Java Island Indonesia - Two temples, two faiths

A visit to the city of Yogyjakarta gave me the opportunity to visit two famous temples. Borobudur, a Buddhist temple and Prambanan, a Hindu temple.  Both temples were constructed in the 9th century and both are located in the Central Java region of Indonesia. Two temples, two faiths, located in the same area at the same time period, indicates that people who were different were coexisting with one another.

BOROBUDUR
Listed as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site, Borobudur temple is built upon a hill, rising into the sky with nine stacked platforms. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. My brother, who visited the temple 24 years ago recalls a only a parking lot and a temple. Since that time the site has been developed and improved with acres and acres of gardens, visitors centers, a road train, etc. As our bus parked we were instantly bombarded by merchants (who immediately approached our bus) trying to sell us selfie sticks, hats, t-shirts, sunglasses, key chains, you name it!  "I yelled we're being swarmed"! Feeling under attack I quickly found a place to "hide" in plain site. Not realizing, at the time, that it would be the first of many "attacks" I would be confronted with as my visit to Borobudur continued.

The ascent to the top of the temple is not for the faint-hearted. As the sun beat down on me and the humidity seemed to be a it's maximum, I made the decision to "pace myself", taking my time during the climb and enjoying the sites along the way. Soon I learned about the belief that if you touch a Buddha's hand (Buddha in the bell) your wish would come true.  Every Buddha I found was missing arms or fingers. I managed, even with my long arms, only to touch a wrist.  Ready to give up, I was directed by a family member to a Buddha whose bell had been removed or lost. As I touched his hand, I made my wish.  I am not Buddhist, nor do I believe in wishes and luck and such, however, I will never claim to know all realities in life, so I am willing to take a chance on any possibility.


People used to call the temple, "the lost temple of Borobudur", because it had been hidden for many years under volcanic ash from near by Mount Merapi. Only locals knew of the temple's existence, so really it wasn't lost or hidden (in my opinion). It was re-discovered and documented by a the British ruler of Java (Sir Thomas Standford Raffles) in 1814. Several restoration projects have been carried out over the last century to piece together the temple, clean, re-engineer and preserve the site.

The temple has many relief panels (2,672) that tell the story of the life of Budda, the royalty and oridnary people in the region.

My brother on his second visit to Borobudur

While visiting the temple the legs (men and women) must be covered from below the knee up. If you do not have appropriate attire, a sarong is provided. My brother came prepared, wearing one of his coordinating Indonesian sarongs.

Me in front of one of the 72 of bells around the temple. There are bells on each tier level and each bell has a Budda statue inside.

The "uncovered" bell, where I made my wish.

Ongoing restoration continues and there are plans to continue the re-assembly of the temple.

We continued our visit with a tour of the Museum and by watching the video presentation the presentation gave us a good historical perspective on this cutural site.

Replica ship at museum

Temple parts that still in need of reassembly

Museum gardens  

We could not to escape the multitudes of shops on our way out since you must past through them to exit the site.  By the time we were through we were hungry and thirsty and ultimately stopped to have more coconut water, noodles and ice cream for me.  All along the way talking to locals who were always ready to make deals. 

I finally gave in and bought a cute purse as a gift

An adorable local enjoying a refreshing treat

All said a very productive day spent at the temple but the day was not over as we continued on to another temple that had more differences than similarities.

PRAMBANAN

While Borobudur sits on a hill and climbs to the sky.  Prambanan sits on and open flat area making it clearly visible to all who approach. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia. It is a complex of individual temples with the central temple of 154 feet high. The temple was originally constructed to honor Lord Shiva and the Opak river was redirected in order to construct the temple on this site. Eventually the temple was expanded and area grew with the addition of hundreds of Perwara temples built around the main temple.

The orginal layout entailed 3 Trimuri temples dedicated to Shiva, Visnu and Brahma, 3 Vahana temples dedicated to Nandi, Garuda and Hamsa, 2 Apit temples , 8 small shrine Apit and Patok temples and  224 Pervara temples.  For a total of 240 total temples at the Prambanan complex.

At some point Prambanan served as a royal temple for the Kingdom of Mataram.  Unfortunately the temple was eventually abandoned with the exact reason unknown.  Perhaps a power struggle or a volcanic eruption cause the change.  Eventually the eruption of Merapi in the16th century caused substantial damage to the temples but ruins were still known to the locals nearby. Over the years several different tales, legends and folklore of cursed princesses and giants created  by locals due to the lack of knowledge about the temples true historical origins.  

My niece and nephew posing in front of a restored Pervara Temple

The main Shiva Temple

In 1811 during a British occupation a surveyor accidently found the temples and his boy Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles commissioned a full survey of the ruins.  The temple was never cared for an eventually dutch residents stole sculptures to use in their gardens and locals took foundation stones to use for construction. Unfortunately looting of the temple continued until the Dutch decided to start a reconstruction project in 1918. Reconstruction has continued to this day however as much of the masonary of the smaller temples is missing, much remains unrestored.

A Pervara temple in ruins

More ruins of the Pervara temples, only foundations remain.

Vahana Temple

Another Vahana Temple

One of the temple gods - Vishnu?

As one enters into the 3 larger temples.  The gods can be found inside their own rooms each with a separate entrance.  As a non-Hindu, the only one I recognized (due to a recent gift) was Ganesh.

