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Sutopo’s heart beats for Prambanan

Without a doubt, scholars have done extensive studies on the architecture and religious significance of Prambanan. I know because I read some of the accounts prepared by those scholars.  I find, however, that the best account about Prambanan is that of Sutopo, who is by no means a learned scholar. Sutopo was our guide at Prambanan. He is a Muslim who lived all his life in and around the premises of Prambanan. While he may not have read scholarly accounts about Prambanan, he certainly supplied us with accurate information about it. More than that, his account contained something  missing in those scholarly accounts. That something is a heart that beats for Prambanan.

LS and I barely slept the night before our 6:00 a.m. flight to Jogjakarta. As soon as our plane landed, Danang took two sleep-deprived girls to Prambanan. We got there at 7:30 a.m. and were introduced to Sutopo in the receiving area, which was some distance from the temple complex. At that point, I was dreading the long walk to the temples on a hot day and wondering how soon the tour would end so I could get some shut-eye at our hotel.  Surprisingly, Sutopo later managed to stimulate my senses by introducing us to his beloved Prambanan.

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Some notes on Borobudur

I was a little disappointed at having gone to Borobudur without knowing much about it.  I was even more disappointed when I read about it after my visit and realized that I would have had a better appreciation of Borobudur had I know more about it to begin with.

I put together the few things I learned about Borobudur in this article for you.  Just in case you decided to go there, these tidbits of information may help you appreciate Borobudur more and prevent you from become, like me, disappointed at not having read about it beforehand. (more…)

My initial impression of Borobudur

When I was in grade school, one of my teachers said that Borobudur is one of the seven wonders of the world and it is found in Indonesia.  Friends who saw Borobudur said that it was beautiful.  That is about all I knew of Borobudur when I decided to visit it.  On the other hand, LS seemed to know more about Borobudur and Buddhism than Aisha, our Borobudur guide.

LS and I visited  Borobudur late in the afternoon of our second day in Jogjakarta.  Since Borobudur is in Central Java, we drove two hours to get there from Jogjakarta.  During the visit, I felt like I was cramming for an exam by learning all I could about the place in so little a time. Worse, the place was crowded. It took me a long while to find quite in Borobodur. And, when I did find quite, it was time to leave. I was very disappointed.

It is early morning now and I am looking at the pictures I had taken and remembering what  Aisha told us about the place. Strangely, my pictures tell a different story. It is as if, I had a profound experience in Borobudur. Looking back, perhaps I did but had not known it at that time.

A note on the picture of buddha:  Many of the buddhas in Borobudur are headless.  This buddha seemed to have grown back its head when the bees built their hive on top of its body.

My friend Danang

I no longer remember what I said or did that prompted Padma to tell me that she made many Muslim friends in Indonesia and that they are wonderful people.  I had no Muslim friends then and no way of knowing whether what she said was true. So, I did not give the matter much thought until now as I remember my friend, Danang Purnomo. 

Danang is my first Muslim friend.  He is more than a decade younger than me.  Danang is a college student who does part time work as a tourist guide in Jogjakarta, the place where he lived all his life.  As a favor to his friend who knew our hosts in Jakarta and without knowing who we were, Danang agreed to “babysit” LS and I in Jogjakarta.  I use the word “babysit” because I somehow got the impression that Danang thought he would be looking after very young tourists. Of course, LS is young.  I am past young and I would rather think of myself as a traveller rather than a tourist.  As soon as we got the age issue sorted out, I think Danang was momentarily relieved that he would not have to exert much effort in the babysitting department.  Of course, Danang’s relief lasted only until I decided to do some marathon Batik shopping.  But, this is a story for another post.       (more…)