In Reply to: jarva and temple posted by suzie on Friday, 10. June 2005 at 08:53 Bali Time:
Go alone or go with friends. But definitely go.
I'm assuming your worried more about travelling alone, rather than specifically going alone to the temples. The temples get thousands of visitors each day, so it's not as though there won't be anyone around to help if you do get into trouble. (Unless you go wandering to secluded parts of the grounds surrounding the temples.) In any event, guides are available for about 30,000rp.
Yogyakarta itself is a safe and very friendly city. I've wandered the laneways drunk and lost on a few occasions, and always managed to find someone to steer me in the right direction, or even give me a lift. There are little pockets where westerners hang out, in case you're worried about culture shock.
Going with other people would work out cheaper, transport-wise, depending on how you plan to travel. There are plenty of places that will take you to one or the other temple from the centre of town for 1-200,000rp. It's probably cheaper to get a taxi to Prambanan and back, even if you're alone. If you can get good directions to the bus stop, a bus or bemo costs only 2000rp. Most of the "organised" trips will stop at a silver factory and a batik shop, unless you are firm about not wanting to go. For the trip to Borobudur (42km) twp people sharing a cab is better than paying the per-person rate on the tours. It also gives you a bit more flexibility.
The Manohora hotel is situated within the Borobudur grounds, and you get free entry if you stay there. I haven't actually done that yet, though I was meaning to last time. It seems like a pretty good deal, given that if you take the US$10 from the advertised room rate, it makes it around 200,000Rp per night.
here's a link:
http://www.yogyes.com/en/yogyakarta-hotel/budget/manohara/
The same site has links to other hotels in Yogya, and a pretty lame calendar of events that does include when the Ramayana ballet is on (not really my thing, but worth seeing at least once).
Both of the temple complexes are fantastic, and the view of Gunung Merapi from the top of Borobudur is just mind-blowing, especially at sunset. (They say sunrise is actually the best time, but I don't get up that early.)
Local people always warn me about pickpockets and bag-stealers in Yogya, but I think actual incidents are fairly rare. Be careful, though.
The worst thing about Yogya is the batik salesmen. Just say no, unless you actually understand stuff about batik art. You'll be charged way over the proper price. Otherwise, everything is incredibly cheap -- about half Bali prices.
Most importantly... buy drinks at one of the stalls before you go inside the temple complexes. There never seems to be anyone selling drinks inside Borobudur. There usually is at Prambanan, but I did get caught out once there, as well.
Definitely go, though. You'll love it. Make sure you have room in your camera for hundreds of photos. Seriously.