Borobudur

Last weekend I took a whirlwind trip to Yogyakarta on the island of Java. The country's capital, Jakarta, is known as the capital of commerce in Indonesia while Yogya (as the locals call it) is the cultural capital. A trip to Yogya wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Buddhist temple of Borobudur, about 42 km outside the city. Here's a bit of background:

Construction of Borobudur probably took place around 760 AD, and completed around 830. It is designed as a mandala - a geometric aid for meditation. It is in fact a model of the Buddhist cosmos. Borobudur has 10 levels, and these 10 levels are categorized into three distinct parts which correspond to the three divisions of the Mahayana Buddhist universe: khamadhatu, the low-life, so to speak; rupadhatu, the realm of "form"; and arupadhatu, or the state of detachment from worldly being. A pilgrim would circumambulate the monument in clockwise fashion, starting with the reliefs on the eastern staircase, and going around the monument before ascending to the next level, and so on, until he reaches the top. That's a journey of ten circles around Borobudur, covering a distance totaling five kilometers.

Here's a look at Borobudur from the entrance path. Like most ancient and colossal religious structures in Southeast Asia, Borobudur is usually swarming with tourists...the day I visited was no exception. And like most places that are swarming with tourists, it seemed there were more people interested in getting their picture taken with me and my friend than of the actual structure (within 5 minutes of arrival I was petitioned by literally 10 different groups to get my picture taken with them)

Besides being overrun with tourists, it was also ungodly hot (hence the umbrellas)


Some relief carvings on the lower walls:

One of the many statues of Buddah:

Buddah's-eye view of the mountains surrounding the temple:

Me blending in with the surroundings: