Why on earth would anyone want to get up so early in the morning, drive for over an hour from their hotel, stand in line to buy tickets and then rush through hotel grounds and climb an ancient monument with big stairs just to see the sunrise? Well, you must be at Borobudur, the largest Buddhist temple in the world and one of the most impressive ancient architectural sites, along the same lines as Bagan in Myanmar and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, as one of the great archeological sites of Asia.
Having left our hotel, Villa Rosseno, well before dawn, our driver dropped us to the ticket office of Borobudur. Having joined the line of tourists, equally crazy to be starting their day well before dawn, we managed to secure tickets to enter Borobudur. We then made our way through the Manohara Resort grounds to a gate where they would eventually let us walk towards the temple of Borobudur.
When they opened the gate of the hotel to allow access to Borobudur, the throng of tourists made their way to the temple as best they could, given that it was the early hours of the morning and the moon was still shining brightly in the night’s sky. It was still relatively cool at that time of the morning as we made our way to the base of the temple and then ascended the large steps to the top.
The temple consists of nine stacked platforms, six square and three circular, topped by a central dome. Do yourself a favor and try to be at the front of the line of tourists as everyone makes their way to the best spot on the top of the temple, i.e. looking east towards the rising sun. Make sure that you set up your camera on a time-lapse to capture the sunrise as best you can over the heads of the multitudes of fellow tourists.
Once the sun rises and you have exhausted your camera battery from taking too many photos, stay at the top of the temple and enjoy the early morning views as the sun slowly heads further into the sky. You will likely have been facing east all morning to see the rising sun so take the chance to wander around the temple and admire the circular platforms containing 72 stupas, each containing a statue of Buddha. This World Heritage Site was restored with the help of UNESCO in the 1970s. Make sure not to upset the guards by climbing on the temple where you should not, and make sure to remain respectful of the religious significance of this wonderful temple.
Having finished your visit to Borobudur you will then make your way down the stairs, stopping at the various levels to admire the intricate stone carvings that have stood the test of time for many centuries. Take time to reflect on the magnificent skill of the craftsmen from many years ago and how, using simple tools, they were able to carve such detailed characters in the rock.
I trust that you will enjoy your visit to Indonesia’s single most popular tourist destination. When we visited Yogyakarta we stayed at the very lovely Villa Rosseno, owned by Meggie. Tell her please that Charles sent you and says Hello, and make sure that you try her world-famous pancakes. If you are interested in booking Villa Rosseno then please start by clicking on this link here. Consider one of the accommodation options in Yogyakarta by clicking in the box below with booking.com or with Agoda here.
Booking.comOur video review of Villa Rosseno may be found on YouTube here.
Our other posts on Indonesia may be found here.
(Visited September 2017)