Tanzania - Serengeti National Park
Foto: Borobudur (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
Indonesia - Today I’m going to visit the Borobudur temple, one of the seven new wonders of the world. It seems like one of the highlights of this trip. I leave Yogya by bus. It’s rush hour. Countless motorbikes weave through the city. I quickly understand why—a motorbike is a much more practical and faster means of transport in this busy city. They squeeze around the bus on both sides. As soon as I leave the city, traffic pressure decreases. Traffic on Java is much busier than on Sumatra. Divided lanes help keep traffic orderly. Around ten o’clock, I arrive at the park near Borobudur. At the parking lot, souvenir sellers immediately surround me. I only see stalls and can hardly find where to buy a ticket. I decide to purchase a combined ticket—for both the Borobudur temple and the Prambanan temple tomorrow. I receive a sarong that I must wear to visit the temple. With the guide, I enter the park. Large groups of schoolchildren also visit the temple. Some want to take pictures with me, but I try to keep it to a minimum. After all, I came for the temple. The first glance is already fantastic. From a small grassy area, I have a view of the entire complex. The guide leads me along the temple’s different terraces and explains the beautiful reliefs. Every image tells its own story. Luckily, he limits himself to the most important ones. It’s warm today, and I’m glad I can occasionally stand in the shade of the complex. The top three layers have been recently restored. On these layers stand small stupas containing a Buddha statue. I climb to the seventh and highest terrace, Nirvana. From here, I have a beautiful view of the temple and the wide surroundings. In the distance, I see Mount Merapi. A small plume of smoke rises from the crater. On my way to the exit, I pass a street of souvenir sellers. For hundreds of meters, stalls stand side by side. I cannot imagine enough is sold here to satisfy everyone. When I walk through the exit to the bus, I encounter more stalls. It’s simply bizarre how many sellers have gathered here.
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