World cruise 27 - Margaret

From Margaret
Semarang, Java, Indonesia
Temple of Borobudur

The Buddhist Temple of Borobudur is a Word Heritage Site. I flat out did not have any idea of what to expect. However, it is astounding.

Borobudur is more than a 3-hour drive from Semarang. We left the ship at 6:15 a.m. – not sure how many of us had our eyes even open. The tour company mercifully stopped at the Eva Cafe House for tea/coffee/toilet. Had some of the best tea I have ever had. It had a flavor and a fragrance that were beyond good. Should have asked them what it was. As we were leaving, one of the buses found that it had a flat tire which had to be replaced. Our bus was behind the flat tire bus, and we were all in a very narrow driveway, so our guide amused us with a talk on Indonesian coffee production. He even found a coffee tree and picked a branch so that we could see how the beans grow on the tree.

We had an Indonesian police escort for the entire tour. It appears to have been primarily to get us through all of the traffic and back to the ship on time. And I must say that we often found ourselves on the wrong side of the road headed for the on-coming traffic. One needed strong nerves to be in the front seats. We arrived at the temple around 10:30 or 11:00 a.m.

Before we could go up to the temple, we had to don the traditional sarong. So, we traipse up the hill toward the temple wrapped in a long piece of batik cloth.

There is no way to describe the impact of the temple when you first see it. It is huge, massive, utterly imposing. Dedicated to Buddha, it was built in the 800s AD. The temple is not one that you go into, but rather climb up, and walk around each level meditating on the carving on the walls on both sides of the walkways. Halfway up is the lowest (the fourth) ring of stupas. This ring has 32 stupas each with a Buddha inside it. The third ring has 24 stupas, the second ring has 16 and first level, or the very top of the temple, has 1 stupa.

It is much larger and seals the top of the mountain around which the temple appears to have been built. While no one knows whether or not the top stupa contained anything, the legend among the people who live in the area is that it did. Whatever it was is long gone and there is nothing there now.

It was abandoned for more than 1000 years and lay covered in volcanic ash and dense jungle until 1814 when Sir Raffles rediscovered it. The restoration work was long and difficult. Many of the carvings had been damaged and stones removed by local people looking for good building material. Those doing the restoration have done a stunning job – it is an awe-inspiring place.

The two things I found most intriguing were the appearance of Buddha replicated in the many, many statues (all absolutely identical) and the lions that seem to guard the entranceways. Buddha does not look anything like the ones we are most familiar with. This Buddha is a very well-built young man with hair so curly it is kinky. Further, his face is not what I would call an Asian face. There is a slight but definite smile on his face. I would love to know what people the Buddha is patterned after. Our guide claimed that since there are no lions in India, the lions at Borobudur have monkey faces. I don't see monkey in the faces at all. They much more reminded me of some of the statues of lions from the Assyrians.

Absolutely a fascinating place, and one I need to learn more about.