Blogs from Borobudur, Java, Indonesia, Asia

We spent the morning at Borobudur, the world's largest standalone Buddhist temple - originally built in the 8th-9th century although restored due to earthquakes/volcanic eruptions and some other security incidents. It was too hazy to come out in pictures, but the Merapi volcano was smoking in the background while we were there. It was amazing, I would have loved to explore for a lot longer. It's huge, and covered with artwork depicting Buddhist stories, apparently with the world's largest intact collection of Buddhist reliefs/stories. Adding a bit of chaos, it's the largest tourist destination in Indonesia and was a school holiday of some sort the day we were there - it was overflowing with students, and it seemed like all of them wanted pictures with us and/or to interview us in English for school (this involved ... read more

Arrived here in Borobudur on a $36, 1.5 hour flight from Jakarta. $36! There was even a snack service! Actually arrived in Yogyakarta, a 1.5 hour bus ride from Borobudur. Booked a Javanese style guesthouse which is a great relief from Jakarta. There’s still motorcycle noise, since motorcycles are the primary form of transportation here, but little traffic. The air is clean. The primary noise comes from calls to prayer which come from several mosques nearby. There are rice fields just across the street. Temperature is cooler, a nice relief from the hot weather so far since I left SF. Borobudur is just a 20 minute walk away. Decided to get Borobudur out of the way the next morning at sunrise. 4 AM wake up. 4:30 AM at Borobudur. Borobudur is a 9th century Buddhist Temple. ... read more

This blog is a little different as it is based on our 10 day cruise around the Indonesian archipelago. We started in hot and sticky Singapore, joining the Azamara Quest – with just 636 passengers onboard instead of the usual 3,000+ as on the mega-ships. For the first 2 days of the cruise we didn't see any sunshine only torrential rain (well it is the middle of the rainy season)! Fortunately, on arrival in Semarang (Central Java) the sun was shining with hardly a cloud in the sky. However, it was all very bizarre to be welcomed by a country and western band – complete with cowboy hats - playing the Johnny Cash song 'Ring Of Fire'. We later learned that due to all the volcanoes in the vicinity, the whole area is known as 'The ... read more

After some camp and the Womens' World Cup, I am going to Indonesia! The only thing is Indonesia is on the opposite side of the world, so it takes like 2 days to get there. We packed and got ready to go to the airport. Ania will drive us since she has a different flight. When we got to the airport she gave us hugs and then we went through security. We then boarded our first flight which was to Switzeraland which took 9 hours! After, we went on a plane to Thailand which took another 10 hours. When we got to Thailand, we finally took a 3 hour flight to Jakarta, Indonesia. We got there about 3 o'clock and got a taxi to our hotel. The hotel was awesome! It had a huge swimming pool, ... read more

In the darkness of the minutes before dawn, Arik and I are negotiating the steep stairway up the Borobudur. The only source of light in the enveloping blackness is our flashlights. I quicken my pace on the last few steps. The air is cold and the stars overhead bring a feeling of calmness. A few others have arrived before us and are jealously guarding their spots, there with the same purpose as mine – to wait for the sunrise. There is a collective sense of anticipation. “We’re lucky,” whispers Arik, my motorbike guide from ViaVia, a Belgian company that, aside from running a restaurant and a guesthouse in Yogyakarta, does a number of really interesting alternative tours across Java. “The sky looks great. It’s going to be a very lovely sunrise.” With the letdown of the ... read more