When in doubt, ask around—and inquire I did, not just to anybody but to travel experts in that cool travel community I was a part of. Paul and Joshua, two fellow travel bloggers who had recently spent a week in Yogyakarta, were quick to recommend that hostel when I made an inquiry about a place to stay while in Yogyakarta on our Facebook group. It was the community I was talking about, composed of travel addicts who capered rehab by constantly wandering on the road. Edu Hostel was the top choice, and after making a quick study of a handful of other options, I booked that hotel online a week prior to my departure for Jakarta.
Much About Edu Hostel in Yogyakarta
Arrival in Yogyakarta
After walking out of Tugu Station in Yogyakarta, and with my butt still numbed from the almost eight-hour train ride, I quickly looked out for a becak to take me to Edu Hostel. One driver did not know the place, so when I asked another one, I handed him my booking printout showing the address, and instantly off we went. While passing by the downtown district, a jolt of excitement ran through my nerves, and I realized that the feeling of being in a new place was like being blown away by benevolent blues, and in the process, I slowly opened myself to a new, wider part of the world.
I stayed at Edu Hostel for three nights, paying for a bed (300 pesos per night) in one of its dorm-type rooms, which fit six travelers on three double-deck beds and also had a private shower and spacious lockers for each guest. Aside from the whole day of temple and stupa immersion at Borobudur and Prambanan, I mostly spent the day walking around Yogyakarta, with the downtown part of Malioboro Street just a mere ten-minute walk away from the hostel.
A Melting Pot of Digital Nomads
Every time I went back to the hostel to rest, I always hung around at the common area where I got to talk with other travelers who were updating their social media websites. Some, like me, could be seen trying to fit in some work because they also did online-based jobs. I guessed more travelers nowadays were finding opportunities to earn doing online work, which was the reason they found a lot of time to travel long-term.
There was a long-haired South Korean guy named Jin who dressed up in a batik blouse, baggy slacks, and high-heeled closed shoes, but talked about falling in love with a girl in Boracay when he found out I was from the Philippines. Nathalie and Kristie from Sweden gave me a list of must-eat street foods, telling me I should never leave Yogyakarta without trying those. I thought I was able to try out half of the foods they listed before I went back to Jakarta.
Brief Encounters and Long Journeys
The hostel staff was so friendly that by my first night they already called me by my name, which they pronounced as "MORK". The third day, when I went back to the hostel to take a quick shower after a whole morning of walking around, I chanced upon one of my roommates in the middle of his Muslim prayer. As I was closing the door silently behind me, I turned around and saw him just concluding his prayer with a deeply concentrated mumbling, and afterward, he introduced himself as Eko, a local traveler from Jakarta.
My other roommates just passed by for a night or two; some were going straight to Mount Bromo, while the other one was headed to Bali. I had the impression that most had been traveling in Indonesia for a long time. Magnus and his girlfriend Stef, both German, had been traveling there for three months already. Over breakfast, they asked me if it was worth it to go to the Philippines. I told them, "Yes, and make sure you have at least four months to spare, as there are many beautiful places to see." Their eyes lit up with excitement—the same thing I felt when I finished up my plate and the thought of exploring Yogyakarta for another day was just about to start.
