So I spent a restful night in Yogya. The karaoke bar shook my room until 4am and then the nearby mosque started its loudspeakers blaring at 5am. Tonight, I'll be sleeping in a non-reclining train seat for 6 hours which I imagine will be more comfortable.
I went out to two amazing temples. First, I went to Borobudur for sunrise since I wasn't sleeping anyhow. It is a Buddhist temple 30 miles outside Yogya, that was constructed in the 9th century. Once Buddhism fell out of fashion (as I dream that Crocs will), Borobudur was abandoned and then covered in volcanic ash from an eruption in 1006. It was abandoned until it was rediscovered when Stamford Raffles governed Java. Way to go Brits. It has some absolutely stunning carvings throughout the large temple.
Then I went to Prambanan, a Hindu temple complex with some equally stunning carvings. It was badly damaged in the 2006 earthquake, but UNESCO is doing a great job of restoring it. At least that's one thing the UN does quite well.
Over the course of the day, at least a dozen Indonesians at the temples asked to take pictures with me. This makes me suspect that today's outfit- Birkenstocks, a tiedyed maxi dress, green hipster sunglasses, neon bag- looks like a costume to them (and to me) so I basically spent the day like a crunchier Disneyland themepark princess.
I'm taking a 1am train out to east Java and then a series of buses to meet back up with Elisa to go see Bromo, the volcano there. It is supposed to be amazing.
Pictures from today are up: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.884407163815.2355401.2407552&l=dd73618006&type=1
I went out to two amazing temples. First, I went to Borobudur for sunrise since I wasn't sleeping anyhow. It is a Buddhist temple 30 miles outside Yogya, that was constructed in the 9th century. Once Buddhism fell out of fashion (as I dream that Crocs will), Borobudur was abandoned and then covered in volcanic ash from an eruption in 1006. It was abandoned until it was rediscovered when Stamford Raffles governed Java. Way to go Brits. It has some absolutely stunning carvings throughout the large temple.
Then I went to Prambanan, a Hindu temple complex with some equally stunning carvings. It was badly damaged in the 2006 earthquake, but UNESCO is doing a great job of restoring it. At least that's one thing the UN does quite well.
Over the course of the day, at least a dozen Indonesians at the temples asked to take pictures with me. This makes me suspect that today's outfit- Birkenstocks, a tiedyed maxi dress, green hipster sunglasses, neon bag- looks like a costume to them (and to me) so I basically spent the day like a crunchier Disneyland themepark princess.
I'm taking a 1am train out to east Java and then a series of buses to meet back up with Elisa to go see Bromo, the volcano there. It is supposed to be amazing.
Pictures from today are up: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.884407163815.2355401.2407552&l=dd73618006&type=1
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