I knew next to nothing about Yogyakarta before this trip.

All I knew was that it’s the base for Borobudur, and that the name Yogyakarta was often spelled and pronounced Jogjakarta (or Yogya and Jogja for short). That was it. I didn’t even know Prambanan existed until I started doing research for this trip.

But one thing I’ve learned about travel, is that the places you know very little about often turn out to be the most fulfilling. And a lot of that has to do with expectation.

If you don’t know much about a city, then learning about its cultural significance becomes fascinating. If you don’t expect anything from a local dish, then chances are its flavors will surprise you. If you enter a castle not knowing why it’s filled with pools of water and a voyeuristic lookout tower, then you walk into that situation with an open mind.

That’s when the magic of travel happens.

Unsurprisingly, the one place I knew something about, wasn’t the most memorable Yogyakarta experience for me. Instead, it was everything else that I didn’t expect.