Adventure in Java : Magelang City and Depok City

Magelang City

Do you know Magelang city ? Well, Magelang is a small city which is located in the heart of Central Java province. It has a fertile agricultural area and dense population. Magelang city has two border. The western border is Progo river and the eastern border is Elo river.

In 2010, Magelang city has a total population of one hundred eighteen thousand people with different beliefs and religious. Majority of Magelang citizen are Moslem, but there are minority groups such as Christianit, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and trditional Javanese beliefs.

It is easy to acces the historical buildings from Magelang. Borobudur is one of the international tourist destinations. The Buddhist temple is located about 40 km north west of Yogyakarta, and it is close to Magelang city. Museum Diponegoro Prince is another heritage for the young generation. It reminds us the Java war in 1825.

Jalan Pemuda or Youth Street is the location of Magelang's Chinatown. The long road is the centre of business where we can see shops, minimarket, electronic store and restaurants. The road is divided with a narrow section reserved for becak ( a kind of rickshaw ).

Magelang Town Square is located in the city centre. At the east of the square, there are Matahari and Gardena department store. At the north, there are Trio Plaza, BCA tower, and a church. In the south we see a police station, Bank Jateng ,building, and a Confucian temple. In the west is the city's largest mosque, locally known as Kauman. 

Within the vicinity of the town square is a 15-metre high water tower, and also a statue of Prince Diponegoro riding a horse. Now Magelang city also has Artos Mall where you can satisfy yourself on shopping.

Depok City

Jakarta is surrounded by satellite cities. On of the satellite cities is Depok. People say that Depok separates Bogor from Jakarta. It is very easy to get Depok. You may take bus, electric train, taxi, or the other public transportations. Electric train is the favourite transportation, because it is cheapest and fastest means of transportation.You will not find traffic jam if you use electric train. Unfortunately, electric train is always full og the passengers.

Depok is not as hot as Jakarta, but is hotter than Yogyakarta. In the olden time, Depok was cold, because many tree grew well at the time. Now all the trees have been cut down. People buy lands in Depok and build their house there. Depok has many shopping centers, supermarket, malls, restaurants, cafe, and oher towering buildings.

One of the interesting point of Depok is the university. University of Indonesia (UI) is the best university in Indonesia. Many smart students from various place go to the university. The campus area is very large and the weather is cold, because there are many leafy trees in the campus. It also has some beautiful lakes and an amazing red bridge which is often used to make films. On weekends or Sunday mornings, many people go there to have sport activities.They also have refreshing such as jogging, playing badminton, playing football, having bike, or ther other fun activities.

Another interesting point is a mosque with the golden dome. The mosque is named Dian al-Mahri Mosque. Dian al-Mahri is a succesful Indonesian enterpreneur in Saudi Arabia, and she built the luxurious mosque for the people. Every day people visit the mosque to have prayers and recreation. The mosque is open to the public, and anybody may visit it.