Borobudur and Prambanan

Borobudur and Prambanan
One of the main sites you need to visit in Java is the breath taking temple complex of Borobudur (www.borobudurpark.co.id) with its Buddhist temples which were recovered by Sir R. Raffles in 1814 but the complex is dated from the 9th century AD.
Also this temple was suggested to witness at sunrise with the mist hanging from the lush valleys and hills. So at 4am I set off with The Three Musketeers (Dutch, French and Finnish guys) on our motorbikes with Rita a local girl to travel to Punthurk Setumba hill to view the misty hills of the Borobudur surroundings. We arrived there at 5am and had a stunning view of the volcano Merapi, the Borobudur and the misty valley. We rushed back to our motorbikes to the Borobudur park as we wanted to enter this at 6am to have the privilege to see it before it opens to everyone (locals) at 6.30am
The rush was worth it as there were maybe only 50 people at this massive site so the views were almost untouched and amazing with the sun coming up from the hills. As suggested by other travellers I took my pics and started descending level by level to reach the bottom just in time for the crowds. And with this I mean the locals or students who approach you to speak English or take pictures with you. Usually I am happy to spend time with them and pose for the camera but this time I just wanted to be a tourist and enjoy the surroundings in peace so I told him “tidak, terima kasha” (no thank you).
I was enjoying my own time while I could see other tourist chatting to the students with a bit of desperation in their eyes as they were on a tour and only had 1 hr so spend at the Borobudur..
After a local breakfast with “soto ayam” (chicken, noodle soup) we climbed back onto our bikes and travelled for another 2 hrs to our next destination Prambanan, this Hindu temple complex features 50 temples which many of them suffered extensive damage in the 2006 earthquake. Some of the temples are still fenced off or you have to wear a helmet to enter it due to construction work. I must say even if this site was smaller it was far more impressive than The Borobudur and my favourite for that day. This was followed by a local lunch this time we tried the “guluh” which turned out to be a delicious beef stew with some rice. The Three Musketeers and I left Rita to return to Yogyakarta while we explored the country side on 2 bikes for a couple of hours before returning to the big smoke later that evening.
I was planning to climb Mount Merapi the next morning (1am start) but realized that this would be a bit challenging as this would mean leave Yogya at 10pm that evening. There is always something left to do for next time…………….

BROMO https://www.dropbox.com/sc/pnv0hcw5znejj8k/140VVH2IxV
GUNUNG BATUR: https://www.dropbox.com/sc/x695fn6qqzejady/ZXqH1ZBH1H

Sunrise with views of Merapi, Borobudur and hills

Borobudur

Full size Borobudur

Prambanan