Borobudur Off The Beaten Path

This is an opportunity for you to talk to the locals and for them to practice their English. There will be research students sometimes visiting the Borobodur on their field trip. They can be friendly but shy as well, in particular, the young girls. If possible, they will try to take a photo with you, especially if you’re very foreign-looking i.e. white.

I did not want to put this tip under warning as I found this experience to be quite pleasant. I managed to mingle with some young kids from Cirebon who were very willing to make friends, ask me questions, and take pictures! It's cute to see them speaking English and attempting their very best; reading out of a notepad and asking "What is your name? What is your nickname?"

But for those who do not want their “Borobudur experience” to be interfered, this situation might take up your time.

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Big as Borobudur may seem when you have to climb it, it is small as seen from the Menoreh Hills.
Ask the driver of your hired car to make a sidetrip to Suroloyo lookout point. If he does not know it, it's the same direction as Sendang Sono, a R.Catholic retreat. Coming from Yogya it is the last turn left (at Salam) before the Muntilan road to Borobudur; or returning from Borobudur it is the first turn right. About 20 km of winding but well-paved mountain road brings you to the lookout. There are fine sights along the road too.
There are several hilltops which you can climb. The main lookout is next to the parking, about 300 steps up!!

The artists who created the panels of Borobudur incorporated many images of Indonesian life and culture, perhaps to give the pilgrims some comfort of familiarity along the walkways . Javanese animals share the walls with strange mythological creatures

Horses and Elephants were the land rovers in the 9th Century...

The artists who created the panels of Borobudur incorporated many images of Indonesian life and culture, perhaps to give the pilgrims some comfort of familiarity along the walkways . Javanese animals share the walls with strange mythological creatures

Surprisingly intelligent monkeys who use a bowl to collect fruit..

Though Borobudur is Buddhist by nature, you can see examples of Indian Hindu influence on its artwork. The Kinnara, mentioned in the Vedic text is one such example. What's a kinnara? It's a fine mythical creature with a human face and torso but its legs, wings and tails are those of a bird.

When I went to Borobudur, I expected to see a storyboard of Prince Siddartha aka Buddha. So when I saw these winged couple. I took a double take. Nope, they were not from the tales of Harry Potter but from an ancient Hindu text. Half human, half bird . A Kinnara and not a Griffin;p

Though Borobudur is a Buddhist by nature, you can see examples of Indian Hindu influence on its artwork. The Garuda, mentioned in the Vedic text is another example. It's the opposite of the Kinnara. instead of having a birdie bottom, this fella is bird-headed with a human body.

After a while more, I spotted yet another creature, this time he had the head of a bird. Pretty much like Horus, the falcon-headed Egyptian god. But he's better known as Garuda in this part of the world and seen almost everywhere, including the tail of their national carrier - Garuda Airlines.

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Many archaeologists hold the belief that the bas reliefs on the walls of Borobudur Temple hold vital clues to the lifestyles and ancient living conditions found in Java and other parts of Indonesia. Those scenes also have much in common with the present condition of living!

Do you have a copy of Footprints: Indonesia? If you do, then you would have seen a line drawing of this ship on one of its pages. I actively looked for the ship on the walls of Borobudur and almost yelled out in excitement when I saw it. There it was, an old-fashioned sailing ship with a double outrigger, with its crew actively navigating the ship and a number of passengers on board! It is believed that these ships were once used for the famous spice trade in the Indonesian islands.

Afternote: I later found out that this ancient ship has been reconstructed in 2003! It was reconstructed on the belief that the ships in the ninth century would have needed a minimum capacity to take 20-30 people and around 25-30 tons of goods and supplies to successfully undertake long-range voyages and trade following the "Cinnamon Route".

The base of Borobodur is covered with sculptures depicting all sins known to men- greed, lust, envy, you name it. Before covering the top tier, make sure you look at the Buddhist version of hell where everyone succumbs to their earthly desires.

Hmm, a nice 9th century spa scene captured in stone. Looks like this chap is given a nice massage under a roost of parrots. I hope the birds don't spoil his spa experience.