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<\/a><\/p>\nToday was our day to visit the 9th century Borobudur Temple, the largest buddhist temple in the world, which UNESCO calls “one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.”<\/p>\n
The monument consists of nine stacked platforms topped by a central dome. \u00a0Borobudur is decorated with\u00a02,672 relief panels and 504 statues of Buddha. \u00a0I\u00a0climbed up to the top level, the realm of Nirvana, to walk among the \u00a072 bell-shaped stupas each with a statue of Buddha inside.<\/p>\n There were beautiful views of the green tropical plains and Javanese mountains surrounding Borobudur Temple. After spending time at the top, it was a steep descent back to ground level.<\/p>\n The group walked to a station and we boarded small horse-drawn carriages for a ride through a local village to visit several ‘cottage industry’ businesses.<\/p>\n The first place we stopped was a rice cakes business owned by an older woman who employed several local women and family members. The entire operation took place in her tiny facility and she sold the packaged cakes to a retailer in Jakarta.<\/p>\n The second home industry\u00a0we visited was an artificial eyelash business. The proprietor and his wife were present as we watched several young women knot\u00a0human hair on tiny threads.<\/p>\n We went to the Sekar Kedhaton Restaurant for lunch and afterwards visited their shop and silversmiths.<\/p>\n We returned to the lovely modern Santika Premiere Hotel to rest up for our ‘Farewell to Java’ dinner. Later we walked to the Dowa Honje Mangkubumi Restaurant. \u00a0Crossing streets in Java are a real challenge because there are few traffic lights and the traffic does not stop for pedestrians.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n