Upon arriving in Semarang, Indonesia this morning, about 30 of us headed out for a full-day excursion to Central Java to visit the monumental and stunning temple complex of Borobudur. Built before 800 A.D. over a period of about 80 years, and with more than two million cubic feet of stone, it is renowned as the world’s largest Buddhist monument. The structure comprises six rectangular stories of lava-rock erected in the form of a stepped pyramid.
Three circular terraces and a central “stupa” (mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics) form the summit (picture at the right was taken from top of the summit). With 2,672 relief statues and approximately 600 Buddha statues, it is considered to be an architectural masterpiece.
Borobudur was the spiritual center of Buddhism in Java before being abandoned when the Javanese converted to Islam around the 14th century. Worldwide awareness of its existence was made known in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by the local Indonese. The monumental complex had been concealed for centuries by volcanic ash and vegetation, and painstaking efforts have been made to unearth and restore it. The largest project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, after which the monument was declared a World Heritage Site.
Despite the fascinating day spent at Borobudur, John and our fellow travel companions have not stopped talking about the police escort we had for our tour bus to and from the site
(about a hundred miles each way). The captain wanted to be sure that we made it back to the ship on time and arranged for it. With very dense and at times fast-moving head-on traffic on narrow roads, our fearless police escort cut through it like Moses parting the seas. We made our own lane with sirens and flashing lights through the traffic lanes, sometimes on the divider line and sometimes on the wrong side of the road. It was an amazing way to travel. Needless to say, we made it back to the ship four hours ahead of schedule. When does anyone ever speak of a bus trip being so much FUN??
Borobudur was the spiritual center of Buddhism in Java before being abandoned when the Javanese converted to Islam around the 14th century. Worldwide awareness of its existence was made known in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by the local Indonese. The monumental complex had been concealed for centuries by volcanic ash and vegetation, and painstaking efforts have been made to unearth and restore it. The largest project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and UNESCO, after which the monument was declared a World Heritage Site.Despite the fascinating day spent at Borobudur, John and our fellow travel companions have not stopped talking about the police escort we had for our tour bus to and from the site
(about a hundred miles each way). The captain wanted to be sure that we made it back to the ship on time and arranged for it. With very dense and at times fast-moving head-on traffic on narrow roads, our fearless police escort cut through it like Moses parting the seas. We made our own lane with sirens and flashing lights through the traffic lanes, sometimes on the divider line and sometimes on the wrong side of the road. It was an amazing way to travel. Needless to say, we made it back to the ship four hours ahead of schedule. When does anyone ever speak of a bus trip being so much FUN??
No comments:
Post a Comment