Borobudur

 

This famous Buddhist temple, Borobudur or 'Big Buddha' temple (candi) dating from the 8th and 9th centuries, is located in central Java. It was built in three tiers: a pyramidal base with five concentric square terraces, the trunk of a cone with three circular platforms and, at the top, a monumental stupa. The walls and balustrades are decorated with fine low reliefs, covering a total surface area of 2,500 square metres. Around the circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The monument was restored with UNESCO's help in the 1970s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur

Today it was easier for me to book the 'get your guide' trip as it would have cost almost as much to get there and buy the ticket etc. 

Bryan or Prean, my driver was really nice and I was the only one on the trip so we chatted on the way to the temple. He is 30 and from Yogyakarta and is not Muslim but Protestant. He is also a big fan of the Stone Roses, Oasis & the Beatles. 

He told me he also saw West life who did a concet at the Prambanan Temple.

It seems Yogyakarta or Jogja remains the only region in Indonesia to be considered a constitutional monarchy, operating under the leadership of King, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X. He is a recognised cultural and political authority.

I asked Prean if he liked the King and he said he did a lot of work to help the locals and to prevent the building of too many high rise's.

Prean's wife lives and works in Jakarta and his kids, aged 6 & 4 live with his parents. He mainly works as a driver between the dry season of May to October between Yogyakarta and Bali, taking people on trips.

At the temple, it was all organised so that you are given a ticket and number and put in a group with a guide. You are given special 'slippers' or sandals to wear to climb up the temple, so as not to damage the stones which are made from rocks formed from the lava of the surrounding volcanos. 

The levels represent the four stages to enlightenment, with Heaven, or Nirvana, at the top.

A Lotus flower:

The view of the temple with ladies gardening on the left and tourists taking selfies on the right 😒

The view to the East of the temple  - The temple faces east towards the sunrise - many people like to visit the temple at this time

The stones are interlocking, a bit like lego, so no cement was used in building the temple. 

You can see the pattern of the floor, and my lovely sandals!

The view from the top was stunning

Our guide was into his 'numerology' and meanings.

Apparently the numbers 123 are 'magical' - if you take your age away from 123 and add 2 it gives you the year of your birth - He thought this was amazing 😂....it doesn't quite work the same for Gen Z

The guide told us it was the Dutch restorers that painted the temple the yellowish colour you can see below, but this may not be the case. 

It was believed that the temple may have been covered in a white plaster and painted with bright colours. 

He also said it took 53 years to build but this is just an estimation. 

I guess nobody knows for sure. 

The temple was buried for years amongst the jungle before it was discovered and restored.

The carvings depict the different meditation poses which all have meanings. 

You can see how the top stones are uneven - from earthquake damage:

Down at the bottom I sat on the root of this really weird shaped 'triangular' based tree 

There were banana trees where Prean was parked and he picked me a couple

On the drive home I noticed lots of kids were riding mopeds....they are supposed to be 16 before they can drive a moped (21 for a car)....but some looked younger.

I only caught the back of these guys as they turned the corner - 3 on one moped and I recon not a day over 12 ish

I stopped in a 'back street' cafe for lunch - nasi rames or 'mixed rice' - I'd eaten most of it before I took the pic. It was rice with like a fried omelette on top and tempeh vegetables and chilli. lots of chilli!

Even in this place, all three local ladies in there were glued to their mobile phones.......

Back at my hotel