Selamat Jalan (Good-Bye)

Another country is slowly becoming a miniature toyland, disappearing beneath clouds. In a few hours another will come into view . We've once again made changes to our flights and we will be in Malaysia five days early.

Garuda Air honored our unused Denpasar to Jakarta tickets and allowed instead a flight from Yogyakarta to Jakarta. This will save us a lengthy two day overland bus ride, but we'll be missing Western Java. It was a sacrifice, but we want to be sure of getting to Nepal before the rainy season, and a few weeks less in Indonesia may make the difference. Now to add to our growing list of future trips is a return to Indonesia, next time to visit West Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi.

We've really enjoyed this country. With our smattering of Indonesian, we've made some friends. The latest friends we just might see again. But they're not from Indonesia.

We met Herb and Hertha a few days ago at a trendy western-style cafe at the end of Jalan Sosrowijayan and Marlioboro streets. They wanted to know if the pizza was good. "It's great," I said. "It's real American pizza."

The two of them are from Canada. They have recently retired, sold their house and started travelling. They came to Indonesia after spending four months touring Australia. We had a great time with them and ended up taking them back to our hotel so they could book the same tour we were taking the next day to the Borobudur Temple. We met them for dinner the day of the tour and again for breakfast before we left for the airport. Since they were leaving for home at the end of the week, they offered to take some letters back to the U.S. It will be the fastest mail delivery yet from Indonesia.

The Borobudur Temple

The Borobudur Temple was our last excursion in Indonesia, and the temple was the most magnificent we have seen here. Walking through it gave us the feeling of freedom and openness that is in keeping with Buddhist belief.

The Temple is made of several terraces. As we got close, we could see the detailed architectural work and imagine the tremendous human labor that went into its construction. The architecture is modeled on Buddhist cosmology. Each part of the monument is devoted to a different world. The three Buddhist worlds are: the Kamadhatu, the phenomenal world or the world of desires; the Rupadhatu or transitional world where humans are released from worldly concerns; and the Arupadhatu or the sphere of Gods, that is perfection and enlightenment.

The Temple was built in the beginning of the eighth century and is comprised of greater than two million blocks of stone, rough-carved at the Progo river; then dragged by horses and elephants to the building site.

Around the Temple are eleven series of reliefs depicting Buddhist life. To follow a story from beginning to end; you walk clockwise around the Temple, thus paying homage to the good spirits. To walk counter-clockwise is to honor the dead spirits. In total there are 1460 narrative reliefs and 1212 decorative reliefs. Additionally, 504 Buddha statues sit in the Temple. At each terraced level their hands are held in different positions, signifying blessing, immunity from danger and the giving of instruction.

The final terrace of the monument opens up to 360 degree views of the valley and architectural park below. On this level sit 72 lattice dagobs (bell-shaped structures) with Buddha statues inside each one.

The Temple is impressive. Equally impressive, however, are the years of work that went into its restoration. The first partial attempt began in 1814 under the English. Next was a complete restoration project began in 1917 guided by a Dutchman, Theodorus Van Erp. Six years later, though, the Temple was again in need of work.

The museum near the park displays photographs of the latest restoration, a project begun in 1973 by the Indonesian Government. Thousands of stones were dug from underneath piles of volcanic ash to be individually hand-scrubbed and repaired. Reliefs too were unburied and cleaned. Entire pieces of the Temple required rebuilding, taking $25 million and ten years to complete.

Today the Temple stands as part of an archaeological park. The grounds are in keeping with the traditional Buddhist style and create a historical landscape,enhancing the atmosphere of the Temple. It is hoped that Borobudur will stand here for another thousand years.