Malioboro

The Rodeo Drive of Jogja (minus all the designer boutiques and name brands, although many knockoffs of those name brands can be found here), according to my local friends this is the place to be seen. Or just to go shopping. Or just to impress a girl on a date. Or just to go for a pedicab ride. Basically, this is the most happening part of the city. Malioboro is actually the name of the main boulevard that runs through the middle of this area, both sides of which are lined with shops (many of them catering to tourists) and the sidewalks are crammed with all sorts of vendors and hawkers. The boulevard runs into the Yogyakarta palace grounds (Yogyakarta Special Region has the unique distinction in Indonesia of being the only province in the country still governed by a precolonial Sultanate, thus the palace at the center of the city) at its north end. Malioboro is also the area a number of backpackers find cheap (or expensive) lodging, so this street is quite familiar to many a tourist who has descended upon this city.