AMANJIWO

Clockwise from top L: Borobudur suite, Bale overlooking the fields, outdoor bath, bedroom

I celebrated my birthday at the end of July with a very special treat from my husband - a trip to Jogjakarta to visit Borobudur and stay at Amanjiwo.  What a fantastic two days and two nights at the resort and went around both Jogjakarta and Borobudur.

We left Bali very early on a Sunday and arrived in Jogjakarta after a 55-minute flight.  As soon as we were picked up at the airport, we went straight to visit two temples the smaller Buddhist temple - Candi (temple) Plaosan, and the UNESCO World Heritage site  and the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, Prambanan  (more on that later).

Scenes from Amanjiwo (clockwise top from top L):
fruit platter, paints and a palette, our room key, the lily pond at the entrance, petals by the reception, a glass painting

After a very cultural morning, we went to the Hyatt hotel for a leisurely and much needed breakfast before meeting up with a driver who would then take us for a bit of retail therapy to two shops recommended by a friend - one for stingray bags and accessories and another for handmade batik.  Unfortunately, the stingray shop didn't have much on display at that moment so I settled for a shagreen-lined wooden tray and a black shagreen wallet.  We were luckier at the batik store though and came away with several reasonably-priced cotton batik fabrics which we will have made into cushion covers, place mats and coasters.

Afternoon tea ceremony at Amanjjiwo's bar

After our hectic morning, we finally made our way to Borobudur, about an hour away from Jogjakarta, to Amanjiwo where we were welcomed by the general manager.  After a welcome drink of homemade chilled ginger beer (fizzy and non-alcoholic),  we were escorted to our suite - a large room with his and hers dressing areas, a private plunge pool and a bale overlooking the fields with Borobudur temple in the distance.  We immediately changed into our swimsuits and read by the pool.  We woke up from our nap staring and had a delicious goat's cheese, tomato and red pepper bruschetta then went to the bar for some ginger tea - a freshly-ground infusion of ginger, lemongrass, cloves, star anise, nutmeg, cinnamon, mint leaves and lime juice.  

That evening we had a simple dinner at the restaurant - nasi goreng for me and the lamb with hummus and pita for A and turned in early in anticipation of our 4:00 a.m. wake-up call for the sunrise at Borobudur.

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Amanjiwo

Ds. Majaksingi, Borobudur, Magelang

Central Java, Indonesia
tel:      + 62 293 788 333fax:      +62 293 788 355email: amanjiwo@amanresorts.com