Balkondes Tuksongo

You can spend a long time here enjoying nature, and there’s a nice view of Borobudur temple in the distance. The traditional food is delicious, especially LODEH. You can also stay a night or two at the homestay managed by Balkondes.

The setting is a big part of the appeal: it’s close to Menoreh Hill, surrounded by rice and tobacco fields, with fresh air and a large garden. The weather was pleasant too. The location is a lovely one for a lodge, and the price is affordable. I like the Balkondes idea for tourism in Magelang: BUMN invests while BUMDes manages and operates the business. I hope other cities take inspiration from it and make it even better. The bedroom was clean and comfortable, the air conditioning worked well, the lighting was bright enough, and the TV channels were decent. The bathroom worked well too, including the shower and hot water, though it could use a little more cleaning. Facilities and amenities were good, with sandals, towels, shower gel, and shampoo. Service felt like a three-star hotel, with helpful, professional staff, even if the presentation was simple. There’s a restaurant serving breakfast and other food and drinks. The menu is simple, but the food tasted good and was worth the price. Options included fried rice, fried chicken, porridge, and fried noodles cooked in a traditional style, plus snacks like fried banana, fried cassava, and mendoan. For drinks, there was coffee, tea, ginger drinks, chocolate, and fresh fruit juice. I’d recommend giving it a try, and I’ll come back next time.

A pleasant place to spend time with friends or family, with an ethnic feel and traditional food and drinks. Parking wasn’t a problem, the prices were okay, and the service was nice. You can visit on weekdays too, not just weekends.

Borobudur is only about a five-minute drive away. There’s lots of open space and it feels close to nature, with a couple of Javanese-style huts called pendopo. It stayed fairly cool even at midday in what should have been the dry season. Parking can be a little tricky, but it’s manageable.