I woke up and checked my phone. It showed 2:00 a.m., so I tried to fall back asleep. However, I couldn’t get back to sleep no matter how long I kept my eyes closed. Eventually, it became 3:00 a.m., so I got up and got ready for the Mount Merapi sunrise tour.
I went downstairs, where there was a guy eating instant noodles. The guide was supposed to pick me up at 3:34 a.m., so I tried to get a little more sleep until then. A few minutes later, I got a message from the guide, Roy, saying that he had just arrived.
I went outside, and it was still completely dark. There were surprisingly quite a few people outside despite the time. If you see people outside at around that time in Japan, they are most likely drunk people who missed the last train, which I guess has become one of the famous images of Japan among foreigners.
I saw a car parked in front of the hostel, waved, and got in. Roy was wearing a beanie and looked to be in his 40s. He had a strong Indonesian accent and a lovely smile. We took off and started chatting about basic things, such as where I was from and where I had traveled during this trip.
After about 10 minutes, when we had run out of topics to talk about, he started telling me about his life, which was probably a little too deep for a first conversation with someone I had met only 10 minutes earlier. Unfortunately, because of his strong accent, I couldn’t understand much of what he was saying. It might also have been due to my own lack of English skills.
Since I was still sleepy, I needed some caffeine, so I asked him if we could stop by a coffee shop on the way. He suggested stopping at a convenience store instead because it was the only place where I could get coffee at that hour. However, I had actually seen a few coffee shops open while we were driving.
After about 40 minutes in the car, we arrived at the starting point. I got out, and another man who looked about the same age as Roy greeted me. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask his name, so I will probably never know it. It turned out that he was going to be my tour guide. I had assumed Roy would guide me throughout the tour, but I found out that he was only the driver who took me from the pickup point to the tour office.
The guide explained the three different tour options. I chose the cheapest one, which included the sunrise viewpoint and the Mount Merapi Museum. I had already been told that I would have to pay 55,000 IDR for the entrance ticket and Jeep ride, so I wasn’t surprised by the additional fee.
Before we started the tour, I went to the bathroom. The Jeep looked very old, and I later found out that it was about 80 years old. I sat right next to the driver, as I was instructed. When he started the engine, he looked a little concerned, which made me feel concerned as well.
As we drove uphill, other Jeeps full of young white tourists passed us one after another. Our Jeep was by far the slowest. The road was extremely rough, and the Jeep shook violently the entire way.
After only about 10 minutes, we stopped at a parking area where the other Jeeps were already waiting. From there, we walked to the sunrise viewpoint, which was only a few minutes away.
It was around 4:45 a.m. and still completely dark. Since the weather app said sunrise would be about an hour later, my guide first took me to a bunker while we waited. Shortly afterward, the group of young white tourists arrived as well. They turned out to be university students from Belgium.
The viewing area was filled with about 20 white tourists, me, and several guides. Since neither my guide nor I wanted to spend the whole time waiting there, we walked a little farther down the trail toward the mountain. My guide said he was going to the bathroom, although I think that really meant, “I’m going to smoke a cigarette.”
There were also some Indonesian tourists nearby. I was alone, quietly enjoying the view as the sky gradually became brighter. It was amazing to see a small eruption from the mountain while the new day slowly began. From there, I could also see the city of Yogyakarta stretching into the distance.
I spent about an hour simply enjoying the scenery. Meanwhile, my guide sat on a rock and looked at his phone.
Once it became bright enough to clearly see people’s faces, the guide took me to another viewpoint where I could look into a huge crater formed by past lava flows. It was so deep that I could easily imagine how much lava had once flowed through it.
The guide also took many photos of me throughout the tour.
We returned to the main viewpoint where the Belgian group was still chatting together. Since it still wasn’t quite time for the actual sunrise, I told my guide that I was ready to head to the next destination. I had already enjoyed the views of the city, the mountain, and the stars enough.
We got back into the old Jeep and drove about five minutes to the mining area. After parking, the guide immediately started taking photos of me with the Jeep. While I was looking around the mining site, the sun finally rose.
The guide asked if I wanted some photos with the sunrise and Mount Merapi in the background. I happily said yes, and we ended up taking some wonderful pictures. I think he was very professional when it came to photography, which is an important skill for a travel guide.
After that, we headed to the final stop, a small museum. The guide explained what had happened during the major eruption that had claimed many lives. The exhibits showed just how devastating the disaster had been.
The museum tour didn’t take long, and at the end, I took a photo with some owls. By then, it was completely daylight.
We returned to the tour office where the trip had begun. After paying the remaining tour fee, Roy, whom I assumed had been sleeping in his car during the tour, appeared with a big smile.
“How was the tour?” he asked.
“It was awesome,” I replied.
Although it was an expensive tour for me, I was happy that I had decided to do it. I just wished there had been other tourists with me so we could have split the entrance fee. That was honestly my only regret after paying for the entire tour by myself.
Overall, I was very satisfied with the experience.
One thing I have realized since I started traveling alone is that you don’t have to visit every famous tourist attraction just because everyone else does. For me, that often feels like a waste of both time and money. On the other hand, if there is something you are genuinely interested in, you should absolutely do it as long as you have the time and money, even if it costs more than you expected.
In Yogyakarta, many people recommend visiting Borobudur and Prambanan Temple. However, I decided not to go because, first, I am simply not that interested in temples, and second, I had already spent quite a lot of money on the Mount Merapi tour.
I came to Yogyakarta mainly for the food and Mount Merapi, so I was perfectly happy skipping the temples, even if some people might tell me that I should have visited them.
On the way back, Roy suggested stopping at Kopi Luwak Mataram, where I could try the famous Kopi Luwak, often called “cat poop coffee.” Although it was still before opening hours, the staff opened the shop for me after Roy called ahead.
