May 19, 2026

May 19, 2026

Last night we drove into downtown Yogyakarta, Indonesia to have dinner and then watch a traditional dance performance of Ramayana, an epic Hindu love story. It was a cross between ballet and opera. Aimee and I both found it boring. Although Aimee enjoyed watching the Gamelan band provide the background music. I still find it fascinating that the culture of a majority Muslim country could rely so heavily on ancient Hindu scripture. It is also interesting that the costumes of the female performers are so revealing compared to their daytime wear. We were also surprised to see so many Dutch tourists. There must be some weird fascination about visiting former colonies of your homeland.

This morning we drove west crossing the new World Heritage site called the Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta. Supposedly the local king drew an imaginary line from Mt Merapi to our north down through his palace in the center of town, south to the seashore. I am not sure I understand the meaning of this new designation.

We continued on northwest to another World Heritage Site of Borobodur. It is the largest Buddhist temple in the world. Built in the 9th century, the tiered structure sits atop a small hill. I assumed Indonesia was not a tourist mecca. But tourists overwhelm every destination today. Borobodur is so popular that visitation is now limited and time sensitive. We have the 9 am time slot and we are limited to one hour. Also to avoid damage to the temple, we are required to wear bamboo sandals for the climb.

Borobudur is built like a step pyramid with each level representing a stage in the enlightenment of the Buddha. The first several levels have bas-relief sculptures ornamenting all the walls. Our guide showed us some examples of the stories illustrated in the carvings. Some are still in pretty good condition while others show wear and deterioration. Not surprising for a temple on the slopes of smoking Mt Merapi, the stone is all gray volcanic basalt. Singapore's Sir Raffles rediscovered this lost temple hidden in the jungle in 1814.

The peak of the structure is the most interesting. Surrounding the central dome are 72 bell-shaped Stupas with a Buddha inside each one. Two have their covers removed revealing the Buddha. The top platform is also the most photogenic spot. If only I didn't have to share it with a hundred other visitors.

From Borobodur, we drive to the nearby farming village of Candirejo. We watch one farmer processing soybeans to make a traditional food called Tempeh. The soybeans are steamed and then allowed to ferment inside a leaf with some yeast. Shockingly, they are using soybeans imported from the US. Much of Indonesian agriculture is so antiquated and inefficient.

On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at two more Buddhist temples. Both are small. The first, Pawon temple is very tiny with an empty chamber inside. The second, Mandut Temple, is larger but has scaffolding on it because it is undergoing restoration. The interior has three Buddha statues. Our guide demonstrates that one of the Buddha's many hand gestures represents the Chinese yin-yang symbol. Borobodur, Pawon, and Mendut lie on a straight line. There must have been some long forgotten ritual relationship between the three temples.

There is a large Banyan tree nearby. It has hundreds of air roots hanging like a curtain. They are searching for ground contact. I didn’t realize that is how the Banyan expands. The air roots are strong enough to swing from like Tarzan. We then explored the Mendut Monastery adjoining it.

After lunch, we stopped at another Batik shop. This time Aimee was looking for Batik rayon to make me a shirt but came up unsuccessful.