Up and out early this morning for the trip to the temples. There are about 10-12 of us rounded up on a minibus and by 5am we were heading out of town. 45 mins down the road lies the temple of Borubadur, a major Buddhist temple and one of the largest sanctuaries in the southern hemisphere. Sunrise was glorious this morning, a blood red sky providing the backdrop to the silhouette of one of the local smoking volcanoes. It was a pity that we were speeding along the road at 70km per hour as this unfolded.
We were on site by 6am and Borabudur looked quite something in the warm hazy glow of the early morning light. The temple is enormous arranged as a pyramid structure on 10 ascending levels which represent the path of Buddha from earthly humanity to the spiritual sphere. Every surface of the temple is richly carved with scenes from the life of the Buddha. The ornate grandeur of the work on such a scale gives an indication of the status of the temple. Equally impressive were the views from the temple of the surrounding landscape. A light mist had settled across the surrounding plains creating a soft haze. Three volcanoes, half-hidden by the mist dominated the horizon on one side. To the south a few kms away a ragged limestone outcrop rose up above the temple providing a dramatic backdrop to the whole scene. You could sit at the top of the temple and let your gaze wander out over the surrounding views. As the sun rose into the sky and, with it, the temperatures this is what most of us did.
By 8am most of us had trooped back down from the temple to one of the small cafes by the entrance to the compex for breakfast. 60 mins later we were on the road for Prambanan
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