AWE INSPIRING

There are only a few moments in my life that have taken my breath away.  The moment I held my new born daughter in my arms, my first real kiss, standing at the top of a run preparing to board down freshly fallen powder snow and when my daughter does something that truly astounds me.  These moments that are not easily forgotten, they are etched in my memory forever.  I experienced another of these breath taking moments in Yogyakarta, it took me totally by surprise and I was unprepared for the impact of it. 

The alarm woke us at 3am (Princess Pants was less than impressed), and we prepared ourselves for the arrival of our driver, our destination Borobudur Temple.  Borobudur is a huge mandala and is the world’s biggest Buddhist monument.  It was built sometime between 778 – 856AD but was abandoned within less than a century.  Not long after it was abandoned, the huge volcano that shadows Borobudur erupted and covered it in volcanic ash, hiding it for centuries.  It was rediscovered in 1908 but not fully excavated or restored until 1975.

Okay enough with the history lesson, you get the idea – this place has been through its share of adventure – abandoned, buried, excavated and restored.  Friends had told me this place was amazing and not to be missed, so I knew it was going to be a good trip.  We drove for an hour through villages as they slowly came to life. Rice paddies and traditional markets were beginning to stir as our driver weaved through the early morning traffic and ox carts. 

Tickets were brought and sarongs were wrapped around our waists by the temple custodians.  We followed the path through a beautiful garden and there in front of us was this incredible mandala.  There was fog around us and even though there were other tourists if felt quite eerie, everyone was remarkably quiet, I think we were all struck by the beauty of the site.  We climbed level after level of crudely cut stone stairs and finally stood at the top of the 31.5 metre temple.  We turned and stared out over this amazing island of Java.  The temple and path fell away and below us a misty fog shrouded the palm trees that lined the path and Gunung Merapi (volcano) stood proudly in front of us.  The sun crept up the path and hit the temple, I was in awe.  I know it sounds cliché but I am lost for words at how to describe the moment.  Princess Pants wrapped me in a hug and we both stood appreciating the spectacle we were seeing. 

I know I wasn’t the only one who felt in awe, the other tourists around us were all glued to where they stood taking in the moment.  I don’t know if it was this place steeped in so much history, the calm meditative aura of the Buddhists or the fact that Princess Pants and I were experiencing something amazing together but I was blown away.  We stood there for a while appreciating the beauty and mystique of this place, before we resorted back to being tourists. 

We posed for photos amongst the 432 stone Buddha and 72 stupas, walked around each terrace as we wound our way down the 10 levels and oohed and arghhed over the reliefs carved into the

rocks.  When we made it to the bottom we stood back and once again appreciated the incredible achievement of the men who built this place.  Our feeling of peace and tranquillity was not long lived and was quickly shattered as we made our way down the exit path.  We were swarmed by men selling all manner of trinkets and souvenirs.  When I say swarmed I mean it, they circled us and moved in thrusting postcards, statues and all manner of things at us.  At the pleading of Princess Pants we parted with way too much rupiah and left with postcards, batik painted cards, books and a stone temple.  I am sure the totes were laughing at my terrible bartering skills, as I handed over their asking price rather than battle

with them for a discount.  Perhaps it was the calmness that I felt from that moment at the temple or the fact that I was hungry for breakfast but I didn’t care and wished them a good day of sales before heading back to find our driver.  I will never forget that moment on top of Borobudur and am glad that Princess Pants got to experience it also.  The crazy instabilities of this world and the busy chaos of Yogyakarta were left far from our minds as we glimpsed a truly magical moment.