Prabanam and Borobudur
“Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome. The temple is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa.[1] It is the world's largest Buddhist temple,[2][3] as well as one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.”
The above text is from the free encyclopaedia. I love visiting historical buildings and Borobudur was definitely in my last year’s visit list. I’d suggest couples who love adventure to explore Borobudur. I took a 4-day-3-night trip to Yogjakarta and Borobudur with my husband. Yogjakarta and Borobudur are located at Central Jawa, Indonesia. We took a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Yogjakarta. Borobudur is in Magelang, an hour’s drive from Yogjakarta. As soon as we had touched down at Yogjakarta, we went to visit Prambanan.
Candi Prambanan is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Yogjakarta. It is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia. Prambanan temple is dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). All of these three face to the east and the highest temple is located in the middle.
We were off to bed early after Prambanan as we wanted to join the Borobudur Sunrise trip the next day. Most people will choose to stay at the Borobudur Hotel. It is within the Borobudur temple compound and just a walking distance to the temple. We were not that lucky as the hotel was fully-booked during our visit so we chose to stay at the Phoenix Hotel Yogjakarta. Therefore, we had to wake up early at 2.30am. It took us an hour to drive from Yogjakarta to Borobudur as we were expected to reach there by 4am, latest. We had informed the receptionist of our journey the day before and they were well prepared with our breakfast in the early morning for our trip. Phoenix Hotel definitely comes recommended as their service was good.
We arrived at 3.30am. It was dark and cold. I did not bring any sweater assuming that the weather in Indonesia was no different from Malaysia. Clearly, I was wrong because it was chilly by the time we had arrived at the Borobudur Temple. However, I was lucky I had my shawl. We had our breakfast in the car before assembling to climb up the Borobudur Temple. The path to the temple was extremely dark. The tour guide had prepared torchlights for all of us. As we climbed, the path got narrower and steep. We had to be careful and watch our steps. Once up, there was nothing much that we could do. We just had to find the right spot to wait for the sunrise. The weather was not too good as it was foggy. There was a probability that we won’t be able to see the sunrise. If that was the case, it was going to be disappointing especially for tourists who’ve come from afar to experience it.
We waited for long about an hour plus and when we first saw some yellow slowly rising, everyone was smiling. There were many professional photographers ensuring that their tripod setup was at the right angle for best photographs. There were also many tourists positioning themselves for the perfect shot with the sunrise. When the place was brightened up by the sun, we walked around Borobudur. The place was huge and square. My husband and I spent a few hours taking photographs at the temple before going down to the Borobudur Hotel Café where we were given free simple breakfast.
I enjoyed my trip very much. Although it was a trip done last year, the memories are still fresh on my mind. Since the airlines are having a promotion currently, book your tickets to Yogjakarta.
Written By:
Carron Lee is a Business Development Manager by profession and she will be writing about Pest Management and sharing on her family vacation journeys with the readers.
