SHB Cambridge Jogya Trip 2023 – 2024

So, it has been 2 weeks since our trip to Jogjakarta. It was fun for most people in Jogjakarta, especially for some groups. I could say that most people are happy and only some are lonely because of this trip. I will be telling you guys about the trip from my POV.

On the first day our trip to Jogjakarta started on the 24^th of September. It was a Sunday, and all Cambridge students were told to meet at 6 p.m. and have dinners there. I arrived at the school a couple of minutes before 6. most people were already there, and I saw a few parents waiting for their children's departure. My parents were there only to drop me off when I entered the school, and I saw that most of them were well prepared for recording. They were like a film crew. I only brought my phone and a camera. We had fried rice for dinner; the fried rice was not that good since it was pretty bland. Once I finished my dinner, I started thinking about what to record in school before departure. I thought that it would be a great idea to make cinematic footage. However, it was not even close to being cinematic at the editing time.

Then, before we departed, we were asked to take a picture first with a banner, like every school does. We then brought our luggage to the bus, which will transport us from the school to Gambir Station in Jakarta. Nothing much happened on the bus. We just chatted with each other. When we arrived at the Gambir Station, it turned out that our journey from school to the station was faster than expected. So, we had to wait at the station for an hour. Once the train arrived, we quickly hopped on the train. When I first entered the train, there was someone else on my train who wanted to sit with his friend.

Nevertheless, like the nice guy I am, I told him to move. Then we had to sit through the 6-hour journey on the train, but people did not stay in their seats. Since there was a cafeteria on the train, people got up and just chilled at the cafeteria. I got off my seat late, so I had to wait for everybody to come back before me to go to the cafeteria and get me a sit. While I waited, there was an empty seat beside Farren. So, I asked Farren to sit beside him until his sit-mate returned. After his seatmate returned, I rushed to the cafeteria, got a seat, and sat until we arrived in Jogja. Since I had bought coffee, I could stay awake, and someone was accompanying me through the ride. Then, at 3 a.m., we finally arrived at Jogjakarta. That is the start of our journey there.

Then, the tour guide in charge of this tour picked us up and led us to our buses. After we got on the bus, we were told that our first destination was a Restaurant where we could get the breakfast and shower we wanted. The name of the restaurant was Ambarketawang. We ate there and chilled until it was time to go to our first tourist destination. We went to a town called Kota Gede, we went to the graveyard for royalties in Jogja, and we learned a lot about the history of Jogja.

Then we went to a nearby traditional market, which was also famous for raising the economy of Jogja back in the day. After that, we had a short break and got a cold drink. Then we headed to a place where we could make Batik and do Pottery. We all made a Vase and decorated a Batik mask. The vase should have been delivered, but at the time of writing this, we still had not gotten our vase. Then, after that, we ate lunch at the same place. I am not going to lie. The chicken there is amazing.

Then we all headed to the hotel since we had not stored our luggage yet. We stayed at the Satoria Hotel, and the hotel, some people went to the Swimming pool, and some went to the gym, including me. Then, at 5:30 p.m., we were told to meet at the lobby to prepare dinner. We ate dinner at a place where I had no clue what the name was. Finally, we returned to the hotel and slept to end our day.

On the second day, we were told to go to the lobby and have breakfast at 6:30 a.m., but I, the clumsy, forgot to turn on the alarm. So, my roommate and I, Xue JiaRong, headed downstairs 15 minutes late, then after breakfast. We went to Candirejo village, which was near Candi Borobudur, and we did much stuff there. First, we were separated into groups, which then did a set of activities in an orderly manner, and each group took turns doing other activities that another group had done. We planted Papaya trees, learned how to dance the traditional dance there, and played many traditional instruments. After that, we ate lunch first and had time to rest, and then we roamed the village full of labor. There were people making pandan mat, reneging, and Tempe crackers. Then we headed out of the village and went to a local resto for our dinner. After our dinner, we returned to the hotel for the last time. That night also ended our stay at the hotel.

On our last day of the tour, we had our last breakfast, and again, I woke up late along with Daniel and Rueben. After we had our rushed breakfast, we checked out of the hotel. We went to the Ulen Sentalu Museum, where we learned more about the royalty family of Jogja. It is also where Rueben broke the case for his GoPro. Our second to last destination was Oma Oblong, where we got to see how T-shirts are made, and we also got to make one ourselves. It was also a nice Souvenir shop, but nothing piqued my interest, so I did not buy anything. Our last destination before the train station was a science center. Honestly, nothing interesting was there. It was meant for younger people. Then we went to the train station and we were supposed to have time to explore Malioboro, but then our time management was not great, and then we had to leave Jogja by train again. The train ride was nothing special since I slept like a baby this time. Then, after a few hours, we arrived at Gambir Station again. We then took another bus to transport us back to school, and by the time we arrived, it was pretty early, like 4 a.m.. Moreover, at the end of our trip, we got some bread at school, and since it was pretty early, everybody was half-conscious. Then my dad picked me up, and I arrived home, where I slept again. That was a long story, but I hope you enjoyed the story.