Hand carved reliefs

Prambanan a Hindu temple site was a gorgeous sight with the sun low in the sky behind the temples, casting them into shadows.  One could imagine the splendor that the site must have once been.  Since another major restoration in the 1990s, the site has been reclaimed as a religious center for Hindu ceremonies and rituals.  Unfortunately, over the years, the site has been in danger from earthquakes and volcano eruptions. Significant damage occurred during an earthquake in 2006, in 2010 the site was spared damage when Merapi erupted because the wind took the ash in a different direction.  However in 2014 the eruption of the Kelud volcano closed the site due to volcanic ash.

Mount Merapi (Active Volcano, last eruption March 10, 2014)

Copyright 2017.Vivienne Lettsome.  All rights reserved.

For more information go to:http://borobudurpark.com and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prambanan

Pangandaran - the locals getaway

I was told we were going to the beach so I arrived to to Pangandaran expecting sunny skies, lapping waves and a pristine beach. That's my vision of the beach. Instead dark skies, rough surf, trash on the beach and torrential rain is what I found and I mean torrential!  So much so, that the hotel pool started overflowing and Uncle Wawa's room flooded. The forecast called for everyday rain, rain, rain. Well our trip is a wash (I thought) me, always the pessimist.

A storm is brewing

We made the best of it by watching the fishermen/women pull in their nets. As the rain poured down they worked hard together like a machine, never breaking their pace to pull in the heavy endless net. As they finished, they cheered in union even though their catch was scrawny and full a lot of trash and a few fish.  But with the catch a few neat surprises:  A squid, crabs, blow fish and mini swordfish. It was cool to see the types of sea life that live in the Indian ocean.

Fishermen (and women) pulling in the net

Fresh Catch

The fresh catch (an assortment of trash and some fish)

A crab

A squid

                                                                          

                            Me and the blowfish                                              Crab

Mini sword

Later we went for a drive (more like a boat ride through the flooded streets) in the pouring rain and then swam in the hotel pool with the rain beating down on us and when the rain finally eased, we went in search of food. The town has several restaurants which display fresh catch which you can have cooked to your liking. Along with several local dishes, dinner was hearty and filling. All the food was served family style which worked perfectly for our large group.

After dinner we walked through the quiet beach town (with wild deer roaming around) and my Indonesian family met up with people they knew along the way.  I found out later that a bunch of Adventists pastors were in town for conference. I ended the night with ice cream, what more could I ask for?

Deer all over town

Surprisingly the next day the skies cleared and the sun came out. As I always say, you can't trust the weather report. I was so happy that was a true statement this time.

The east side - The fishing side

When I went to the swimming beach side I found a lot of families and children. People were swimming, taking pictures and playing games in front of the colorful boats.  Where is the trash thought.  Oh there is hidden behind the boats.  Wow the locals cleaned up the beach, that's nice. The longer I stayed and the more I observed the more I realized that Pangandaran is a real local's beach getaway.  Very family friendly and quiet.  I place where one can truly relax from the hustle and bustle of city life. There are no nightclubs that I could see, no obnoxious people and very little traffic.

The west side - the swimming side

A variety of activities are available. Including banana boat

Love this sign  :)

As the day unfolded we really started to settle in and enjoy the locals way of vacationing. The hotel was comfortable with air conditioned rooms and we enjoyed nice buffet breakfast and swam in the pool some more. Later we went to the beach to hang out and enjoy fresh coconut juice/meat and local fruits. With with a strong surf my brother and his brother-in-law took on the challenging waves on rented boogie boards.

Pool at Hotel Sun in Pangandaran

My first Indonesian Coconut

 Lunch was held in a shack by the beach. All I heard was "they are cooking us lunch".  I entered the tiny dirt floor shack thinking to myself, "this is going to be good".  Two emaciated little kittens meandered around are feet, I thought, they are ready for this feast too. It was another family style and also potluck meal (as some friends brought food too ), while the patrons had fried up and stewed us up some fabulous red snapper!  The best red snapper I have ever had! I made sure to eat like the locals and feed the kittens my scraps.

 

Tempeh

Fried Fish

Macaque monkey with baby

Earlier I had told Uncle Wawa that I wanted to see a waterfall or do something in the great outdoors (like I wasn't already outdoors enough?).  I said I like hiking, biking, kayaking, etc. and  that I longed for some adventure. Next thing I know I am told we are going to a white beach, that is all I am told.  Turns out Uncle Wawa had a serious hike in mind. He made certain to take the most difficult route possible through Pangandaran National Park, including having us crawl through a dark, wet cave with bats, only to have us come back out to the same place where we started.  There were lots of bugs, deer, a lizard, jungle, a beach but best of all there were lots and lots of laid back nonchalant monkeys.  They just sat and minded their own business (jumping, eating, scratching, etc.), stared with curiosity or followed you.

As as I watched the sun lowering in the sky behind a shipwreck and could hear the locals belting out Brian Adams via karaoke at the beach. I thought to myself, "this is paradise".

Cave entrance                      

Macaque Monkeys

View of west beach

The next morning as I walked at sunrise along the eastern beach path the idea of Paradise was further solidified.  It was dawn and it seemed like smiles were brighter, colors were more vivid, sounds were crisper, the wind was softer and the sun was it's most gorgeous, as it shone it's light on a new day.  For me life is more beautiful in the early morning light.

For more information about Pangandaran go to:  http://www.pangandaran.org/home.html

Copyright 2016.  Vivienne Lettsome.  All rights reserved.