I Stopped At...

Borobudur Temple which is the largest temple in the world boasts of some beautiful stone carvings with Indian Gupta influence. Following wikipedia article is very educational when it comes to Borobudur Historic Value. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur There are 504 Buddha statues all together in this site. Some Buddha statues are situated inside the stupas as the one below. Some are placed inside stone wall s without head cover. We are not sure whether those statues used to have a roof or something overhead. Then when we walk along the corridors we come across some Buddha statues leaned to the outside walls gazing serenely towards the world below. There are also beautiful stone carvings where several stones are fixed to create one mural. Very detailed carvings, I should say. As you may see the stones are a little yellowish as the Dutch archaeologists who found this at first tried to use sulfur to save the murals. Other than the Buddha statue...

We waited since 4.30 and waiting for the sun to appear behind from Mount Merapi. The first sun rays were beautiful, when the sun was no where to be seen but still its rays tinting the everything around in a beautiful red color. Mist made it appear cooler and Mount Merapi far behind with clouds  or fumes at its top. Perfect morning! Red tint gradually vanishes and through the mist Borobudur temple comes in to a better view. The stupas, Buddha statues and we gradually became aware of the sorrounding more. Then Mount Merapi starts to glow. So here the moment had come. I changed my camera mode to catch a better glimpse of the sun which was about to peak from the behind of Mount Merapi. The stupas giving the perfect shot with its gracious lineup. The sun emerged from behind Mount Merapi gloriously as it could be. Such a picturusque moment. I lay my camera down to enjoy the moment. Loved it!! I  am not a photographer but I think I got the ...

2014/05/01 Around Prambanan Temple site, there are several other temple sites. A trolly train runs between the sites so you can just hop in and out at the sites you prefer.  Sewu temple is also a very old Buddhist temple which used to have over 200 little temples within its premises, which were later destroyed by the same reasons as Prambanan. This existence is living proof that Buddhist and Hindu cultures existed in harmony in the early eras.  At the time we visited Sewu. visitors were not allowed to go in to the temple site as it was under construction.  You may notice the `Dwarapala (Javanese)` or the  `Doratupala` in Sinhalese , the guard at the lower right corner who guards the entrance to the temple. Same architectural concepts, no wonder! The rocks yet to be constructed in to the prior state are piled up in front of the temple blocking the view. I really hope that they have all the strength and courage to finish the reconstructing soon. ...

2014/05/06  Candi Prambanan prononunced as (cha-n-di  Pra-m-ba-na-n) is a Hindu temple coumpound dedicated for the Gods Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva. Even though Indonesia is a Muslim country today Candi Prambanan itself is a huge proof of its proud history related to Indian influence of Hinduism and Buddhism. This site boasts of over 200 Hindu temples which now most of them are flattened due to a huge earthquake awakened by the volcano eruption of Mount Merapi. Hence it is a UNESCO world Heritage Site as one of the largest existing Hindu temple Sites in Southeast Asia . Below is one of the small temples at the lower ground surrounding the main temple yard It is said to have 200 such little temples yet to be reconstructed after the earthquake. We enterd from the Brahma Temple side gate and walked across to the Vishnu Temple visiting all the temples in between at the main temple site. This is Apit. Just at the entrance of the Main Temple Site where the three biggest Te...

2014/05/06 Borobudur is the worlds largest Buddhist temple, hence UNESCO World Heritage Site. We had plans to watch the sunrise at Borbudur over Mount Merapi. So it was an early trip to the temple around 4.30 in the dark by torch light, wait for the sunrise enjoy the view from the top of the temple, have breakfast at Manohara hotel and leave. It was pitch dark in the night, not much moon. The torchlight showed us the way and a silhouette of a temple came in to view when our eyes gradually got used to the dark. With the first rays of sunlight, we saw Mount Merapi. The beautiful but vicious volcano fuming. Loved it! All around the place is covered in mist, so the actual surroundigs are yet to be confirmed. By now the temple, which we  have already climbed and waiting at the  top, is coming in to view. The stupas, carvings and statues gradually emerge. The temple is a symmetrical stupa, consisting of nine stacked platforms: six squar...