Yogyakarta and Borobudur:
Yogyakarta, also called Yogya for short:
Central to the island of Java, Yogya remains Java’s premier tourist city as evident with rows of hotels and restaurants in every corner.
I took a taxi from the station in Yogya to Borobudur and headed to Manohara Hotel, a four star hotel. The global economic crisis is felt everywhere because I did not have a reservation but got myself a nice room. Normally, this time of the year, everything is booked and I would be SOL. My room had a porch with an unbeatable view that overlooked the temple foothills.
I arrived very early in the morning and laid my yoga mat in a beautiful open space and yoga’d down, a much needed respite from an eight hour train ride. Thereafter, I headed to the restaurant for breakfast (included in the room charge). I met four wonderful Malaysian women who are having a great time in their vacation, Tan, Leng, Ong and Goh. We bonded and stayed together all the way back to Yogya where we toured Prabmanan Temple and many small temples.
Borobudur = “Buddhist Monastery on the Hill”
Little is known about Borobudur’s early history but speculations of its construction began some time between 750 to 850 AD. About 60,000 cubic meters of stone had to be hewn, transported and carved. The temple is built with two million block stones from enormous symmetrical stupas wrapped around the hill in eight levels. The walk is about five kilometers long passing through narrow corridors full of stoned carved panels of scenes like ships, musicians, dancers and elephants. The upper three stupas are bell shaped with Buddha inside each stupa. Touching Buddha’s feet and hands inside brings good luck. There are four stairways in each corner with each carved gateways and only two are actively used for the tourists, one for entrance the other for exit. The aerial view resembles a three dimensional tantric mandala.
The eight levels represent Buddha’s eight ways of life. Those who are familiar with Buddhism know about the world’s passion and desire studies. The carvings on the lower level of the hill displayed carvings of carnal scenes and those who followed this life were rewarded with lowlier reincarnation.
With the decline of Buddhism and the power shift to East Java, Borobudur lay forgotten and was buried under layers of volcanic ash. In 1815, Dutch migrant Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles governed Java. He discovered Borobudur and ordered its restoration. Over the years, the hill was water logged and started to subside. It was restored again from 1973 to 1983 with a whopping $25 million. About 60,000 – 80,000 workforce were recruited. Sir Thomas Raffles was the same Dutchman who eventually migrated to Singapore. He left many footprints in Singapore as well. The famous five star Raffles Hotel was named after him. The hotel is famous for serving guests like Queen Elizabeth and Michael Jackson for about $3500/night.
Soeharto’s enemies planted bombs on the hill in 1985 and many of the smaller stupas were damaged. The major earthquake in 1006, water damage and bombs in 1985 may have damaged the hill but the structure’s timeless resilience still prevailed. Most pieces lay on the museum. The Karmawibhangga museum is worth a visit. It houses interesting relics, a film on the hill’s restoration and the chemicals used for restoration, recordings on the bombs and the stones that they are trying to piece together like puzzles. Admission to the temple before sunrise is Rp. 230,000 (between 4:30 – 6:00 am) and Rp. 115,000 after ($10 - $22) which includes the museum visit. Manohara Hotel guests get in for free.
Borobudur gained the status of World Heritage site in 1991.
Mendut and Powan Temples:
Traveling with a group has its economic advantages. Tan’s group and I shared two baceks and went around the other nearby temples, museums, lunch, jewelry manufacturing, shopping and got to tour the countryside for about $10 each. Shopping was endless. Aggressive local vendors are selling souvenirs in every corner and in many cases desperate. Some claimed that they have not made sales in days or weeks. Batik shops can make you dizzy with choices of designs and styles as you wish. If you shop at a store where they have not made a sale yet, you can have a good bargain as they call it the good luck sale.
When it was time to leave Borobudur, I asked the hotel clerk to help me book a local flight to Bali. While he was on the phone, I logged on and checked the available flights. I saw Lion Air was offering a flight for Rp. 93,000 and Rp. 246,000 for taxes for a total of Rp. 339,000. Not long after, the clerk told me there was only one seat left at Garuda for Rp. 963,000. I could not book the Lion air online because they did not take a foreign credit card. I showed him what I was looking at on the internet. He claimed it was not available. It was so obvious that he only wanted to help me in his terms. I joined Tan and friends back to Yogya and found the best help and best time there. I got my flight for my price and lots of local help. Now to Bali……..
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