Semarang and Borobudur

 

We've again opted for a private tour, this time for Borobudur. It's an early start, the ship arrives at 6am, it's a fair distance, and traffic is reported to be terrible! And we are so glad we did!! By 6:15am we were off the ship, had found our guide, walked to the car and were ready to head out. 

The reports had said average driving time was 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. Well our amazing driver did it in 2 hours! This despite it being a holiday (New Years Eve). The Central Java countryside is green and lush, with fertile red volcanic soil. There are a number of volcanos nearby, several we could see on our drive. And once again the weather was kind. Despite the forecast there was a high overcast with a few breaks of blue. Of course it's hot and humid. That is constant here!

When you reach the Borobudur site the driver lets you out at the main office and you get your tickets (no waiting for us) You then take a tram closer to the temple site. If you have a ticket to climb up the 9 levels of the temple like we did, you need to remove your shoes and put on soft bamboo sandals. You're given a bag to put your shoes in, and you can keep the sandals. You then meet your temple guide who takes a group of about 20 through the park to the temple.

This is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, and it's really an impressive site. It was built in the 9th century, then abandoned and forgotten around the 14th century due to a volcano, then re-discovered in the 19th century. It has gone through several restorations, and they continue. The carvings in the levels show how to live so you can go up to the next level. And the top level is Nirvana.

There are only 150 people per hour allowed to climb the structure, so it's not crowded and gives you a good experience. And the guide was very interesting explaining all to us. After your 1 hour tour you're free to wander around the base area or the surrounding parks for as long as you like.

Because it's New Years Eve, there were many special festivities in the park, with a band, dancers and food sellers. We walked through the park to the tram, caught it to the main office where our driver picked us up.

Our lunch stop was about 15 minutes away, a nice open air restaurant overlooking a garden and pond. It was only 11:30, but we were ready for our buffet lunch. There was a nice mixture of veg, beef, chicken, fish with rice and noodles. I really enjoyed the corn fritters. 

We were eager to get back to the ship before traffic was too bad, so at 12:15 we started back. Around 1:30 it started to rain, and by the time we got back to the ship at 2:15 it was bucketing down. This was a very good tour to an impressive and interesting site, with a good guide. I would highly recommend! (the Holland America excursions did not get to climb up)

After a drink and a rest we got ready for New Years Eve dinner. Many people dressed up, and they had a Gala menu in the Main dining room. I had escargot, duck breast and a special chocolate hazelnut mousse dessert. All very good. Then on to the Show Lounge for the Broadway songs show. Everything this group has done has been excellent, I wish they had more shows!

I'm afraid that by this time I was beat. I knew there was no way I was going to make it to Midnight! So off to bed.