Friday, November 8, 2013
Borobudur is about a 1 hour drive from Yogyakarta, and we arrived here around noon. Checked into Rumah Boedi Private Residences. The hotel and grounds were nice, but here, as in some other places (accommodation, restaurants,..) I again was very aware of the fact that certain of the male staff absolutely did not want to talk to me. This was the reception and management staff, not housekeeping. Yes, I’m aware that that is a cultural/religious thing, but… if you’re going to have a hotel and are happy to take my money, maybe you could at least be nice to me…
Early afternoon we rented bicycles from our hotel to get to the Buddhist Temple of Borobudur. Ominous clouds were threatening overhead and what do you know, it started raining shortly after we got to the temple.
Our plan to stay there for the sunset viewing didn’t work out because of the continuing rain. It was slowly getting darker without the nice colors in the sky. But yes, even with the rain it was well worth the visit, the temple is simply impressive.
Does traveling a lot and seeing and experiencing new things all the time along the way, ever become commonplace? Do I ever feel like ‘enough already’ or ‘it’s just another thing to see’? I thought about that some years ago and thought: as long as I can still have those profound ‘wow’ moments (whether related to man-made structures, nature, people, performances, anything really; whether they happen once a week or once a year) it will always be worth exploring new corners and places on this globe of ours.
And today, seeing the Borobudur Temple and then ascending the steps to the main dome, which is surrounded by 72 buddha statues inside perforated stupa, was one of those ‘wow’ moments. One of those moments that makes me feel very privileged and awed by where I am and what I am able to see and experience, one of those moments that says: yep, I can keep doing this traveling thing for quite a bit longer 🙂
(musings by Caroline)
We cycled back to our hotel before dark. And got totally drenched. But in these temperatures that wasn’t half bad, it was in fact nice and refreshing.
I am writing this while sitting in the outside (covered of course) lounge area of our hotel, a few hours after getting back from the temple, and the rain still hasn’t let up. We are hoping to do a sunrise visit, and another attempt at sunset, tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
Saturday, November 9, 2013
The alarm went off at 3:45am, the sky was full of stars, so off went, by tuk-tuk, for a sunrise viewing. The main gate opens at 6am, with sunrise at 5:10 this morning. However, the Manohara Hotel, which is on the grounds surrounding the temple, offers sunrise access from 4:30 am. You pay twice as much for your ticket, but this does allow for the sunrise access (plus small breakfast and gift) without the crowds, and a second visit during the day. And it was so worth it: the ‘wow’ moment continued.
Later that afternoon I went back for a third visit. This time I concentrated on the museum and the temple grounds. The Temple itself was swarming with visitors so I decided to stay clear of it. The memories of the late afternoon rain and sunrise visits will stay with me for a long time.
At our hotel I chatted with one of the other guests, Esther Von Plehwe-Leisen, who is, with her husband Hans Leisen, part of a team from the Cologne University of Applied Sciences working on the conservation of the stonework of Borobudur (and Angkor Wat amongst others). They are doing so in cooperation with the Borobudur Conservation Office and UNESCO.
