This proved to be a wise decision as it was quite a journey getting to Borobudur. Of course there were many tour package options in town, but we wanted to do the trip on the cheap and on our own. This involved a rather long (and excruciatingly hot) hike to the bus station and then about a 3 hour bus ride on an old local bus. After we got off the bus we still had to walk to the temple which was a little ways away. ($4 bus)
The entrance fee was pretty steep which was fine except for that when I asked for an English brochure they informed me that they were all out and that I should pay for a human tour guide instead because it was much better. This was annoying because I didn’t want to pay for an English guide - I just wanted one that I could read to do the tour myself. I have a sneaking suspicion that it was all a ploy to get you to spend more money as there were mounds of other brochures in other languages. I finally solved the problem by asking for a brochure in Spanish and then just translated the important parts for Daniel and Sean. Too bad my ancient archeological vocabulary in Spanish isn’t exactly up to snuff. ($30 entrance fee, $3 lunch, $2 bus, $2 taxi)
Borobudur is considered one of the great Southeast Asian monuments and reflects what Java must have been like in its Buddhist heyday. It was constructed in the 9th century AD but was covered in volcanic ash in 1006 by a nearby volcanic eruption. It was rediscovered in 1814 when Raffles governed Java. Borobudur has about 1500 relief panels and 432 Buddhas on the terraces. The temple itself consists of six square bases topped by three circular ones.
After climbing around the temple for awhile we grabbed a quick and cheap bite to eat in some of the questionable food stalls nearby the bus station before we started the long journey back to Yogyakarta. Over dinner and dessert we planned our next place to meet in Bali. Daniel was flying out at 8pm the following day whereas Sean and I had elected to take the 24 hr. bus which left at noon. It was going to be a long trip which made one last night and breakfast in a really nice guesthouse especially enjoyable. ($28 hostel, $1 laundry, $5 postcards and stamps, $23 dinner, $5 coffee) Total for 2 people = $103
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