Borobudur Temple

We are here with 4 of Sean's collegues from across the nation and since they are working, I have become the self appointed social convener.  When I announced that we would be visiting Borobudur temple at sunrise and that we would have to be up by 3:30 am, there were a few groans, but they are good sports and signed on.  Borobudur is a 9th century Mahayana Buddhist Temple.... a must see if you are in Yogyakarta.  It is the world's largest Buddhist temple and one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.  The ride thru the city in the dark was entertainment in itself.  The city is coming alive at 4am and the vendors are biking thru the streets or setting up their stalls for the day.  We arrived in the dark and started the hike to the top and were there in plenty of time for the rising of the sun.  Yes, Jesse and Zack, the sun did come up... can you imagine?  It was spectacular.  I thought that the smog would hide it but it made it that much more beautiful when it shone thru.

 This proves that we were there in the dark.  That's me.

 Not sure what this guy is but we can call him Ralph, Zack's future wonder dog.

  Here comes the sun. 

 Spare Buddhists.  Nairn stubbed his toe on one of these and Sean laughed till he was sick.  He says it is because he had just been wondering how they lost their heads when Nairn crashed into it.  A very nice tourist interceded and offered to help with antiseptic wipes while Sean slapped his knee and guffawed.  Poor Nairn.

 The temple in daylight.  These are the east stairs and the only entrance as you must approach the temple from the east.  We saw a Buddhist monk making the mandatory three circles of the temple.  Every three steps he would lie on his tummy, arms extended, facing east.  I tried not to stare but it is really hard for a girl from small town Newfoundland not to gape.

There is a volcano called Mt. Merapi 28km north of Jogja.  It is the most active volcano in Indonesia and has erupted regularly since 1548.  It erupted during the night in 2010, killing 200 people in a village near the bottom and spewing ash and dust over the city of Jogja.  You can barely see it thru the smog in this photo but if you look closely you can see the shape of it towering over the city.