After achieving a zen state of mind at the ninth-century Buddhist temple complex of Borobudur, we proceeded to another throwback landmark from that century—that time, the Hindu temple called Candi Prambanan. My interest level in seeing more temples that day fluctuated below the 0.50 mark since I had already had my house-of-worship fix. However, upon stepping out of our van, the sight of the sharp tips of Prambanan's stupas ushered in a new wave of curiosity as to what fascinating discoveries awaited me inside.
A 9th Century Throwback to Prambanan in Yogyakarta | Indonesia
The Scorching Prambanan Grounds
It was scorching hot during that day, and as I made a dash to the gate, one of my tour group mates, Yeen, a South Korean, motioned for me to take her photograph. Not wanting to disappoint her, I directed her to stand against the backdrop of the towering Hindu temples of Prambanan. Despite being exposed under the sun, I took my time and ended up shooting half a dozen shots of her in various poses—including a silly jump shot. After reviewing the images, she gave me a thumbs-up sign and requested if she could take my picture, to which I reluctantly obliged.
Like a kid inside a toy store, everywhere I looked was like eye-popping toys and candies. I snapped a couple of pictures before deciding to let my memory do the documenting. I separated myself from our small tour group, which was composed of Yeen, a young couple from Portugal, honeymooners from the Netherlands and Switzerland (whose original idea of a honeymoon was a week-long trip in Phuket, Thailand—until they decided to screw the idea and continue traveling around Asia. The result was an ongoing six-month journey), and two middle-aged ladies from England. While on my own, I went to climb the first temple south of the entrance and rested briefly while I let everything sink in.
Shadows of the Shiva Temple
The temples at Prambanan were lavished with more intricate designs, as shown by their surrounding pointed spires. Compared to Borobudur, though, they had less detailed bas-relief narrative panels. There, however, one could enter each temple, and enter I did. The most memorable for me was when I stepped foot inside a Shiva temple, when the light seemed to have been turned off in an instant. With darkness around me, I was shut off from the world, hearing nothing but deafening silence. It felt like a hidden set of eyes from the shadows behind the statue was watching me. Twitching my body further inside, I saw a ray of light shining on the Shiva Statue. I stared at it and entertained the wild possibility of coming out of the temple in a different time.
Hurriedly, I got out and almost tripped down the stairs before I regained my balance. It was still present-day 2013 by the looks of the tourists outside. I sat at the bottom step and just directed my gaze at the other temples as I gulped half of the mineral water inside my drinking bottle. Though I acknowledged the emergence of starvation as my rumbling stomach suggested, I could not deny that the rush of visual feasts coming my way was more nourishing to my soul than any food.
Resilience of the Sanjaya Dynasty
It was not only the satisfaction of having another UNESCO World Heritage site stored inside my memory vault that gave me joy; there was also an accumulation of elation when I touched the walls of those temples that had stood the rugged test of time. The volcanic eruption of nearby Mount Merapi and other forces of nature had all happened, trying to knock that ninth-century complex down with no success.
Although, since its rediscovery by the surveying group of Sir Thomas Raffles in the early nineteenth century, it had undergone massive restoration to replace original sculptures and stone foundations stolen by natives. Still, being there made the experience extraordinary, as it served as my bridge to bygone thousands of years when Rakai Pikatan ordered the construction of Prambanan to symbolize the power of the Hindu Sanjaya Dynasty.
A couple of hours later, as the sun hovered overhead showering intensifying heat, I started feeling lethargy forming in my legs as my skin began to hurt. I circled to the back to look for shade and a ten-minute sit-down rest. Satisfied with what I had seen so far, I started clicking away to take some photographs. On my way back to the parking lot where our tour operator Anjeeni was waiting for us, I stopped by the rows of canteens near the exit and ordered myself a random dish from the menu written in Bahasa. It turned out to be spicy chicken with fried rice.
Anjeeni was a college student working part-time for a tour agency. She explained how she enjoyed her job because she got to practice her English-speaking skills. Listening to her, I graded her English as better than mine.
One could say that once they had seen the other archaeological sites in Angkor Wat, Ayutthaya in Thailand, and Bagan in Myanmar, they would have enough of it and cry "temple overload?" After visiting Borobudur and Prambanan, I contested that assertion because one really would not get enough of them.
