Ve Handojo was trapped in the heart of Magelang and found it hard checking out.

The drive from Yogyakarta’s international airport to Magelang is more than an hour long and for the whole time I was asking myself why I agreed to follow the advice of my travel consultant / boyfriend to stay in a spa resort tagged as the closest to Borobudur temple. As if I’ve never been to Borobudur before. The last time I caught the sunrise from the top of that gigantic temple was less than a year ago. How was it? It’s a bloody sun that’s rising, alright!

After the rain, the road and the air were damp and the gloomy morning was not the most uplifting kind, especially for a cranky flashpacker like your’s truly. I was more than ready to snap at the slightest hospitality flaw. Thankfully the wet towel offered in the lobby as I arrived had that calming citrus flavour. It seemed like I had to find something else to put the blame on. You know, just for a release, and for the sake of being a travel writer with more than 16,000 followers on Twitter. Bite me.

Our pool villa had a private pool – in case you couldn’t figure it out. If the paddy cabanas surrounding us were for those who fly coach, then this villa – one of two – was the business class. If one can enjoy the view of Borobudur while having breakfast in front of their paddy cabana amidst the greenery, then this villa allows you to have a stylish dip and gaze at the ancient temple while doing the lotus position underwater.

The Colonial Mansion; great for taking high tea, and sunset from the terrace.

I found that Plataran Borobudur offers different experiences around the romantic and mystical Borobudur. When I felt too lazy for a fifteen-minute-trip to the archaelogical complex, I just used one of the telescopes in the resort, and observe the tourists that flock all the way through the Kamadathu to Arupadhatu levels. An even better idea was to book a Samyaksamadhi Ritual Massage in the Padma Spa. You know what they say, the more syllables and the harder to pronounce the name, the more exotic and remedial a massage treatment is.

Will you die from boredom staying in the middle of a village like this? That was what I was afraid of. But a healthy 30-minute walk to Punthuk Setumbu took me around the paddy fields, up to a hill where the view was best enjoyed with fresh coconuts. Lance Armstrong wannabes could also do the two-hour bike ride, which I’m pretty sure would probably last for three hours due to the many stops for taking pictures.

“After breakfast take a stroll through the complex and play with the deer and tease the arrogant peacocks.”

Another way to gaze at the 9th century Mahayana Buddhist monument from Plataran Borobudur would be with the accompanion of Menthok Geol Geol – that’s duck, slow-cooked for as long as five hours, then fully bathed in curry. In short, a sample of paradise for foodies. Other choices in the Patio restaurant include beef rendang and nasi goreng – all worth trying. Sitting in Patio was a joy in itself. The colonial style building, the antique collections, and the delicate service made me want to move my king-size bed there from the villa.

Plataran Borobudur make their own bread and butter, of which there is papaya butter, anchovy butter and black pepper butter – I kid you not! Their fresh panini bread defined my good mornings and from the Stupa breakfast café we had views of Borobudur temple as our main course. After breakfast take a stroll through the complex and play with the deer and tease the arrogant peacocks, which are all members of the Plataran Borobudur family.

Blending with the locale harmoniously, Plataran Borobudur is not merely designed for travel snobs. This is the kind of stay that drives you to explore and discover. And what you discover will linger for long within. As I travelled back to Yogyakarta to catch my flight, I had another thought during the time that passed. What was I thinking when I said no to my travel consultant’s initial idea to stay there for a week? Bloody fool me.

Plataran Borobudur
Borobudur
Magelang, Central Java
Tel: +62 293 788 888
www.plataranborobudur.com

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