Temples of Prambanan
I spent the morning considering excursions for the coming days, and whether to use public transport or a shared vehicle (organised through an agent). I opted for the latter as it saves time and it isn’t very much money in the scheme of things.
I was picked up along with three other people for the 40 minute drive to Prambanan, probably the largest Hindu temple in ancient Java. It was built around 850 AD but rediscovered in 1811.
Restoration efforts over the last century went down the drain partially when an earthquake struck in 2006.
The main temples are the Shiva Mahadeva group, which are intricate and towering. A separate group, the Sewa temple, is actually Buddhist (like Borobudur) from a sligthly earlier era.
Some people have described Prambanan as being more impressive than Borobudur (tomorrow). Subsequent to my visit to both, I wouldn’t disagree but I’d rather say that they’re very different to each other.
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- At the Shiva Mahadeva group of temples.
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- At the Shiva Mahadeva group of temples.
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- At the Shiva Mahadeva group of temples.
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- The detail of the carvings are very intricate.
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- At the Shiva Mahadeva group of temples.
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- Like gargoyles?
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- At the Shiva Mahadeva group of temples.
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- At the Sewu group of temples.
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- Headless Buddha.
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- There’s a lot of work to be done yet at Sewu.
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- At the Sewu group of temples.
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- The main temple at the Sewu group.
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- At the Sewu group of temples.
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- Nearing sunset at the Shiva Mahadeva group of temples.
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- Sunset at the Shiva Mahadeva group of temples.
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- Sunset at the Shiva Mahadeva group of temples.
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- Helicopter view of the Shiva Mahadeva group of temples.
At the “ballet”
After a simple dinner at a Nasi Padang shop, we settled in for the Ramayana “ballet” at the open-air theatre. Ramayana is a Hindu epic (like the Mahabarata) that tells a story of good over evil. In this case, the story is about the god Rama whose wife is abducted by Ravana. Eventually he get her back but without some dramatic fights and a village being set on fire in the backdrop of the stage.
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- Ramayana “ballet”.
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- Ramayana “ballet”; I could feel the heat from the fire.
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- Ramayana “ballet”.
Eating woes
By the way, I didn’t have the Nasi Padang at the Nasi Padang shop … it has been sitting in the window all day and there’s always flies around. I opted for some freshly cooked food instead. In some ways, eating in Indonesia isn’t that cheap as sometimes I’m too scared to eat at some local places and have to resort to more touristy joints. Thankfully I’ve managed to go local often enough though … the taste sensation of the food, if you find a good specimen, is pretty awesome.