On 26th October we are planning to hold a daytime reception, with a klenengan (Javanese gamelan music performance), dance, and possibly other musical entertainment. Lunch will be served, and the setting will be in traditional Javanese style, where the guests sit on chairs in rows outdoors underneath canopies.
That night we will hold a wayang kulit performance (Javanese shadow puppet theatre accompanied by gamelan music). The dhalang (puppeteer) will be Mbah Parno from Trucuk, Klaten, who we individually both considered as the right dhalang for our wedding. He is Jarwo's great uncle and teaches numerous gamelan groups based at my teacher's house. Kitsie Emerson has kindly offered to provide simultaneous translation into English so even if you do not understand Javanese you will be able to follow the story and some of the jokes. The performance will run all night, from around 9pm until perhaps 4am, though you don't have to stay for the whole thing. The audience is free to move around, come and go, chat, eat and drink throughout.
For guests from abroad we'll arrange transportation from Solo to the reception, and then either returning to Solo to rest before the wayang, or resting in Klaten, depending on the time. You will be able to return to Solo after the wayang or earlier if you are tired.
More details to come...
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Friday, 5 March 2010
New Map with Photos
If you are curious about Solo, the city where I live, please have a look at the Solo Area Map tab - see the link above or click here. You can see photos and read descriptions of various places of interest in and around Solo. Over time I plan to add to this map.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
Getting Here from the UK
If you're thinking of coming to our wedding from abroad, one of the first things you'll need to think about is how to get here. I'll talk about flights first as that is likely to be the most popular way to travel...
You will need to travel to Solo (the long name is Surakarta), in Central Java, Indonesia. This is the city where I live, and the most sensible place for you to stay. The airport is about half an hour from the city centre by taxi, costing around 50,000 rupiahs. We are getting married in Klaten, about an hour's drive away from Solo. Specially for guests from abroad, transport to the wedding will be organised.
Via Jakarta
The most common way into Solo is via Jakarta. Many airlines fly from the UK to Jakarta, most of them via the Middle East, so you transit in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or Qatar. The cheapest airline varies, and it's best to shop around. I have flown with Qatar Airways and Gulf Air. Emirates and Etihad are also popular affordable choices.
I usually search a range of website to find the cheapest tickets - I recommend using Kayak to get a general idea of prices, but I have found I can usually beat their cheapest ticket. Asda Flights (yes it really exists) has good cheap options, and in the past I have found the cheapest ticket to be on Opodo and Ebookers as well. You should also check the airlines' own websites for promotions.
From Jakarta you can fly direct to Solo or Yogya, or take a train (around 9 or 10 hours, day or night options available). If it's your first time here you might prefer to fly from Jakarta to Solo, then fully relax and recover from the journey. You can book your Solo-bound ticket from the UK, thereby giving you peace of mind on your journey. Plane tickets from Jakarta to Solo can cost as little as 300,000 rupiahs depending on the date and airline. Various domestic airlines, with possibly dubious safety records but cheap cheap prices, ply this route, as well as more respected airlines such as Garuda (yes in Indonesia Garuda is still considered a safe airline despite being banned from international routes a couple of years ago). If your transit time in Jakarta is short, I recommend you pay a bit extra and fly to Solo/Yogya with Garuda. This is because all Garuda flights depart from the International Terminal at Jakarta so you won't have to change terminals (a hassle of a bus journey).
If your Jakarta-bound plane is too late for the last Solo flight, you can fly into Yogyakarta (or Yogya) and take a taxi to Solo, which will take about 2 hours and cost around 200,000 rupiahs. Or you could spend a few days exploring Yogya before coming to Solo.
However, if you fancy more of an adventure and have time, I do recommend the daytime train journey - lots of beautiful views of the Javanese countryside, very comfy seats, and powerful air-con. Ticket prices vary depending on the date, around 200,000-300,000 rupiah. Outside holiday periods you can usually buy a ticket one day in advance (during holidays trains fill up, but our wedding is not near any national holiday).
Avoiding Jakarta
You don't have to arrive via Jakarta, however. If you are making your visit into a longer holiday you may prefer to come via somewhere more interesting (Jakarta probably rates lowest of all the South East Asian capital cities I've visited).
You could head to Bali first, flying into Denpasar, enjoy a beach holiday there, and then come to Java by plane or bus/ferry.
You can also fly via Kuala Lumpur with Air Asia: London-KL-Solo. I found this route very good (and cheap) in December 2009/January 2010 because you only transit once, in KL, though the 14 hour London-KL leg feels quite long. Air Asia flights don't show up on searches using Kayak or other general websites, so you need to search their website separately.
If you're not looking for cheap options you can fly via Singapore with Singapore Air, and then fly Singapore-Solo direct. I believe that Singapore Air use their biggest plane on the London-Singapore route, with individual rooms for first class passengers.
Not into flying?