A young woman who looked about my age gave me a short tour of the coffee-making process. I was surprised to learn that the coffee beans come from coffee cherries that have been eaten and digested by Asian palm civets.
After the short tour, I had a cup of the coffee along with complimentary potato chips. She told me it cost only 30,000 IDR (about $1.60) with free refills. Since it was both interesting and delicious, I bought a small bag of the coffee as a souvenir, even though it was quite expensive.
After leaving the coffee shop, Roy dropped me off at the hostel. I thanked him, and he told me that I could call him if I wanted a ride to any other tourist attractions. I was pretty sure I wasn’t going anywhere else while I was in Yogyakarta, but I thanked him again and got out of the car.
Since I was still sleepy after waking up at 2:00 a.m., I took a short nap on the sofa. After waking up, I left the hostel for another one where I was going to stay that night. I walked for about 25 minutes toward the central Malioboro area. The hostel was located on a small side street.
As usual, I tried to check in first, but my room wasn’t ready yet, so I left my large backpack there and went back out to look for a place where I could have lunch, drink some coffee, relax, and write.
I happened to find a hidden coffee shop called Kopi Harsa on a quiet side street. They served hamburgers as well as coffee, so I ordered a classic burger, an iced Americano, and a bottle of water. The café was quite small, and there was only one woman, who looked about my age, wearing a mask and working on her laptop. She seemed to be either the owner or an employee, taking care of the shop’s finances.
I spent some time writing my daily journal and updating this blog. It took me longer than usual because I couldn’t really focus. I also tried to charge my phone, but it wouldn’t charge. The battery was already below 10%.
Before my phone completely died, I went back to the hostel at around 4:00 p.m. to try charging it one more time. My iPhone had developed a strange problem where it would only charge after being turned off for about two hours. However, even after waiting that long, it still wouldn’t charge, which frustrated me a lot.
Traveling without a phone would be extremely difficult, so I decided to visit a shop that partnered with Apple to ask what the problem was. Fortunately, it was only a few minutes’ walk from the hostel.
The shop was almost empty. One of the staff members at the counter helped me. After I explained the situation, he first tried charging my phone with one of their Lightning cables, but nothing happened. Then he placed it on a wireless charger, and it immediately started charging.
I was so relieved to finally see the charging symbol.
The problem turned out to be a faulty charging port rather than the battery itself. I also asked him about getting it repaired. Unfortunately, the authorized repair shop was about 30 minutes away by motorcycle, and the repair would take between seven and fourteen days. Since I was leaving Yogyakarta the next day, that wasn’t an option.
My only practical choice was to buy a wireless charger, which cost about $66.
I was really hesitant because it was much more than I wanted to spend, but it was the only way to keep my iPhone usable for the rest of my trip. The staff member’s friendliness made me feel a little better, but realizing that I had just spent the equivalent of about ten nights’ accommodation in Indonesia was pretty devastating.
After leaving the shop, I headed to a popular restaurant called Gudeg Sagan, which I had really wanted to try. I took a Grab while my phone was charging on the wireless charger.
The restaurant was unbelievably crowded. It was even difficult to walk between the tables. When I reached the cashier, I asked for a table for one person. She asked whether I would mind sharing a table because every table was already occupied.
“Yes, of course,” I replied.
I was eventually guided to a table where a family of eight was sitting: a husband and wife, their four daughters (who looked to be around 8, 18, 20, and 22 years old), the wife’s mother, and the husband’s mother.
At first, they looked a little surprised, but they kindly welcomed me to the corner of their table.
To be honest, it felt a little awkward to suddenly have dinner with a large family I had never met before, but I didn’t really have another choice.
As soon as I sat down, everyone looked at me with curiosity. Since they had already ordered, the mother handed me a menu. A young waiter came over a moment later to take my order.
While waiting for the food, we started chatting. The oldest daughter, who was 22 years old, spoke English quite well, so she translated our conversation for the rest of the family.
Her mother seemed genuinely curious about why I was traveling alone.
I replied, “Everyone works, so it’s difficult to travel with friends. Besides, I like traveling alone.”
She didn’t seem completely convinced, so I added jokingly, “Maybe my friends just don’t like me.”
That made everyone laugh.
The family was from Bandung and was on vacation in Yogyakarta.
As we talked, I felt the warmth of their family. For a moment, it almost felt as though I was having dinner with my own family. Whenever I see families traveling together, I sometimes wish I had someone traveling with me as well.
By the end of our conversation, all the negative feelings I had been carrying—from losing my backpack, paying for the expensive Mount Merapi tour, and buying the costly wireless charger—had completely disappeared.
When my meal arrived, I enjoyed rice with chicken, beef, and egg. It was delicious, although the portion wasn’t quite enough for me.
After finishing dinner, I asked whether it would be okay to take a group photo together. They happily agreed.
Afterward, I said, “Terima kasih,” which means “thank you” in Indonesian. They all smiled and replied, “Terima kasih.”
As I was paying at the cashier, the two younger daughters came over and asked if I could share the photos with them via AirDrop.
“Of course,” I said.
As I left the restaurant, one of them smiled and said, “Have a great trip in Indonesia, okay?”
“Thank you! You too!” I replied.
I left the restaurant feeling incredibly happy and took a Grab back to the hostel.
Since I still wasn’t completely full after dinner, I stopped by a very popular food stall near the hostel to try some spring rolls. However, the stall was so busy that I decided to give up and come back the next day instead.
I returned to the hostel, took a shower, and went to bed at around 10:00 p.m. It had been a very long day, so I fell asleep almost immediately.
The change of the view of the Mount Merapi
