On Monday I woke up to my alarm going off at 3:30am — I was getting up early for a sunrise tour of two temples in the area, Borobudur and Prambanan. As Borobudur is one of the few regions in Indonesia with maleria, I was wearing long pants and a long sleeve shirt despite a very hot weather forecast. A German couple I met who was staying at my hostel were also on the tour, and we sat around complaining about it being early until our driver came. Upon getting picked up we drove out to a view point looking out over Borobudur at a few of the many mountains and volcanoes on Indonesia, but it was unfortunately very foggy so we didn’t get much of a view. It was still very pretty and quite serene, though.
From there, we drove over to Borobudur, a buddhist temple – the main reason I had decided to come to Yogyakarta. Built over the course of 50 years and finished in 825 AD, Borobudur is an architectural marval considering how well preserved it is today. It is made up of 6 different square levels and topped by 3 more cocentric circular levels populated with 72 Buddha statues, each roughly 5-10 m high, symetrically spaced and seated inside stupas (which look like large bells). In total it has over 500 Buddha statues and over 2,500 relief panels depiting very scenes in extenuating detail. When getting our tickets, we were required to put on a sarong as a symbolic show of respect for this historical religious artifact. Walking towards Borobudur, it was very foggy, with Buddha statues looking peacefully out into the distance, adding to the mysteriousness of the temple. Comprised of about 2 million stones and situated amongst mountains and palm trees, the compound was amazing to see.
I was struck by the detail of the relief panels at a micro level, thinking about how long it must have taken to make the whole temple. It really did show the power of teamwork when a collection of people feel strongly about a goal — in this case a goal which was only realized after 50 years of work by thousands. That really shows devotion.
Interestingly, the temple was forgotten and abandoned in the 14th century and only rediscovered in 1814, when a British man was advised of its location by a native Indonesian. From then, it has grown in popularity and is now Indonesia’s single most visited tourist attraction.
After touring around the site and checking out a few neighboring museums, we met back up with our tour group and headed to the other major temple site in the area, Prambanan. In constrast with Borobudur, which is a single Buddhist temple, Prambanan is a collection of Hindu temples. It is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia, with its distinctive tall and pointed architecture and buildings towering at over 150 ft. It was built around the same time, in the 9th century.
While touring around the compounds with the German temple we were stopped frequently by local tourists who wanted to take pictures with us. Why I do not know, but we quickly got used to it and were quick to agree to the pictures seeing how happy it made the locals. This by the way was not them taking pictures of us, but rather with us, whether it be with children, adults, or even whole families. After speaking with some locals later during my time in Indonesia, my only guess is that given the wealth they associate with foreigners and importance of status within their culture, taking pictures with us is sort of like meeting a celebrity? (Note: if you have further knowledge behind the picture taking with tourists in Indonesia, I would love to hear from you in the comment section below).
Finally, we returned back to our lodging. Tired from a day in the sun, I booked a traditional Javanese massage. I do not have much experience with massages in general, but the Java massage was quite a unique experience. 80% of it was great and what you would expect from a massage, with the other 20% comprised of what I can only describe as punching and slapping. It was literally painful, but somehow afterwards makes me feel quite relaxed. Go figure.
That evening I went for Italian food again – I was leaving on a 12 hour bus ride the next day and did not want to introduce any troublesome stomach issues in advance 
Itinerary Highlights
–Borobudur
–Prambanan
–Traditional Javanese massage
Lessons Learned
–Through the power of a collective team and dedication towards a goal, amazing things can be accomplished
–You can develop meaningful friendships in a short amount of time through shared experiences. Meeting people on the road is fun, and it is more enjoyable to experience travel with others — even if you just met them yesterday!
What is the most amazing thing you can think of that was accomplished by a team of people working towards a common goal?
With a movie camera, you could have made a film for TV. Hard to believe what you are seeing and learning. Luv, Bub
Most amazing thing by a team:
YOU!