Day 3: Ullen Sentalu
We decided to check out breakfast at the main restaurant today. The selection was pretty wide with lots of local and international offerings. I loved the fact that they had different types of sambal (chilli paste) available. They were great with the prawn crackers! They even offered Jamu drinks.
Breakfast @ Kemangi Restaurant, Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta
We had not made any plans today and originally considered going into town to check out the Sultan’s Palace and do some shopping. But decided otherwise after we saw some photos and reviews on the Internet. We decided to visit Ullen Sentalu instead.
We booked the hotel car for 3 hours for this visit. It’ll be cheaper to get a taxi but we decided to take the hotel car for the convenience. Guests Services estimated that it will cost us about IDR100k to get there and we will need to negotiate a price with the cab driver to wait for us and send us back as otherwise there will be no transport back. The Hotel car cost us IDR300k. We were not in the mood to negotiate with cab drivers. It took us about 30 mins to get from the Hyatt to Ullen Sentalu.
Entrance fee for foreigners is IDR50,000 per pax and comes with a museum guide and a Jamu drink. We were lucky to get Ratna for our guide. She was cheerful and spoke excellent English.
The museum consisted of several rooms, each with a different focus. There was one room with musical instruments. Most of the rooms were filled with paintings and portraits of the royal family of Yogyakarta and Solo in history and Ratna had a story to tell for every picture. It makes the characters come alive and you can imagine the lives they used to lead. There were batiks of different designs on display too, together with some stone sculptures. We were served a delicious ginger Jamu drink at the end of the tour. No photography was allowed inside the museum.
Ullen Sentalu
We had lunch at the museum restaurant, Beukenhof, after the tour. My husband had the spaghetti bolognaise while I had the duck salad. I also ordered a Virjito (virgin Mojito). I like my salad and drink a lot. DH says that the spaghetti was not that great and his green tea was strange. Service was fast and efficient. We sat outside on the veranda which looked pleasantly out to the garden. As Ullen Sentalu is in the mountains, it was very cooling and can be slightly chilly for some.
Lunch @ Beukenhof Restaurant, Ullen Sentalu
We also browsed the souvenir shop which sold really nice and classy stuff. Price and quality are all on the higher side. I bought 2 lovely cushion covers which cost me IDR712,000.
All in all a lovely and enjoyable visit for us. I’m glad we came here.
Back at the hotel, it was more lazing around. it is a rare opportunity to be able to sit around, and read a book.
We had made a reservation for a Ramayana buffet dinner cum show at the restaurant that night. The Hyatt have this dinner cum show every Saturday night. We were to lazy to catch the epic at Prambanan.
The Ramayana, Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta
I didn’t think the buffet offering was good. It was pretty average. But I enjoyed the show. However, the commentary cannot be heard clearly. We had previously seen the Ramayana in Bali and so we know the story. If you do not know the story, you may be a little lost. Cost of the buffet was IDR190k+. We didn’t think the food was worth it, but I suppose you have to pay for the show too. We had booked a few mths ahead when we booked the hotel and I had requested for good seats. They promised me the best and indeed, we were given the best seats.
Ramayana Dinner @ Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta
Overall, it was still a pleasant evening.