Trekking through tourist hot spots in Asia can be an adventure, but even more so when you are mobbed by hundreds of Indonesian school kids. The temple of Borobudur is located about 40km’s outside the city of Yogyakarta, and is the oldest Buddhist monument in the world and the single most visited tourist attraction in Indonesia. The temple, which is an UNESCO World Heritage site, also holds the record as the world’s largest archaeological Buddhist site. It was unearthed in the late 1800’s after the British heard rumours of an ancient site completely lost in the overgrown jungle. An intensive restoration process took place, and thereafter the temple was open to the public. Borobudur was built as a single large stupa (a shrine for Buddha) and when viewed from above, the structure creates the form of a mandala. When viewed from a horizontal perspective the stupa is similar in form to that of a pyramid. Three distinct levels or divisions of the monument represent the three realms of Buddhist cosmology, which are Kamadhatu (the world of desires), Rupadhatu (the world of forms), and Arupadhatu (the formless world). We had been served a fair warning by fellow travelers that tourists at the temple were hounded for pictures. I took this with a pinch of salt, knowing that this sometimes happens in Asia and may catch the unaware by surprise. I would have been wise to heed the words of caution though, because I had never experienced anything of this magnitude before. Upon arrival, it was clear that Borobudur was high on everyone’s agenda. There were droves of visitors, mostly locals with a sprinkling of foreigners here and there. We made our way to the foot of the monument and began ascending the stone staircase up to the first level. The stairs are tiny, even for someone with small feet, and the amount of people on the staircase was overwhelming. After a few minutes of exploring, we were approached by some sweet-faced young girls who asked for a picture. We obliged, smiled and posed for the shot. A few minutes later, another group of girls, larger than the group before approached us with the same request. Each child wanted an individual selfie, and trying to be polite we remained patient and posed with everyone. News must have spread quickly because soon we were being flocked by larger and larger groups of young kids wanting pictures and later asking us questions from a sheet of paper. Being an English teacher I eventually realised we had found ourselves here during a school trip and the objective was to find tourists to practice their English with. Not a single teacher to supervise the expedition was seen. This continued for about an hour, with us being stopped after a few steps to rehash the process. Eventually feeling overwhelmed and annoyed, we began running away and hiding from the school kids for a moment of peace. We found another handful of tourists who seemed to be hiding behind the massive bell stupas, clearly avoiding the trap we fell into. We left soon afterwards, and the entire Borobudur experience was underwhelming. My focus during our visit was on these kids, how to avoid them and how to get a moment’s peace rather than the actual temple. Afterwards I discovered that there are intricate carvings on the walls depicting Buddha’s journey, but obviously I didn’t notice any of this. I couldn’t enjoy the experience, one that I had been hoping would be a highlight on the trip. I was focused on not losing my temper on holy ground, which would lead to loosing serious merit and good karma and possibly being re-incarnated as an earthworm. Ain’t nobody got time for that A word of caution to anyone going to Borobudur, try and enquire about any school trips that are planned and avoid these at all costs. As friendly and polite as you are, try to keep your Resting Bitch Face on just to deter the droves of selfie hunters. This may sound mean but it will save you having to apply restraint when your patience is tested to the last degree.
Or don’t, if you ever want to know what it feels like to be Beyonce for a day - sans the bodyguards. The temple is resilient, if nothing else. It has survived a few volcanic eruptions, an earthquake, a bombing as well as the droves of thousands of tourists playing hide and seek along its ancient walls. And it offered me the opportunity to successfully prove to myself that I have more patience than I ever imagined!
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July 2017
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