Cooling My Boots at the Via Via Travelers Café in Jogjakarta

Andy Hill

The Via Via Travelers Café is the kind of establishment that every town needs. Living up to and fulfilling its namesake, Via Via is basically a cultural embassy for the locations in which it can be found, which at the time of writing are in Central and South America, Africa, Asia and Europe.

I recently cooled my heels at a Via Via in Jogjakarta, and, as a frazzled and discombobulated traveler, I was very thankful for it being there.

Food, rooms and fair-trade goods

First of all, the food is really great. They do local Indonesian dishes like nasi goreng and gado gado really well, but there is also a wide variety of dishes from around the world, from Indian and Thai to Norwegian pan-fried salmon, Middle-Eastern mezze, pastas and burgers.

Attached to the café is a well-stocked shop offering many different fair-trade, locally-made items like handmade stationary, soaps, bags from recycled tires and shirts adorned with art by Javanese artists.

The travel desk saved my life several nights ago when I needed to book an airline ticket from Jogjakarta to Shanghai completely on the fly. The more-than-capable woman working the desk was able to put together an itinerary that accompanied my frenzied travel needs and at a forgivingly low rate.

The Via Via in Jogjakarta also runs a smart hostel down the street with affordable rooms and an inviting garden space in which to trade travel advice over beers or coffee.

A venue for local art

Probably the coolest thing about the Via Via in Jogjakarta is the fact that the café’s walls double as a space for the city’s many remarkable artists to showcase their work. Although there are many galleries in that very aesthetically-driven city, Via Via is one of the most renowned.

I hope to see more of these cafés spring up around the world. In a world of businesses catering to backpackers and flashpackers, many of which I have seen and utilized, Via Via is uniquely local in its mission while remaining universal in welcoming any and all who need an amazing place to eat, drink, soak up some local information and culture and meet others intent on doing the same.

Visit their website at www.viaviacafe.com to find a Via Via Travelers Café near your next travel destination.