Today we had an amazing second field trip to:
(1) Pondok Pesantren Pabelan/Pabelan Islamic Boarding School
(2) Vihara Buddha Mendut/Mendut Buddhist Monastery &
(3) Candi Borobudur/Borobudur Temple
Some of us walking around the campus
It was a relaxing day visiting a Buddhist monastery and Borobudur temple, an Islamic school and some beautiful restaurants along the away. We started our day at the Islamic boarding school and it was a great way to learn the traditional activities that students would participate in and the history of the one of the many pesantrens here in Yogyakarta. After a little tour around the campus we headed to a beautiful outdoor restaurant (Rumah makan bu empat) that was surrounded by water and had large huts you could eat under. The food was enak sekali (very delicious), especially the fish. From there we headed to the buddhist monastery and it was so beautiful walking around and learning about the various temples and statues and their meanings. Even the positions of the hands and legs had specific meanings. We learned a lot of about what monks do and the many duties that they have. It was a very eye opening experience and I can't wait to visit more monasteries in the future. After that its actually started raining pretty hard and when we arrived to Candi Borobudur we weren't able to go outside until about half an hour and once it stopped raining we headed to the entrance of the temple. The walkway alone was so beautiful with the different types of plants and trees surrounding it. Once you get to the temple you can see multiple levels you can climb with stairs on each side. The walls of the temple had beautiful detailed carvings, called relief panels, telling many stories. The temple is decorated with over 2,600 relief panels and has over 500 buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72 buddha statues that are seated inside a stupa that you can see through. A stupa is a mound-like structure that has contains relics. It was amazing walking around each level and seeing the beautiful relief panels and the entire landscape of what surrounds this temple. I couldn't stop taking pictures.
Mas Andhi
Adit :)
Entrance to Candi Borobudur
smile :)
Having too much fun.