Borobudur and Prambanan

Beautifully preserved bas relief depicting scenes from the life of the Buddha. Here the people rejoice at that their king has a son who was later in life to eschew his royal status and become an ascetic. This is one of my favorite pictures from trip. Here Buddha looks out over Merapi volcano which recently erupted (October 28-November 5) wreaking havoc on the surrounding area and killing over 400 people. The van I took to get to Borabudur and Prambanam had to make several detours around lava covered roads.

Two of Indonesia's most famous historical sights are located a short distance from Jogjakarta and I was able to tour both in one long day. Pickup from my hotel was at 0500 and the gate in front of the hotel had to be unlocked for me to get out. Pretty damn early for a vacation morning, especially since I am staying in a cold water only guesthouse. Can you imagine a cold shower before 5 AM?

Getting up early was well worth the benefits and I and the one other tourist in my small group I had Borobudur almost to ourselves. As I mentioned a day ago this was a Buddhist shrine from the years 750-850. The bas relief on the supporting walls are in beautiful shape having been buried in volcanic silt for nearly 1000 years. Breakfast of toast, jelly and coffee was served after this stop, and I supplemented mine with a yummy veggie omelet.

The second major sight of the day was Prambanan, an Hindu temple devoted to Shiva, the primary Hindu deity. Historically this shift from Buddhist to Hindu reflected the intellectual and religious evolution in Indonesia. There are so damn many deities in Hindu that I think I will never figure it all out. I have learned some interesting stories about their gods if anyone cares to listen when I get home.