Our first morning in Borobudur, on the island of Java, we woke up at 3:45 am to go on the sunrise tour. Ika, our homestay owner, had offered to drive us there. Since it was raining, he cautioned that we probably won’t see a sunrise. Rain was also expected the following morning. We went back to bed after deciding to do the sunset tour that evening instead since we only had two mornings in Borobudur. The sunrise tour gives access to the temple 90 minutes before the 6:00 am general admission and the sunset tour ticket holders can stay 90 minutes past the 5:00 pm closing time.

Mid morning, Ika insisted on driving us to see a brown coconut sugar factory and two smaller Buddhist temples because he wanted us to see as much of his town as possible. He advised that if we are not interested in buying souvenirs, we shouldn’t engage with any of the vendors, or we would be swarmed.

The Sunset Tour

At 3:30 pm, we left again for Borobudur Temple. The sunrise and sunset tour visitors can only access the temple through the connected government-owned hotel, Hotel Manohara. Ika said his childhood home was on the current hotel grounds. The government relocated the local residents to make way for the hotel and park. His family was glad to contribute to the development of this area. Until a few years ago, Ika and his wife were teachers in Jakarta but their young son was constantly sick due to the poor air and water quality. He is much healthier now.

Within feet of stepping out of the hotel and into the temple park, a vendor peddling miniature Borobudurs asked Kenric the usual questions, i.e., “Where are you from?” “Are you here for the sunset tour?” “What is your name?”, and kept asking us to buy his merchandise. “OK Kenric, you buy from me when you come back, OK? My name is Johan. OK, I see you later. My name is Johannes, ya?” I was hoping he would be gone by the time we left at around 6:30 pm. Kenric asked, “Is his name Johan or Johannes?” “He did say both. I think he anglicized it for your convenience.”

Completed In The 9th Century

Completed in early 9th century, Borobudur is the biggest Buddhist temple compound in the world. No one knows why it was abandoned in the 15th century. Four hundred years later, local people discovered the compound. Sir Stamford Raffles, the British ruler of Java, who is more well known for founding Singapore, ordered an excavation. This exposed the temple to looters. Today, Borobudur is a UNESCO World Heritage Center and security guards are never far away.

That was how a man who tried to stay after the regular hours without the proper ticket was held accountable. At 5:00 pm, the PA system announced that the general admission hours are over. One of the security guards directed this one man to go down the stairs and exit. The man said, “I need to go over there to get my friend so that we can leave together.” He walked to a different part of the level and started to take more pictures. The same guard caught him a few minutes later, and he pretended to ask worriedly, “Did you see anyone there? I can’t find my friend!” The guard didn’t buy his lies and told him to start descending. About ten minutes later, at least five guards surrounded him one level down. He ran out of excuses and was told he had to pay for a sunset tour ticket. He grudgingly paid and one of the guards had to go get him his receipt and flashlight. What an ass. There were about ten sunset visitors and equally many guards. When Kenric and I left, this guy was the only one behind us.

Who Is Waiting For Us?

It was completely dark by the time we got down to street level. And who do we have waiting for us? I was just thinking if he was really there waiting, we would have to buy something from him. Under the street lamp, Johan laid out a few items. We picked the smallest one and he said the price was 300,000 Rupiah (USD $21.78)! It’s exorbitant, but we also felt that he had earned his money. We quickly paid so that the guard who was escorting us could go home too. Johan wished us a long life, and thanked us over and over. I told him to go home quick. He said his two kids were waiting for him.

About fifteen minutes into our 20-minute walk home, a man standing by a roadside stall invited us to eat there. “It’s very good!” We smiled and shook our heads. A few steps later, we stopped and discussed our dinner options. Ika’s wife had recommended three restaurants when we checked in. We ate at the closest of the three on our first night. It is a popular restaurant, but not pleasant at all. One of the other two is also relatively nice, and the other is in a fancy resort. We felt that it would be better to eat at the roadside stall rather than giving our business to some fancy place that won’t miss our business, so we turned around.

Who Is On The Bench?

And who do we find seated on the long bench we were about to share? Johan immediately jumped up to shake our hands. We were all laughing pretty hard. He thanked us again for buying from him. His Nasi Goreng arrived and he started eating. He said his younger sister is working in Malaysia and that Malaysians are very nice. Knowing that there are abusive bosses who treat their domestic workers horribly, sometimes causing death, I replied that there are some who are nice and some who are not. He offered Kenric a cigarette and said that it was good that Kenric doesn’t smoke. After getting two to-go orders, presumably for his children, he thanked us again for the purchase, and said maybe we’ll meet again Insha Allah (God willing). I replied, “You never know! We met three times in four hours.”

Map of Places Visited