Java: Borobudur

Overwhelmingly the single most popular tourist attraction in Indonesia, Borobudur has nowhere near the world-renown of other famous temple complexes like Angkor Wat but I can't quite figure out why . . . I mean, look at it!

Borobudur - history

I think it's almost fair to put Borobudur on a scale with Angkor Wat.  What Borobudur lacks in size and scale (not that it's by any means small) Borobudur makes up for in symmetry and surroundings.  The symmetry is eye-catching in a way reminiscent of the Taj Mahal. And whilst Angkor Wat is surrounded by pleasant flat, dense jungle, Borobudur offers commanding views across the Javanese countryside with unrivaled views of Mount Merapi (one of Java's deadliest and most active volcanoes with major eruptions in 2006 and 2010) looming in the distance.

Borobudur dates from Indonesia's Buddhist period in the early 9th century - making it nearly 400 years senior to its Cambodian rival - never mind that Borobudur has a tale of survival that tops Angkor Wat.  Angkor has famously been victim to war and neglect but Borobudur has been cursed by geography.  Surviving 13-odd centuries of earthquakes and volcanoes is no small feat - and is even more remarkable when you see how incredibly well preserved Borobudur is (it's in significantly better condition than Angkor Wat).

Like Angkor Wat, Borobudur also experienced an extended period of abandonment. Borobudur was abandoned from as early as the 11th century when the Medang Kingdom moved east after a series of volcanic eruptions and endured further neglect when Indonesia transitioned to Islam in the 15th century. Borobudur was only properly rediscovered with the arrival of the British in the late 1800s. Since then Borobudur has been restored and well-maintained, but has still been victim to attempted terrorist attacks, most recently in the 1990s.  It goes without saying that Borobudur suffers from the same problems of major monuments the world over - vandalism, pollution, littering and over-crowding.

Borobudur - visiting

Repeatedly touted as Indonesia's busiest tourist attraction, we anticipated Angkor-sized crowds.  We certainly didn't have the place to ourselves, but by comparison to Angkor Wat - Borobudur was downright deserted.  The overwhelming majority of visitors were Indonesian - largely comprised of junior high school groups.  There were probably less than a dozen Westerners there - making us a bit famous.

We had our pictures taken - both surreptitiously on phone cameras and in countless group shots with school girls and one wailing 4 year old whose father desperately wanted a photo of us with his son (the son was clearly less impressed with us).

To Ian's eternal glory he was extremely popular with 14-16 year old girl demographic.  One girl even sidled up to him, whispered in his ear 'I love you' and ran off.  At 6 feet, Ian is a veritable giant in Indonesia and a subject of much adoration.

I have no doubt that we have been Facebooked and Instagramed all over Java.

It is always strange when you are subject to such attention solely because of the the colour of your skin.  But as in India, these groups are likely children from small, rural villages and most of them probably have never seen a white person anywhere but on the television or perhaps on the odd trip into the city.

We lingered until the sun because too much to bear, the beer craving too strong and the camera on the verge of overheating.

Rumah Dharma

Borobudur is only an hour (maniac Indonesian-style) drive from Yogyakarta but it feels a million miles away.  We decided to splurge (by which I mean spend about $50 a night) on a lovely B&B style place smack in the middle of a huge rice paddy with jungle all around.  This photo is where we sat and enjoyed our red ginger lemonade (delicious) shortly after arrival.

I don't normally plug places where we've stayed, but I'm making an exception here.  If you ever find yourself in this part of Java, take a couple of days and stay at Rumah Dharma (translated as Dharma's House, named for the owners eight year old son).

This really is a special place, the owners are a delight, she's Belgian, he's Indonesian (between them they speak about 9 languages) the rooms are tip-top, the food is delicious (if you give enough notice they will cook you dinner and have a fridge stocked with cold beer).  They are generous, accommodating and full of tips on where to go and what to do.  If you're lucky you may even catch Mehdi on night when he brings out his guitar (and a bottle of gin). 

Jamal

Wendy and Mehdi also employ a local handy-man, Jamal, who is truly a bit of a local celebrity.

 Jamal rides around in a 40-odd year old vespa with a little sidecar that is rusted through and held together with bits of string.  Jamal was kind enough to take us around town in it (everyone in at least a 15 mile radius knows Jamal).  The photo is us stopping to by petrol from a local woman on the side of the road (that's Jamal at the back supervising).

Jamal has driven the Vespa all over Indonesia - I'm pretty sure it's been on the ferry to Bali and a few years ago it even made the 7,000 foot + climb to the top of Mount Bromo. 

Jamal is a rather remarkable man. He is a Mount Merapi volunteer and has more than once helped with evacuations, he's incredibly involved in the community and has frequently been asked to become an English teacher (he learned English through correspondence with an Australian woman years ago, he's obviously very bright and I suspect he never came anywhere near finishing school). His English is astoundingly good, but the accent is very, very strong.

He loves Indonesia (except Jakarta) more than anything and he feels sorry for anyone who isn't from there.  We'd love to meet him again.

Around Borobudur

We had originally only planned for one night in Borobudur as at first glance (and from any tourist info you receive) there isn't a lot to do other than check out the temple and be on your way.  It only took us about 15 minutes - based on the surroundings and the company to decide that we wanted to stay - we  signed up for another night and would have stayed longer if we'd had the time.

For us, the real highlight of Borobudur was just having the opportunity to check out the surrounding area.  Rumah Dharma has bicycles to borrow and there are countless country lanes (and the ground is mercifully flat!) that you can cycle around and take in the views and check out the farming villages.

 The locals are almost heart achingly kind and welcoming - we were cycling around on Friday afternoon so every man and boy in the area was on their way to mosque for Friday prayers - I think it would be an under-estimate to say that 99% percent of them said hello or at the very least had a wave and huge grin for us.

The region is picturesque beyond anything we anticipated.  The villages are comprised of tidy bamboo huts and well-tended gardens.  Cockerels, toddling babies and hunched, tough old women squawk and watch you from the shade of their front porches (no doubt marvelling over what kind of idiots would be out in the heat of the mid-day sun) - and unlike in Malaysia where the kampungs are typically a bit grim and dirty, these were very much places of community and thoroughly charming.

All too soon our time was up and we really didn't want to leave.
We told Wendy that we'd be back, so if any of  our visitors want to go, we'd be glad to take you!

Ian having meltdowns about transportation, sampling local delicacies and getting a bit of urban culture in the next instalment.