Activities in Java
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Rumah Guides
This is an excellent new community project run by young Yogya citizens eager to show you their city and the surrounding area. Tours of the city (150,000Rp per day) and to Borobudur, Dieng and beyond can be set up in their Prawirotaman area office. It’s also possible to stay with local families as part of a homestay program (US$12 per day including all meals).
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Puri Bahasa
A professional language school offering Bahasa Indonesia classes (US$7 per hour for one-on-one tuition). Family homestays can be arranged, starting at 450,000Rp per week.
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Batik Courses
Plenty of places in the Sosrowijayan and Prawirotaman areas offer short batik T-shirt courses of one or two days' duration. High art they aren't, but they provide a good introduction. The tourist information office also has a list of those offering courses.
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Batik Winotosastro
Batik Winotosastro gives free guided tours of the batik process. This place caters to tour groups, so prices are very high – view the process here and shop elsewhere.
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Wisma Bahasa
Wisma Bahasa offers Bahasa Indonesia courses in Yogya. Wisma Bahasa is a well-established school; the tourist information office can supply you with more options.
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Bikram Yoga
Bikram Yoga gets good reports for its hot yoga, Vinyasa, Asthanga and beginners’ classes.
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Via Via
Has excellent half-day cooking (85,000Rp), batik- and silver jewellery–making (both 80,000Rp) courses.
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Dunia Fantasi
The biggest draw card is Dunia Fantasi, a fun park that must have raised eyebrows at the Disney legal department. Spectacular rides here include the Halilintar twisted roller-coaster ride, the Niagra flume ride and a Ferris wheel. The park gets very crowded on weekends, but on weekdays it’s fairly quiet. Take a bus or city train to Kota train station, then bus 64, 65, 125 or angkot 51. A taxi will cost around 45,000Rp from Jl Thamrin.
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Gunung Mas Estate
Located 7km before the Puncak summit, are the lush, tea-carpeted hills of Gunung Mas Estate. You can tour the tea factory (7000Rp), which is a couple of kilometres from the highway, or combine it with a guided walk through the plantation itself (60,000Rp). The estate guest house (r basic/deluxe 185,000/245,000Rp, bungalows from 600,000Rp) is a quiet, relaxing mountain lodge; add 50,000Rp to all rates on weekends.
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Bicycle Tours
Bicycle Tours to sites outside the city limits are a perennial favourite in Solo. A full-day tour takes you through beautiful countryside to 15 destinations, including stops to watch batik production, gamelan making, and tofu, arak (colourless, distilled palm wine) and rice-cracker processing. Warung Baru, Istana Griya, Mama Homestay, Westerners and Miki tours all offer such tours.
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Klub Golf Cengkareng
Jakarta has some of the best-value golf in Asia, with 38 courses within and around the city. Klub Golf Cengkareng, near the airport, is one of the priciest, but remains the residents' favourite, with stunning fairways and a top-notch bar at the 19th. It is members only at the weekend, but you can play 18 holes through the week.
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Mangun Dhama Arts Centre
Tumpang is home to the Mangun Dhama Arts Centre, which has Javanese dance classes and performances, plus some gamelan, wayang and woodcarving courses. Wayang kulit and dance shows can be staged if pre-arranged, and books, dance DVDs, masks, puppets and batik are usually for sale.
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Green Canyon
The most popular tours run to the Green Canyon, but also widely available are the 'countryside' or 'home industry' tours, which take you to plantations and local industries to see the making of tahu and krupuk (prawn crackers), as well as a wayang golek maker.
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Indonesian Heritage Society
The Indonesian Heritage Society organises free English tours of the National Museum at 09:30 every Tuesday and Thursday and 10:30 every second Saturday and last Sunday in the month; French tours take place at 09:30 every third Wednesday of the month.
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Paradise Island
There are tours to Paradise Island, an uninhabited nearby island with good beaches (including a 5km white-sand beach) and surfing. For food, make an early-morning trip to Pangandaran's fish market and fire up a barbecue when you get to the island.
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Purawisata
In the evening you can head along to the Purawisata, an amusement park noted more for its dance performances, but there are also rides, fun-fair games and a pasar seni (art market) with a basic collection of souvenirs.
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Gelanggang Renang
Swimmers have the option of the Gelanggang Renang complex, which includes a wave pool and slide pool, or Ancol Beach; the latter isn't the greatest place to swim, but boat trips to some of the Pulau Seribu islands leave from here.
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Meditation
Traditionally, Solo is well known as a meditation centre, but the number of courses offered have been dwindling of late. The tourist office still lists a couple of places on its books for interested parties, though.
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Westerners
Bicycle tours (from 75,000Rp) to sites around the city are popular in Solo, taking in gamelan and batik-making, arak and rice-cracker processing. Westerners offer such trips.
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Merapi Volcano Observatory
At the time of research the climb to the peak from Kaliurang had been strictly off limits since 1994 because of volcanic activity. You can contact the Merapi Volcano Observatory.
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Batik Plentong
Batik Plentong gives free guided tours of the batik process. This place caters to tour groups, so prices are very high – view the process here and shop elsewhere.
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Sriwedari Amusement Park
Solo’s Sriwedari Amusement Park has fair rides and sideshow stalls. Nightly wayang orang performances (and other cultural shows) are held here.
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Miki Tours
Run tours to Candi Sukuh, Gunung Merapi and Gunung Lawu. Prices depend on numbers, but a day trip for two people with a car and guide starts at around 500,000Rp.
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Batik Course - Mama Homestay
The eponymous Mama offers a one-day introductory batik course (you supply the T-shirt), although she is getting old these days and her English is limited.
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Pool
The 50m pool behind the Hotel Formule 1 in Cikini, within walking distance of Jalan Jaksa, is the best option in the centre.
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