=> This post is a chronological summary of my trip.
More pictures can be accessed at the end of each section,
they are organized by topics.
1/ Lombok
Beautiful Southern coast with so few tourists !
Now inland...
Boat coming from Bali... 8 outboard motors = 2000 HP!
At the
beginning of the 19th century, Lombok was divided into several small kingdoms. Mayura
Park, located 2 km east of Mataram, was built by Anak Agung Gde Ngurah
Karangasem in 1866, it is a garden built by the king as a complement to his
palace.
Boat trip to Gili - Trawangen (full of tourists!)
My boat, coming from Lombok
Ferry to Bali
=> If you want to see MORE pictures of my
trip through Lombok click here to see them.
They are organized by topics.
2/ Bali
Uluwatu on Kuta Selatan
Gunung Kawi
is an 11th-century temple and funerary complex north-east of Ubud that is
spread across either side of the Pakerisan river. It comprises 10 rock-cut
candi (shrines) that are carved into some 7-metre-high sheltered niches of the
sheer cliff face. These funeral monuments are thought to be dedicated to King
Anak Wungsu of the Udayana dynasty and his favourite queens. On the east side
there are five temples that are dedicated, according to one theory, to King
Udayana, his queen Mahendradatta, and their sons Airlanga, Anak Wungsu, and
Marakata. The temples on the west side are dedicated, according to the same
theory, to the king's minor queens or concubines.
Ubud
Brahmavihara-Arama
is a monastery, located in the hills of Banjar. Opened
in 1970, the monastery covers a hectare of hillside, with numerous meditation
rooms, libraries, beautiful gardens, and an impressive mini replica of the
world's largest Buddhist archaeological site, Borobudur. Main sections include
the Uposatha Gara, which is a restful and quiet meditation room in the western
section, with walls depicting Prince Siddhartha Gautama’s birth, and a statue
of the Buddha in his state of reaching Nirvana. The room also serves as the
main venue for new bikhu or Buddhist monk initiations.
Besakih
Temple is a pura complex on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali. It is
the most important, the largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion in Bali. Perched
at nearly 1000 meters, it is an extensive complex of 23 separate but related
temples with the largest and most important being Pura Penataran Agung. The
temple is built on six levels, terraced up the slope. The entrance is marked by
a split gateway (candi bentar).
On the Northern shore of Bali
Last lovely secluded beach before CROWDED Java...
LAST ferry to Java!
=> If you want to see MORE pictures of my
They are organized by topics.
3/ Java
Kawah Ijen
The Ijen
volcano complex is a group of composite volcanoes that are inside a larger
caldera (Ijen), which is about 20 kilometres wide. The Gunung Merapi (mountains
of fire) stratovolcano is the highest point of that complex.
West of
Gunung Merapi is the Ijen volcano, which has a one-kilometre-wide
turquoise-coloured acidic crater lake. The lake is the site of a
labour-intensive sulfur mining operation, in which sulfur-laden baskets are
carried by hand from the crater floor to the nearby Paltuding Valley, 3 km
away.
The lake is
recognised as the largest highly acidic crater lake in the world. It is also a
source for the river Banyupahit, resulting in highly acidic and metal-enriched
river water which has a significant detrimental effect on the downstream river
ecosystem.
The trolleys with cushions are to carry people up and down the crater!
Gunnung Bromo
Bromo
Tengger Semeru National Park (southeast of Surabaya) is the only conservation
area in Indonesia that has a sand sea: the Tengger Sand Sea across the caldera
of an ancient volcano (Tengger) from which four new volcanic cones have
emerged. This unique feature covers a total area of 5,250 hectares at an
altitude of about 2,100 metres. The massif also contains the highest mountain
in Java, Mount Semeru (3,676 m), four lakes and 50 rivers.
Mount Bromo
(Indonesian: Gunung Bromo), is an active volcano which sits in the middle of the
Sea of Sand, at 2,329 meters it is not the highest peak of the massif, but is
the most well known. The name of Bromo derived from Javanese pronunciation of
Brahma, the Hindu creator god. The massif area is one of the most visited
tourist attractions in East Java.
Borobudur
Borobudur (Candhi
Barabudhur) is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist temple, not far from the town
of Muntilan, in Central Java. It is the
world's largest Buddhist temple which consists of nine stacked platforms, six
square and three circular, topped by a central dome. It is decorated with 2,672
relief panels and 504 Buddha statues. The central dome is surrounded by 72
Buddha statues, each seated inside a perforated stupa.
Built in
the 9th century during the reign of the Sailendra Dynasty, the temple design
follows Javanese Buddhist architecture, which blends the Indonesian indigenous
cult of ancestor worship and the Buddhist concept of attaining Nirvana. The
temple demonstrates the influences of Gupta art that reflects India's influence
on the region, yet there are enough indigenous scenes and elements incorporated
to make Borobudur uniquely Indonesian. The monument is a shrine to the Lord
Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The pilgrim journey begins at the
base of the monument and follows a path around the monument, ascending to the
top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kāmadhātu (the world
of desire), Rūpadhātu (the world of forms) and Arūpadhātu (the world of
formlessness). The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of
stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the
balustrades.
Evidence
suggests that Borobudur was constructed in the 9th century and subsequently
abandoned following the 14th-century decline of Hindu kingdoms in Java and the
Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked
in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, who was
advised of its location by native Indonesians.
Borobudur
has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration
project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesian government and
UNESCO, followed by the monument's listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Borobudur
is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, and ranks with Bagan in Myanmar
and Angkor Wat in Cambodia as one of the great archeological sites of Southeast
Asia. Borobudur remains popular for pilgrimage, with Buddhists in Indonesia
celebrating Vesak Day at the monument. Borobudur is Indonesia's single
most visited tourist attraction.
=> If you want to see MORE pictures of my
trip through Java click here to see them.
They are organized by topics.
- End of this trip -