Temples of delight

3rd & 4th Jan
.
Although it’s a largely Muslim country, Indonesia seems tolerant of other religions, and in the case of its famous Hindu and Buddhist temples at Prambanan and Borobudur has ensured their ongoing restoration and positively promotes them as part of the country’s cultural heritage. And indeed they should for they are both extraordinary structures.

Prambanan – the Hindu temple complex - was built in the 9th century, about 50 years after Borobudur. It contained 244 temples, but today all that remains are 8 minor and 8 major temples. Although there are piles of stone where many other minor temples stood, so more may be restored. The ornate black stone temples stand out dramatically against the blue sky. The largest temple – or Candi - is dedicated to Shiva, one of the three main Hindu gods, this is flanked by two smaller, but still substantial temples dedicated to Brahma and Vishnu. You can go inside some of the smaller temples. Inside Candi Nandi is a statue of the large bull the temple was named after. People push past to touch the bull, but this is a family day out rather than a religious experience. Prambanan is now set in parkland. There are horse rides for the children, a gamelan demonstration and a small road train that circles the park and lets visitors see smaller groups of temples in other parts of the park. It’s too hot to walk too far.

As the only Westerners there, we quickly become one of the tourist attractions, with locals asking to take their photograph with us, or introducing themselves to practice their English – even videoing the conversations they have with us.

But Prambanan is just the warm-up act. Our primary destination is Borobudur. This is an hour’s drive away, which gives us a chance to see the Javanese countryside. Or so we thought. In fact, there is no real countryside, everywhere is built up to a greater or lesser extent, though between the buildings there are many paddy fields. And everywhere is packed full with industrious people in a hurry. Entire families are transported on a single motorbike. The children are so used to this that toddlers sit sucking milk from a baby bottle as they are driven along. Bikes and motorbikes are also used to transport goods and livestock. In a rerun of our “Pigs on Bikes!" experience in Vietnam, I am delighted to see two goats in baskets straddling the back of a scooter, a live sheep sitting contentedly on a shelf at the backof a motorbike and a double bed being wheeled along on a bike.

Our hotel is in the Borobudur complex, which means we have access to the site before the tourist buses arrive at 6am. But the weather turns from hot to stormy that night, so we decide not to get up before dawn for a non-existent sunrise. But we are still at the base of the temple by 5.30am and climb the steep steps up the six tiers to watch the mists rise up from the surrounding forest and mountains.

The temple was started by Hindus, who abandoned it as Buddhism came to prominence in Central Java. The Buddhists used the Hindu foundations to complete their own temple. Each of the lower tiers of the wedding cake structure is covered in detailed reliefs depicting the road to nirvana. The carvings are fascinating, moving from animals in the forest to the mundane realities of life – soldiers, scribes, hunters, sailors - on the lower levels, through to godly contemplation of the Buddha as the tiers rise. The final two levels leading up to the stupa contain 72 latticed stone cages, each containing a statue of Buddha – the figure is significant, representing 72 Javanese princes. While I don’t understand the religious significance of the temple, it is a peaceful and contemplative place in the early morning. And extremely photogenic. Though the temple was abandoned only decades after it was completed, the structure was preserved by a geological quirk of fate, buried in volcanic ash after one of Javas many volcanic eruptions. It was rediscovered around 1811 by Sir Stanford Raffles, of Singapore fame, who obviously got about a bit in S E Asia.

By 7am the site is crowded with the arrival of the tour buses, so we head back for breakfast before returning with hopes of an elephant tour to get an elevated view of the temple, as described in Lonely Planet. We find the elephants, but there is no sign of any tour activity, so we head back for another look round the site. With the arrival of the crowds, we are once again in demand for photoshoots. An Indonesian father shyly asks if I’ll pose with his baby daughter. Tim and Robin are in demand by local football fans, who are highly amused by Tim's poses with headless buddhas.

The car taking us back to Yogya is booked for 11am, so we reluctantly drag ourselves away. But with a car and driver at our disposal, we stop off at another small temple on the way back, which houses the oldest statue of Buddha in Indonesia. Outside is a huge banyan tree that looks to be hundreds of years old, with tarzan-rope like air roots hanging down – Tim and I couldn’t resist swinging on them, while Robin was “interviewed by a posse of local Muslim girls. By this time, the heat of the day is building again, and we are grateful to step back into our airconditioned car and escape the souvenir sellers and head back to Yogya.