Fly Jetstar Asia, Air Asia, and Penguin Ferry

I live in Semarang, Indonesia and currently studying for my master degree in Taiwan. In the winter vacation (Jan 2008) I went home for a cheap budget. Here the detail :

From Taiwan to Singapore I used Jetstar Asia for 6551 NT$ return (1 NT$ = 285 Rupiah). The aircraft taken off from Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 at 18.25 (Taipei time) and landed on Changi International Airport Singapore on 23.05 (no time difference between Taiwan and Singapore). So I stay at Changi before take ferry to Batam, Indonesia in the morning.

From Changi, I toke MRT to Harbour Front. From terminal 1 Changi, you can take skytrain (free) to terminal 2, and going down to Changi MRT station. The fare for one way from Changi to Harbour front is 2.8 SG$ (1 SG$ = 6550 rupiah).

From Harbour Front, I toke Penguin Ferry to Batam Centre, Indonesia. The fare was 45 SG$ return (1 SG$ = 6550 rupiah). The journey toke 1 hour. Since there is a difference time between Singapore and Batam, it takes no different time when I arrived in Batam Centre, Indonesia. For my case, I toke ferry on 08.40 and arrived to Batam Centre on 08.40 also.

From Batam Centre to Hang Nadim International Airport, you can take taxi. The fare is 80,000 rupiah. But my friend has picked me, so I can save my money.

From Hang Nadim International Airport at Batam, I toke AirAsia to Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. The fare was 615,800 rupiah return. The airport tax in Hang Nadim was 30,000 rupiah. The journey toke 1,5 hours from Batam to Jakarta.

From Jakarta airport you can take train or plane to Semarang. I was toke AdamAir to Ahmad Yani International Airport in Semarang for only 230,000 rupiah one way. The airport tax in Jakarta airport was 30,000 rupiah.

So, if I count my journey from Taiwan - Singapore - Batam - Jakarta - Semarang (return), it toke only 3,315,925 rupiah including airport taxes. If I take direct flight from Taiwan - Jakarta - Semarang (return), it will be a significant differences. The normal fare is 12,000 NT$ (3,420,000 rupiah). Let's say you get a cheap one, plus AdamAir ticket from Jakarta - Semarang return (460,000 rupiah; it's very cheap), plus local airport taxes in Jakarta and Semarang (2 X 30,000 rupiah), plus international airport tax (cause you directly exit from Jakarta by plane, the tax is 100,000 rupiah). So total cost is 4,040,000 rupiah. So, there is a significant differences of 724,075 rupiah.

Borobudur: The Magnificent Creation in The World

Borobudur, is the greatest Budhist temple in the world and counted as magnificent creation in the world.

Borobudur located several kilometers south east Jogjakarta, Indonesia. This is the famous tourist spot in Central Java beside Jogjakarta and Solo. How to travels to this beautiful place ?

From Jakarta

If you arrive in Jakarta Soekarno Hatta International Airport (terminal 2), you can directly take Garuda flight to Jogjakarta. Garuda Indonesia Airlines is the premium airline in Indonesia. If you need cheaper flight, you can take free shuttle bus to terminal 1, and take various cheaper airlines such as Adam Air, Lion Air, Mandala Air, Batavia Air, Sriwijaya Air, etc to Jogjakarta. The fare is around 300,000 to 700,000 rupiah one way depends on which airline and season.

From Jogjakarta international airport, you can find various hotels and budget hostels in this cultural city. I suggest you to take a place to stay in this city, and take one day tour to Borobudur temple, because you can get various cultural attractions in this city. The price for 1 night stay is vary from 150,000 to 1,500,000 rupiah depends on your chosen place.

If you want to take a trip to Borobudur, you can go to the Jogjakarta bus station and ask the tourism officer, how to go there. Basically you just take a bus to Borobudur tourist area, both direct bus or stop-over bus. The fare around 50,000 rupiah return.

From Bali

If you start your trip from Bali, you can take any airlines such as mentioned above to Jogjakarta. The fare is vary from 300,000 to 800,000 one way depends on your chosen airline and season.

By Train

You can take cheaper trip by using train to go to Jogjakarta if you start your trip from Jakarta. But if you start from Bali, its better you take flight because there is no train from Bali to Jogjakarta.

If you interested to take train from Jakarta, you have to consider, which class of service you will take. If you take business and economy class, from Soekarno Hatta International Airport you can take Damri bus service to Gambir Train station. The fare is 15,000 rupiah one way. From Gambir train station, you take busway to Pasar Senen Train station or take bus. But I suggest you to take busway since its service better than ordinary bus service. The fare just 5,000 rupiah one way. All business and economy class trains from Jakarta depart from this station. But for first class and executive class trains depart from Gambir train station.

You can take trains to Jogjakarta from Gambir train station (first class and executive class) or Pasar Senen train station (business and economy class). The fare vary from 45,000 (economy), 75,000 (business), and around 200,000 first and executive class.

Jogjakarta, Solo, Semarang

If you take trip to Jogjakarta, don't forget to take around this beautiful city. Every things are cheap. You can shop until you drop here. This city is well known as cultural city. There is King Palace in this city.

Beside Jogjakarta, you can visit Solo, the sister city of Jogjakarta. You can take train named "Prambanan Express" from Jogjakarta train station. The fare just 10,000 rupiah one way. Or you can take various bus service from Jogjakarta bus station to Solo. Solo just one and half hour away from Jogjakarta. You can get famous Batik in this city. There is King Palace also in Solo. Don't forget to try Nasi Gudeg (meal) in Jogjakarta or Nasi Liwet (meal) in Solo.

Between Jogjakarta and Solo, you can visit Prambanan Temple, the biggest Hindustan temple in Indonesia. If you wan't to get modern atmosphere, you can take trip to Semarang, the capital city of Central Java. You can take bus from Jogjakarta or Solo. The fare for executive class bus from Jogjakarta is 35,000 rupiah one way and from Solo is 25,000 rupiah one way. Even Semarang is the capital city with modern atmosphere, there still so many cheap things you can buy and enjoy. Semarang just 3 hours away north side from Jogjakarta and 2.5 hours away from Solo. So, enjoy your trip !!

Note : fare may changes, please be updated. For train schedule, you can visit the website of Kereta Api Indonesia