Someday, when covid-19 pandemic
is behind us when a beautiful day is about to begin, maybe you have a plan to
be outside to enjoy the day. Staying in Jogja gives you plenty of choices on how
you would seize your day as a tourist. One of it is having a me-time in Batu
Papal.
Located in Sleman, Batu Papal is
on Jl. Candi Ijo (read: Jalan Candi Ijo,
Candi Ijo street (Eng.)). This touristic place is near Candi Ijo (Ijo
Temple). Once you are done visiting Ijo Temple, you can go a bit further to
reach this place. Batu Papal is like a mini garden I’d say, but it has a great
view of Jogja from the top of the hill and some nice photo spots.
What I really like about Batu
Papal is its cool view of the landscape down the hill. You can stand near the fence or sit near the
fence while enjoying the view. Look down and you can see rice fields look like
a green carpet. The houses look so tiny so are the trees. Listen
to the sound of nature. Let the wind caresses your hair while you are enjoying
the moment. It’s so relaxing!
When I visited Batu Papal, the
place was still quiet. Other visitors I saw were only a couple who sat far from
the fence. I took some minutes to sit near the fence and embraced the moment
there. I made time to contemplate; thought about my life and what I’d like to
do next to seize this precious life. For once, I really thought it was romantic
sitting there seeing the great landscape with a special someone. I don’t know if you would find it romantic,
but I really thought it was so sweet sitting there feeling grateful seeing
nature’s beauty with your special someone. It’s like… you know that kind of
feeling when you want to share something with your beloved one because you
believe things are better when they are there with you. But hey, if you are
there alone, don’t worry, it’s cool too. You can have a me-time for positive
self-talks or search for the right spot to take pictures.
About taking pictures, Batu Papal
has spots for it. It has kind of a 1,5m height mini-stage in which you can
stand, pose, and get yourself in frames. It also has a love sign low-level mini-stage for taking pictures. I didn’t try any of them because I thought I got
better places to put nature’s beauty in frames.
There’s a price for nature’s
beauty seen from Batu Papal but hey, it’s affordable!! It costs only IDR 5,000.
This Batu Papal area has a parking lot, toilets, and a stall as well in which
you can buy some drinks or ice cream. The mini garden with lovely flowers is
upstairs and it has as well a swing. Oh wait, wait… All of sudden I assume this
place can be one of your places for dating! Yay! Bring your girlfriend or your
boyfriend here and you can talk about the future or the flowers or what to do
in Jogja or how you both can take a great selfie there!
So, once you are in Jogja and are
exploring the area of Ijo Temple, make sure you take time to Batu Papal. Right
there, while the wind is playing with the flowers and the fresh air keeps
relaxed and happy. Oh, by the way, if you’d like to have a me-time, where is
your favorite place to go? Please share it in the comment section below and
thank you for reading my blog.
