A trip to Jogja - Part 2: Spectacular Borobudur!

Hi Guys,

To read A trip to Jojga - Part 1: The 9th Century Prambanan Temple, click here.

Borobudur has a famous Sunrise tour which is supposed to give a spectacular view of the sunrise amidst the mountains, but with the rains I decided it was not worth making it. After waking up at 6 am, the walk to the temple was took 10 minutes. A group of foreigners were coming back down the temple stairs after completing the Sunrise tour. A large chunk of school kids had come in for touring the temple.

The famous Buddha statue amidst stupas and the picturesque mountain behind!

A view from the top of the temple

A view from the side of the temple

While Prambanan temple is largely a Hindu architecture, the Borobudur temple is slightly different. The temple’s structures is more like a large cube with layers of squares inside. Constructed in 9 layers with 118 meters width a 35 meters height, the outer six are squares and inner three are circular with bell shaped stupas around. There are 72 small stupas and one giant central piece. Apparently, this temple was also built in 9^th century, probably before the Prambanan temple by the rival Sailendra Dynasty. And the temple was abandoned and rediscovered in the recent centuries. Indonesian Government has taken special interest in restoring the temple to show the world that they value their culture and are secular in nature.

The Rain Starts and the Umbrellas are out on rent!

One of the many Buddha Statues

As I reached the top of the temple and was having a look at the surrounding mountains and fields, the sky opened up and it started raining. And I having forgotten by Umbrella at the room had no choice but to take shelter at one of the pillars. And some Bollywood fanatic locals came up to take a picture – there a quite a few words that you will keep hearing across in Indonesia – it includes Shah Rukh Khan, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Ahchaa, Nahi… And as rain was not relenting, I took an Umbrella on rent (interesting business) for IDR 10,000 from the base. And then I began my walk up again to the top. After spending some time seeing the numerous Buddha statues around and taking a stroll through each of the layers which contains relics from the life of Gautama Buddha, I walked down. On the best of days with no rain, I believe one can sit in the top and enjoy the mesmerizing views around.

One of the many relics in the nine layers depicting the life of Gautama Buddha!

And one Selfie with the stupas amidst the rain!

Similar to the Prambanan temple, the complex is huge and there a lot of activities to do. Early in the morning, most of the souvenir shops were just being opened. And a chunk of tourists had started pouring in. Coming back to the guest house and munching on the no meat Nasi Goreng and feeding fishes in the paddy fields, it was time to head back to Jogja. This time, decided to take the local bus from Borobudur to Jogja. It costed IDR 25,000 a fraction of the Grab trip. The bus was as good as a rural Indian bus and the driver took his own sweet time to drive. Driving through some small towns and across rivers, we reached Jogja a little later than 1 pm.

The paddy fields behind the guest house. How peaceful life is here!

After having completed the main objective of the tour, it was time to have a look at the Jogja’s Royal Place called Keraton and a dutch time swimming pool in Taman Sari. And then I hit the traditional and classic shopping street of Jogja – Jalan Malioboro. After a stroll across, spent some time in souvenir purchase in the shop of Hamza Batik. After watching the local street vendors cook and the vintage street architecture, it was time to leave the lovely city.

One of the pools in the colorful Taman Sari - a swimming pool from the earlier centuries

The traditional Malioboro Street with a lot to shop!

The Batik drawing technique demonstrated live in Hamzah Batik store

And some Satays being prepared on the fly

As night falls, it is time to leave the wonderful city!

There is a lot more in Jogja than just the temples. There are few spectacular beaches to the west of the city, a few volcano treks around, an amazing cave visit is also there. All in all, to cover and enjoy Jogja in detail, you will need atleast 4-5 days with you which is a luxury.

Happy Reading!!!