The Oldest Place I've Ever Been To

One of the stops along our way backpacking through Indonesia, was the city of Yogyakarta (said like Jog-ja-karta) to see the temple of Borobodur as well as some of the coffee plantations in the area.

This Buddhist temple, which was built in the 9th century is about the oldest establishment I have ever visited. The pictures couldn't quite capture its sheer size and intricacy. Along every shelf and stair is detailed engravings carved into stone. Each engraving tells a story about the people of the time and what their lives where like. There are engravings on everything from worshiping the gods through to children and what they did for entertainment.

The temple of Borobodour facing the East side - Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The entrance to Borobodour temple as well as a Japanese man trying desperately to take a selfie with his selfie stick. - Yogyakarta - Indonesia.

But what exactly is Borobodour? Essentially it is a temple built on the many layers of Buddhism. A birds eye view of the temple, shows its structure in the shape of a mandala (often used in meditating) with 3 different spheres, the highest being a sense of 'nirvana' (or complete peace- and not the rock band as I had first thought lol).

A view from the top of Borobodour Temple - Yogyakarta - Indonesia.

Walking along the second tier of the temple. All the walls have engravings representing stories from the time the monument was built - Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Laughing at all the Korean tourists carrying umbrellas and hats to hide away from the sun. Yogyakarta - Indonesia.

The bells at the top- Yogyakarta- Indonesia.

'Fuhisment'-  was punishment 'fun' back then?

More than anything, I was in awe of the sheer size and magnitude of Borobodour. I couldn't help but imagine thousands of Indonesian slaves in the early 800's, dragging rock after rock up the temple stairs without any machinery or electricity to aid them.  It was only years later in 1815 when British forces (aka Sir Ruffles - try not to laugh at his name) found the temple and commissioned the restoration of the monument to its former glory. There are still places in the temple that have mis-matched blocks. However, for the most part it looks fairly untouched and ancient. It sort of made me think of the 'Jumanji' movie.

A view from afar of Borobodour- Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

After the temple our tour guide- Budi, took us out into the jungle to see a coffee plantation. Budi is a part time tour guide as well as a part time fully qualified civil Engineer - a bizarre combination that seems to work for him. He explained that he does tours on his down time to improve his English before he goes to study in Finland. I would recommend that any visitors to the area go along with Budi to see a coffee plantation. He took us out to a tiny coffee farm in the jungle where there were no other tourists and fed us delicious traditional Indonesian food on banana leaves and freshly ground coffee while telling us all about the history of the area. It was a pretty fantastic day.

Across the jungle and coffee plantation - Yogyakarta.

Eating lunch at the coffee farm. The owners cooked us traditional Indonesian food and served it on banana leaves along with fresh coffee. - Yogyakarta- Indonesia.

Coffee tasting time - Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Cooking the coffee beans- Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Grinding the coffee beans - Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The coffee farm we visited. It is a small coffee farm way out in the Indonesia jungle. This particular farm is supported by our homestay as a way to encourage local business and community growth - Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

While we were in Yogyakarta we decided to sleep at a homestay simply called 'Chilled Homestay', booked off of AirBnB. Although there was no hot water, for the most part our hosts were very friendly and helped us with any questions. The owner is a British expat called Andy with a fairly colourful vocabulary and a love of international beers and motorbikes. He was very friendly and got up to say goodbye to us at 5 am saying “If you get caught in the shit, let me know”. If your looking for a cheap stop along your way and a fantastic live-in tour guide called Budi, 'Chilled Homestay' is your place.  Click here for their AirBnB profile: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2787004 

Prawirotaman street - the main tourist area where our AirBnB homestay was situated.

Lastly, is the city of Yogyakarta worth the trip? I would say it definitely is but only for a maximum of 2 nights to see the temple and surroundings. A longer stay than that is not necessary as there is not that much to do within the city as a tourist. The area we stayed in was pretty lively with many Indonesian and western restaurants combined. We drank a beer at quite a few of them! However, for the most part I would recommend Yogyakarta to any traveler looking to see something ancient and unforgettable.

Next stop along the way – Gili T island off of Bali! Getting the bikini out for sure!