Temple day (with culturally eye-opening shopping mixed in): Borobudur and Prambanan

Today was for seeing and learning about two super famous temples: Borobudur and Prambanan. Warning - there is an absurd amount of photos of old stuff in this blog.

Looking inside the stupa at the Buddha 

Sleep was wonky because of the 11 hour time difference. Hopefully, it will be back on track soon. Although Dan and I had a nice chat at 1am that lasted for a while. 🙄

Our Borobudur tickets were for the 1st session, so breakfast was bright and early. The entertainment that passed by us while we were eating was top notch (so many different motorbikes and bicycles) and the food was yummy. 

The cloudy sunrise from our hotel room 

The fruit for breakfast was so colorful!

Tasty local treats for breakfast 

A local woman walking by us during breakfast 

Trying to figure out how to eat the breakfast goodies 

Mmmmm...a hearty breakfast. Dan ordered eggs and toast and I ordered their recommendation for the local breakfast

Siska - the awesome owner of the hotel. Everyone in the village was friends with her.

A man on a bike was shepherding ducks passed us during breakfast 

Borobudur is a temple that is a must-do experience if you go to Indonesia. It was built in the 8th-9th centuries by the Buddhists with Hindu influence and has withstood the test of time even through massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The temple was closed to going up to the top since covid because there was so much damage being caused from people walking everywhere and touching everything, but just recently it was reopened to visitors climbing it. Now, all visitors are required to go with a guide, wear special shoes to limit the damage, and to not touch anything. No one except for the highest up Buddhists (like monks) are allowed on the top level.

Our temple guide taught us lots about the temple and even led us through a series of Tai chi type movements that connected to the Buddhist principles. You may notice in my photos that a lot of the Buddhas are missing their heads. This happened when looters stole the heads to bring to other countries. Inside of each "stupa" (figures that look like a bell) there is a Buddha. Even the heads of the Buddhas inside the stupas were stolen.

The sandals everyone is issued and must wear while touring Borobudur 

Sporting the special Borobudur sandals

The approach to the temple

I am on the bottom level while we waited for the upper levels to be opened 

Many of the statues are missing their heads because of looting 

There are stone carvings like this all around the temple

Hanging out near the stupas

Our Borobudur guide

A stupa that has been opened to show the Buddha inside - there are only two opened stupas

So many stupas

Peeking through a hole in a stupa at a Buddha 

A Buddhist monk at Borobudur. Monks are allowed on the top level.

The Buddha in the open stupa

The stones are cut and out together in lots of different configurations to make it strong. Here is one example.

Seeing Borobudur was super impressive. We learned a lot. We even learned how hard it is to leave. It was a labrynth in a market. It seemed like we were going in circles and not actually making it to the exit. So many people were trying to sell you goods so it was noisy and there were lots of smells. Dan was not a fan of this part of the experience.

A "yittle yizzard" - we still call them this after Noah used to say this when he was 3.

Walking back to our lodging 

Rice drying everywhere 

Our next experience was to go to Yogyakarta and check out Malioboro where there are lots of markets on our way to Prambanan Temple. This was quite the cultural experience! There were the traditional markets, plus regular storefront stores, plus the Malioboro Plaza, and Malioboro Mall and much more. It was totally sensory overload. 

We wandered around for a while and then asked in a store (with the help of Google translate) how to find artisan batiks. So, we went where they suggested which was Malioboro Mall and didn't find much so we made it to the Malioboro Plaza which was a giant mall with AC, 5 floors, tons of noise (Crocs for $1). We were standing there with our jaws on the floor watching when a guy came up to us and started chatting. Anyway, we asked him about artisan batik and he said he knew of a place and he would take us. He brought us down some side streets (Dan thought he might abduct us) and we ended up at a room filled with art and the artists.

We bought a box of the goodies on a whim. Turns out they are a specialty of the area - bakpia. We still don't know what they are, but I like them.

Waiting for customers to transport 

We checked out Malioboro Mall 

Then checked Malioboro Plaza

The guy who brought us to the room full of batik art and some artists (Dan thought he might abduct us).

We found real batik and the artists (we bought a piece from the artist in the photo). Dan didn't like bartering, but we did it anyway.

Street food - little eggs on a stick

More waiting for customers 

After our "shopping experience", we headed to Prambanan Temple. I don't know if I will be able to go shopping again for a while - that was A LOT!

Prambanan is a Hindu temple built in the 9th century. It is the largest in Indonesia and 2nd largest in Southeast Asia. The temples collapsed in the 16th century in an earthquake and we're not reconstructed again until starting in the 1900s and it is still going on today. Inside of the temples are statues of gods. A woman in front of use at one point started crying when she put her forehead on Ganesha. It clearly was a powerful experience for her.

We walked around the temple compound and made it to Candi Sewu around sunset. It was beautiful! There were people meditating at the base of the temple as the sun was setting. This was a cool experience.

After the temples, we grabbed a bit to eat at a restaurant and then headed back the 1.5 hrs to our lodging. It was a full day.