If you want to come to the wedding but are absolutely not going to fly here there's nothing to stop you travelling overland/sea, if you have time and money. The most obvious route is to take a ferry across to Scandinavia, head to Russia and pick up the Trans-Siberian Express, head to Northern China, travel down China to the South, enter Thailand (or Laos or Vietnam), travel South through South East Asia through Thailand, Malaysia and get a ferry into Indonesia (there are various routes depending on which island you want to arrive on). This would be a breath-taking journey and I'd love to do it myself one day. You would need to leave at least 3 weeks for the journey alone, be prepared to sleep on trains/buses and arrange visas for some of the countries. I'm sure travelling overland would be more expensive than flying, but also much more of an adventure... There are obviously other routes you could take, but I think this would be the quickest and most simple to organise.
Exchange Rate
£1 is about 15,000 rupiahs (though it seems to fluctuate between 14,000 - 17,000. I recommend checking here or other currency conversion sites.
You will need to travel to Solo (the long name is Surakarta), in Central Java, Indonesia. This is the city where I live, and the most sensible place for you to stay. The airport is about half an hour from the city centre by taxi, costing around 50,000 rupiahs. We are getting married in Klaten, about an hour's drive away from Solo. Specially for guests from abroad, transport to the wedding will be organised.
Via Jakarta
The most common way into Solo is via Jakarta. Many airlines fly from the UK to Jakarta, most of them via the Middle East, so you transit in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or Qatar. The cheapest airline varies, and it's best to shop around. I have flown with Qatar Airways and Gulf Air. Emirates and Etihad are also popular affordable choices.
I usually search a range of website to find the cheapest tickets - I recommend using Kayak to get a general idea of prices, but I have found I can usually beat their cheapest ticket. Asda Flights (yes it really exists) has good cheap options, and in the past I have found the cheapest ticket to be on Opodo and Ebookers as well. You should also check the airlines' own websites for promotions.
From Jakarta you can fly direct to Solo or Yogya, or take a train (around 9 or 10 hours, day or night options available). If it's your first time here you might prefer to fly from Jakarta to Solo, then fully relax and recover from the journey. You can book your Solo-bound ticket from the UK, thereby giving you peace of mind on your journey. Plane tickets from Jakarta to Solo can cost as little as 300,000 rupiahs depending on the date and airline. Various domestic airlines, with possibly dubious safety records but cheap cheap prices, ply this route, as well as more respected airlines such as Garuda (yes in Indonesia Garuda is still considered a safe airline despite being banned from international routes a couple of years ago). If your transit time in Jakarta is short, I recommend you pay a bit extra and fly to Solo/Yogya with Garuda. This is because all Garuda flights depart from the International Terminal at Jakarta so you won't have to change terminals (a hassle of a bus journey).
If your Jakarta-bound plane is too late for the last Solo flight, you can fly into Yogyakarta (or Yogya) and take a taxi to Solo, which will take about 2 hours and cost around 200,000 rupiahs. Or you could spend a few days exploring Yogya before coming to Solo.
However, if you fancy more of an adventure and have time, I do recommend the daytime train journey - lots of beautiful views of the Javanese countryside, very comfy seats, and powerful air-con. Ticket prices vary depending on the date, around 200,000-300,000 rupiah. Outside holiday periods you can usually buy a ticket one day in advance (during holidays trains fill up, but our wedding is not near any national holiday).
Avoiding Jakarta
You don't have to arrive via Jakarta, however. If you are making your visit into a longer holiday you may prefer to come via somewhere more interesting (Jakarta probably rates lowest of all the South East Asian capital cities I've visited).
You could head to Bali first, flying into Denpasar, enjoy a beach holiday there, and then come to Java by plane or bus/ferry.
You can also fly via Kuala Lumpur with Air Asia: London-KL-Solo. I found this route very good (and cheap) in December 2009/January 2010 because you only transit once, in KL, though the 14 hour London-KL leg feels quite long. Air Asia flights don't show up on searches using Kayak or other general websites, so you need to search their website separately.
If you're not looking for cheap options you can fly via Singapore with Singapore Air, and then fly Singapore-Solo direct. I believe that Singapore Air use their biggest plane on the London-Singapore route, with individual rooms for first class passengers.
Not into flying?
If you want to come to the wedding but are absolutely not going to fly here there's nothing to stop you travelling overland/sea, if you have time and money. The most obvious route is to take a ferry across to Scandinavia, head to Russia and pick up the Trans-Siberian Express, head to Northern China, travel down China to the South, enter Thailand (or Laos or Vietnam), travel South through South East Asia through Thailand, Malaysia and get a ferry into Indonesia (there are various routes depending on which island you want to arrive on). This would be a breath-taking journey and I'd love to do it myself one day. You would need to leave at least 3 weeks for the journey alone, be prepared to sleep on trains/buses and arrange visas for some of the countries. I'm sure travelling overland would be more expensive than flying, but also much more of an adventure... There are obviously other routes you could take, but I think this would be the quickest and most simple to organise.
Exchange Rate
£1 is about 15,000 rupiahs (though it seems to fluctuate between 14,000 - 17,000. I recommend checking here or other currency conversion sites.
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