Prambanan Temple

Prambanan temple is the largest Hindu temple of ancient Java, and the first building was completed in the mid-9th century.

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

There is a Javanese legend attached as to why the temple was built :

Background info:

Rather than take an expensive tour, I decided to make my own way to the temple by foot

and by public transport, via the Yogyakarta commuter line.

It was a 25 minute walk to the temple complex, where I discovered that there were two prices charged for entry - A foreign visitor price and a MUCH cheaper Indonesian citizen price. 

On entering the area of the main Prambanan temple I was approached by two young girls who asked me if they could show me round the temple as part of their guide training ans assured me this would be free......

I was a little uneasy, but they seemed quite sweet and harmless enough and they were very knowledgeable about the all the strange Hindu stories and legends. Lots of other tourists were being guided round by the official guides, and probably paying a premium, so I felt quite lucky

The temples were very beautiful and you could explore inside each one

After we had explored all the temples of the Hindu Gods the girls said goodbye, and I felt a little guilty & offered them some money, but they insisted it was free and part of their training and just asked if they could have a photo with me

Mount Merapi in the distance - still hiding from me behind the cloud! you can see the ruins of the other temple structures

The lotus flower is the foremost symbol of beauty, prosperity and fertility. According to Hinduism, within each human is the spirit of the sacred lotus. It represents eternity, purity, divinity, and is widely used as a symbol of life, fertility, ever-renewing youth. The lotus flower is used to describe feminine beauty, especially female eyes.

Lotus flower carvings:

More kids wanting pics with me

So many of the temple structures were earthquake damaged and repairs are done constantly

I went on to explore the rest of the site which was huge. 

Another on the site was Candi (meaning temple) Sewu, the second largest Buddhist temple in Indonesia after Borobudur, and was built in the 8th century (not 9th as I say in the video)

It was peaceful wandering around this temple, with hardly anyone else there

I treated myself to some lunch, 

'mie ayam goreng' which is fried javanese chicken noodles

On leaving you are forced to pass through a kind of market full of 'stuff' ......

'only 20000' they call out.....that's Indonesian rupees - about a pound - everything's 'a pound'

and I got to thinking how bad we are as humans, no matter what country, with our obsession with consumption.  

The souvenir market was full of tacky stuff to buy, Prambanan T shirts and other clothing, trinkets and toys. 

I have particularly noticed that everything here is double wrapped in plastic. 

For example, if you buy a cold coffee it is put in a plastic cup with a plastic lid on top, sealed so you can poke the plastic straw through, plus that is all.put in a plastic bag. 

Even the pot noodles have an extra plastic casing around them. 

I must have been tired and got myself into a bit of a black mood, taking pictures of the pollution and rubbish on the way back to my hotel, which is so sad to see

You wouldn't want to swim in this river

I think sometimes its easy to forget, when we are visiting temples and musems as tourists, that parts of the city are so very poor. 

Even the chickens are skinny

'Ayam anyone?.....'