IMPRESSIVE PRAMBANAN
We arrived half an hour late, but Mane, the driver from Green Gardens Hostel, was waiting for us waving his little sign with my name on it. Whenever we arrived at an airport and saw people waving signs, I always thought it would be really cool to be greeted like that. So it finally happened, and it was really cool, not to mention easy as it meant we didn’t have to go off trying to negotiate transport. What luxury!!
OUR DRIVER, MANE
Mane is Indonesian, speaks excellent English, and is at our disposal when he is not busy with other things.
OUR HOSTEL
After a twenty minute drive, we arrive at the hostel. What a lovely place, and our room is gorgeous, with a/c bath and shower, TV, and computer connected to the internet. Breakfast and afternoon tea is included.
OUR ROOM
All this for just $22.00 a night. Oh, and did I mention they do your washing, and supply real coffee and tea whenever you want. They also organise tours and take you back to the airport when you leave!
DINING AREA
LOUNGE AREA
The couple who own it are Dutch and have only been there since January, they are very helpful and friendly. There was also a Dutch couple, Sanny and Rob staying there, which gave me a good opportunity to practice my Dutch as we are going there in august.
SANNY AND ROB ON MT MERAPI
We spent the first day settling in, relaxing and organising our tours. Later that afternoon we walked to the local shop for some groceries and I managed to win a glass! Not real sure how that happened, but hey!
BOROBODUR
The next morning we were up early for our trip to Borobodur about 45mins by car. There is bus transport, but unless you know were to go and which bus number you need, then public transport is a whole new adventure.
CARVINGS ON WALL
The Borobodur Temple complex is one of the greatest monuments in the world. It is of uncertain age, but thought to have been built between the end of the seventh and beginning of the eighth century A.D. For about a century and a half it was the spiritual centre of Buddhism in Java, then it was lost until its rediscovery in the eighteenth century.
CLEANING THE WALL
The structure, composed of 55,000 square meters of lava-rock is erected on a hill in the form of a stepped-pyramid of six rectangular storeys, three circular terraces and a central stupa forming the summit. The whole structure is in the form of a lotus, the sacred flower of Buddha.
STUPA
I climbed to the top while Tony waited below. At the summit are numerous stupas.
VIEW
The view was absolutely awesome; with the smoking Mount Merapi in the background, unfortunately because of the smoke the photo is hazy, but if you look closely you can see the mountain there.
LUNCH
We had lunch at a very upmarket restaurant, and it was still cheaper than the cheapest meal available anywhere in Australia, and far tastier.
PRAMBANAN
From there it was off to Prambanan.
TEMPLE
Prambanan Hindu Temple complex consists of 224 shrines, 16 of which are within the central courtyard. Most of the remaining 208 structures are small shrines which open to one of the four cardinal directions.
In the central courtyard, three shrines stand high, one for each of the Hindu trinity. The middle temple, the largest among the three, honors Shiva.
CARVING ON TEMPLE
Brahma’s temple houses the statue of Brahma in its only chamber. The temples of Brahma and Shiva are plastered with bas-reliefs of the Ramayana legend. The last of the main shrines, Vishnu’s temple, is similar to Brahma’s temple in its design.
BAS-RELIEF
Prambanan was a fabulous experience, and as far as temples go it up there with the best of them, better even than Angkor Wat! There was also a small, but interesting museum which gave us a good insight to the history of this area.
TEMPLE
We returned to our haven (hostel) around 5.00 o’clock very weary indeed. It was sandwiches and coffee for us and off to bed for an early night, as mount Merapi awaited us in the morning.
MT MERAPI
Mt Merapi is an extremely active volcano in central Java, with devastating eruptions occurring regularly. On 25th October last year it erupted spewing lava and ash. It continued to do so until the 30th of November by which time it had killed 353 people and wiped out several villages. Some 350,000 thousand people were evacuated. When they ere allowed to return they were met with scenes of utter devastation. These photos were taken some six months after the event, and the destruction is still very evident. A very sobering experience.
UTTER DEVASTATION
HOUSE
WAS A HOUSE
ASH AS FAR AS YOU CAN SEE
SOMEBODY'S CAR
RIVER OF LAVA
HERE ONCE WAS A VILLAGE
After coming down the mountain we stopped at a restaurant with local cuisine. As usual the food was fantastic and the price negligible.
TONY RELAXING BEFORE LUNCH
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing at the hostel and enjoying the company of owners and staff.
WHICH WAY?
Our last day was spent at the silver factory where they make incredible things and get paid $50.00 a month! From there we wandered down the main tourist shopping street which is full of souvenir and t-shirt shops all overpriced.
CHICKEN ANYONE?
The next morning up early to catch our flight back to Kuala Lumpur and the bus trip back to our floating home. All in all, it was a fabulous trip and one I would recommend to anyone.
YOGJAKARTA AIRPORT
