Blogs from Borobudur, Java, Indonesia, Asia
March 2nd 2012
Bislang war es abgesehen von etwas viel Regen immer sehr warm und sonnig. Bis heute. Wir fahren auf das Dieng-Plateau, welches auch Wohnsitz der Götter genannt wird. Es liegt knapp über 2.000 Meter hoch und hier herrscht göttliche Unordnung: viel Wind, viel Regen und fast überall stinkt es nach Schwefel. Und trotzdem ist es irgendwie schön, wie sich die Reisterrassen um die Hügel schmiegen, sich türkisblaue Seen in Tälern finden, dampfende Erdspalten auftun, Schlammpfützen im Vulkankrater vor sich hin blubbern und hier und da ein alter Tempel den Wegesrand säumt. Leider hat der Mensch hier die Wälder bis auf wenige Reste abgeholzt, angelegte Felder rutschen überall von den Hängen, Hütten stehen am Abgrund - Bodenerosion erster Güte. Und damit das Ganze nicht so auffällt, deckt er die kahlen Stellen einfach mit allem Müll zu, den er ... read more
February 12th 2012
JAVAN MASSAGE. A massage is like a haircut...one of those things you need to do regularly...but often wait until you really need it...like when your hair is suddenly unruly...and it affects your wellbeing...muscles or hair knotted. And like a haircut...similar but different techniques...each time a new experience...result subjective. There we were at Pondok Tinggal... traditional Javanese style digs...in the village of Borobudur ...an oasis...a place for me to battle the wickedness of the World that had attacked my gut...a place to recover. Let me be clear...I'm no wimp...I'm a tough old rooster...never keep a good man down. But when its raining non-stop...no afternoon shower and fine up this day...no rush...got two more days here...might as well smell the flowers...and do as little as possible. So when Bari...the waiter...when serving iced strawberry jui... read more
February 7th 2012
BOROBUDUR: Universe on Earth. To reach enlightenment at Borobudur...claims to be the largest temple in the World... the largest Buddhist...the Universe on Earth...the pilgrim must cross a river...wading in waist deep water...visit a small temple...wade across a 2nd river...2nd temple...then Borobudur...the object of the quest. On entering the temple site...a ritual is to be followed. I had travelled from the land of Oz...but a few hours away...I knew I had problems...would I achieve my quest? The wading seemed out of the question..! On leaving Candi Sewu (see Previous blog), the only vendor within coo-ee, ...cold drinks...we sweating profusely...faces red as...iced tea for Den & Joe...Bintang for me...pulled from icy water under one of the piles of carved stones...I need this. This was only my second beer in Java...don't tell Cockle...but it ended up being my last. ... read more
July 8th 2011
I woke up at 5am to see the sunrise at Borobudur. Talked to a med school student from Poland while we waited for the park to open. I headed to the temple as the sun was already rising. Took some great pictures of the sunrise. I expect to post all of the pictures so far on the 18/19th when i do my dive course. I wandered around the temple. It is situated in a valley flanked by several volcanoes including the large active Gunung Merapi which erupted in 2006 devastating the region. Once done i headed for Jogja by public bus. I met a dutch couple on the bus who we worked together to get to the train station in town near where all the accommodation was. They bought a ticket and i was about to ... read more
February 8th 2011
As we had a few days to spare we headed to Java to try and see Borobudur, a giant Hindu temple set near the erupting Merpati. This was apparently closed to tourists but we had bumped into a few people on our travels who had just come from their and said it was fine so we thought we’d chance our luck. Getting from Jakarta airport to the city requires nerves of steel. The touts are pushy, persistent and true rip off experts. Buses stop running at 5pm, so if you arrive later than this you have to get a taxi. Chose a price you’re willing to pay, half it and start at that - they will immediately quadruple this price, if your lucky (and you master the art of walking away until they drop their prices) ... read more
Borobudur & Pramabanan (08 Sept 2010)
Published: September 9th 2010Asia » Indonesia » Java » Borobudur
September 9th 2010
We woke up at 6.30 in the morning... this doesn't happen very often since the start of our trip so it is good to mention it. There was a very good motivation behind this. The temples of Borobudur and Prambanan!!! We stepped in a mini bus full of dutch eating candies and started with the temple of Borobudur. Borobudur is the largest Buddhist temple in the world and is a UNESCO site. This site was in a very bad condition but the Indonesian Government with UNESCO have decided to refurbish the place from 1975 to 1982. It is now the number 1 attraction of Indonesia in terms of visitors!!! The views are totally amazing and made us take more then a 100 pictures... A few hours later our mini bus dropped us in front of the ... read more
August 8th 2010
Sunday, 8th August 2010 We were up by 6am today in time for our breakfast that came with our room rate. The breakfast spread at Santika was surprisingly extensive for a 4 star property with a good selection of western and local favourites. We adored the thick banana pancakes that were made fresh by the chefs upon request. This was by far the freshest pancakes I've ever tasted which could give the McDonalds a run for their money. As promised, Hermanto arrived at the hotel's lobby by 7.30am today ready to drive us to the temples of Borobudur in the morning and the Losari Coffee Plantations in the afternoon. Man of few words, he would respond whenever we asked him questions about the city and the tourist attractions. At other times, he prefered to concentrate on ... read more
Borobudur: The Buddhist temple that once was lost
Published: February 11th 2011Asia » Indonesia » Java » Borobudur
July 30th 2010
Still continuing our previous two posting on the Indonesia trip in summer 2010, we were basically running out of time so that we had to eventually leave Bali for some other places we'd planned. We flew to Malang, my hometown, straight from Bali. Then we decided to do a road trip to Yogyakarta. My Dad insisted us to drive his huge SUV because it surprisingly consumes less gas than my own sedan that now is used by my little sister. Driving a big SUV in chaotic Javanese traffic on the narrow road from East Java to Yogyakarta was quite a problem for me. I did do that zillion times before, but having living and been used to European traffic made the whole Java road trip so scary. I came straight to Berlin you know, where the ... read more
June 1st 2010
The road to and from Borobudur was the challenging part...we arrived into Jakarta airport ready to go get our indo visa's with credit card in hand when the officer said no credit card....everything I had read that it was that you could now pay by credit card...maybe just in bali anyway I was accompanied to the ATM to withdrawal some cash so we could pay....it only took a few mins to get the payment and then we were well underway to customs....this is where it took a little longer....scanning finger prints and get the photo take....then the third degree where are you onwards tickets from Indonesia, why don't you have a copy....we explain we are travelling for six months and have taken over 15 flights and have never had a copy with us of onwards journey...turning ... read more
April 16th 2010
See text in English below 22 de noviembre de 2009 Borobodur es el mapa del universo y es flor de loto. Borobodur es un lugar extraordinario. Borobodur es el monumento budista más grande del mundo y es lugar de peregrinación en el vesak, el día en que se celebra la existencia, iluminación (Nirvana) y muerte carnal (Parinirvana) de Siddharta Gautama, es decir, Buda. Es una estupa grandísima, y al mismo tiempo es una pirámide con forma de mandala, diagrama místico que refleja la imagen del cosmos y la naturaleza de la mente. Todos los que visitan Borobudur encuentran en el mandala de la pirámide, además de las enseñanzas de Buda, una guía para la meditación. El peregrino es ascendido a través de un sistemas de escaleras y corredores desde las cuadradas plataformas inferiores hasta las tres ... read more
