Java, Indonesia: Borobudur, Prabanan and other Temples of the Ancients, February 22 - 26, 2011
Hootoksi Tyabji, Shah Alam, February 2011
To Herald my 60th birthday in February 2011, the year of the Rabbit, we chose to visit Borobudur.
Robert, our good friend Nergish Maneckshaw (Nigs) from Penang, and I set off to see this architectural wonder of the world, the Borobudur Buddhist Stupa built in the 9th century, and listed by UNESCO as a world heritage site.
Borobudur is an hour’s drive by taxi from the Yogyakarta airport, where our AirAsia Flight landed. We were incredibly lucky to find Mr. Topo, a taxi driver we hired again and again during our stay in Indonesia. He drove very well considering he only had the use of one eye! We chose to stay at the beautiful Saraswati Hotel, in Borobudur because of its proximity to the Monument which we wanted to see the following morning at first light.
Our rooms were large and luxurious, each had its own sitting room and two bathrooms, so once we had showered, we were ready to go out and explore the area around us. Rather than a taxi we chose to hire an “Andong “(horse-drawn carriage) to visit two other temples about three kilometers from our hotel. The first and larger one is called Mendut and the smaller one, Pawon. These along with the Borobudur Stupa are said to be constructed in a straight line.
Nigs and I sat in the back of the carriage while Robert sat up front with the driver. Alexander our pony, trotted along gamely, allowing us to observe the activities of the village, farmers working their paddy and cassava fields, and the school children enjoying their walk back home at the end of a long day. They were delighted to be able to chase after our Andong screeching, chattering, and laughing as they did! The slow trot-trot of the pony and the swaying from side to side almost put me to sleep and made me think of a by-gone era when life was so different!
As we approached Mendut temple, we saw the most glorious Peepal tree that looked as if it had been standing there even before the temple had been built! It was huge and awe-inspiring and reminded me of Bob Marley because of its roots which were trailing down like dreadlocks! I imagined they would spin and twirl in the breeze to his famous song “One love, one Heart, lets get together and feel alright”
The main room of the temple had three large statues carved in stone. They were incredible, because they had been carved in the 9th century with primitive tools!
A few meters outside the temple compound was a Buddhist learning and meditation centre called the Mendut Buddhist Monastery. We walked around admiring the beauty of the carvings and the nature surrounding them and drank in the all-pervading peace and calm of the place. As the sun was fading fast, we hopped back in the Andong and went past the Pawon temple which we only admired from the outside.
The next morning, we woke up in the dark at 4.30 AM and walked with our torches along the path that led to the 46-meter monolith that is the sacred Borobudur Stupa. Mount Merapi, which had caused so much devastation in the region, loomed behind us.
The Borobodur Monument ‘comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms. It is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the centre of the platform at the top, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside a perforated stupa’ – Wikipedia
To get from one platform to the next we had to climb up some steep steps and we positioned ourselves on the 5th level facing east so that we could enjoy the sunrise. We watched as the sky turned from black, to rose, to orange, lighting up Mt Merapi, lifting her out of the mist and showing her to us in the first glow of the sun. Merapi is the notoriously active volcano that was watched by millions around the world on their TV screens as it spewed vast quantities of ash and lava, causing widespread havoc, destruction, and death just a few months before our visit. Now Merapi was quiet again, and watching her emerge in the dawn was magical, made extra special by the simultaneous unveiling of the stupa which till that time had been in the dark. Now we could see the definition in the form and the detail in the carvings all around us.
Sadly, many of the Buddha statues were missing, their heads. stolen or perhaps ravaged by the elements or time?
Three hours later when we had seen all there was to see around the monument, we walked back to our hotel for breakfast and then drove to Yogyakarta in Mr. Topo’s taxi. On the way there, we stopped to view the famous Prambanam Hindu Temples built in the 10’th century and designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site.
There are three main temples, one dedicated to Vishnu, another to Shiva (the tallest) and the third to Brahma. Each house beautiful stone reliefs, many still intact, telling the story of the Ramayan. There are also two Buddhist temples, Candi Lumbung and Candi Bubrah, located several hundred meters further north. They lie in ruins and are fenced off, but we drove to them in a little "train" that encircles the temple complex. Ancient temples in Indonesia are called Candi.
We had booked at the Duta Garden Hotel in the heart of Yogyakarta. The name of the hotel was apt as the garden was not just an added feature, it was an integral part of it. Beautifully landscaped, it had waterfalls, ponds, streams, fish, birds, flowers, trees & shrubs. Every room had a dedicated sit-out area, complete with its own water feature and tropical plants.
Walking around the streets looking for a restaurant we discovered "K’s Meals", oddly named, but the food was terrific! We ate pizzas and salad and were serenaded by a ragtag band of musicians who played on a chipped and cracked double bass with only three strings, a guitar with strings missing, a drum that had seen better days, and two of what looked like toy guitars. The musicians sang their hearts out, mostly Beatles numbers in an almost unrecognizable English! They were clearly enjoying the music and sang with a passion that I found quite moving!
On day three Mr. Topo ditched us but sent in his place a jolly young chap who tried his best to teach us Javanese, but our geriatric brains just about managed the numbers 8 and 10 and got no further! He drove us to Solo, the city most famous in all of Indonesia for its wonderful batiks and we got carried away and bought quite a few!
On the way to Solo we stopped off to visit the extensive Ratu Boko archaeological site which covers 16 hectares and is located in two hamlets. It was a settlement of some sort, probably a palace complex with temples, meeting halls, fortified walls, a dry moat and a vast bathing or swimming area. Sheep were grazing the extensive grassy areas between the ruins, there was a little village beside the site and walking through it transported us all back in time when life was simple, and possessions were few!
It was lovely to get back to our garden paradise and relax there before we set off to explore the city and view its sites. We walked to the Kroton (Sultan's palace) but were told it was closed because they were having a circumcision ceremony that morning. We visited an old Mosque, a museum and walked around the marketplace where we got a good foot massage!
And so, ended our 5 day visit to Yogyakarta where we were once again awed by man’s tenacity of spirit and his desire to manifest a love of the divine in grand edifices built for posterity.
That said, I must admit I was more inspired by the Peepal tree than the Mendut temple beside it. For Robert and me, nature wins out every time!
More photos on Flickr...