last night together.

DAY 4 - GEMBIRA LOKA ZOO

It was our last day, once again, my roomates and I woke up at 6am to have our breakfast. We quickly got ready then got on our bus to head for our last destination of the trip - Gembira Loka Zoo.

Our trip was delayed for over an hour, resulting to a shorter time available at the zoo. There, we had another group photo session and proceeded with our own activities. We took numerous pictures of and with the animals, yet my friends and I were pretty bored with this last destination. Additionally, with the extreme heat and overcharging of souvenirs and rides,  we were even more annoyed. 

The time then came for us to have our lunch, which was then proceeded with 12 long hours of sleep, karaoke, and snacking in the bus to head back to our school. 

Thankfully, all the 9th graders safely reached our school by 12am, still reminiscing all the fun memories we've made throughout these last 4 days. It was for sure an unforgettable getaway!