There’s a feeling I can never quite explain every time I have to return to Jakarta.. Even after years of living away from home, leaving my hometown always leaves a trace in my heart. Before trul,y setting off again, I took a short moment to stop by the entrance gate to Gunungkidul — a simple gateway, yet filled with meaning for me..

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The bold letters spelling “GUNUNGKIDUL” stand tall and proud, as if both welcoming and bidding farewell at the same time. . . Nearby, there’s a traditional mask statue that instantly grabs your attention. Just from its shape, you can sense that this place has a strong cultural identity. For those who’ve never been here, you might wonder: what does this mask represent? And why is it placed right at the entrance...?

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Beside a neatly arranged small garden, there’s a quiet circular pond. Its still water reflected the midday sky — hot, yes, but somehow the atmosphere remained cool and calming. A few flowers were blooming, and the lush green grass made the place feel alive. To me, this is more than just an administrative boundary. It’s a homecoming point. A memory checkpoint.

I stopped for a bit, got off my motorbike, and snapped a few casual photos. . The sun was blazing, but strangely enough, I didn’t mind staying there for a while. . It felt like I was saying goodbye — not just to this place, but to all the memories I’d once left behind. Sometimes, small moments like this stir up a storm of emotions. Gunungkidul always finds a simple way to remind me where I come from.

Gunungkidul isn’t just about gates, masks, or ponds. That’s just the surface. Beyond this gateway lies a long and rich story: hidden beaches that rival Bali’s beauty, exotic caves, rolling green hills, and warm, welcoming people. If you think Gunungkidul is only about dry lands and limestone — then you haven’t truly seen it.

And maybe, someday when you pass through this gate yourself, you’ll feel it too — that there’s something about Gunungkidul that’s simply unforgettable.

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Agung Prasetyo _{Agung prasetyo is a freelancer, now he is more focused on exploring creating content, from a life journey that has moved jobs to add experience and insight, from there agung prasetyo is determined to open jobs for others, because from his experience how difficult it is to find work. For him, making people around him smile happily is his greatest happiness. Thank you for reading, hopefully it will be useful.} [//]:# (!worldmappin -7.847418 lat 110.479460 long d3scr)

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