As we pulled into Yogyakarta station, we had the tell-tale signs of sitting down for too long, so with numb-bums and heavy legs we went to find a taxi.
The first had a minimum fare of 50,000 rupiah, way too much, the second didn't want to go to that part of town (we started get concerned) the third beckoned us in with a huge grin and off we went.
The hotel was in the south of the city and although in a small traveller hub, it was well away from the main tourist area. Again we found that the sights of the town were a little overplayed in the guides. Most were run-down, the odd governmental building was impressive from our distant vantage point.
We both happened to be unwell for a couple of days, we can only guess from a rogue cup of coffee from the train as this was the only thing we had both had. Once recovered, we arranged a trip to see Borobudur, like Ankor wat in Cambodia the prime time to see the ancient temple is at sunrise, when the light is perfect. We opted to go for the mountainside option, where from above the clouds we could watch the sun come up from behind mount Merapi and cast its rays across the temple and surrounding valleys.
It's 3am and as we walk down into the lobby, we see both receptionists are asleep either side of the hallway. We adjust our tones and step softly so as not to wake them, but we realise that we need our hill-climbing breakfast of jam on toast. As we paused, the man closest to us wakes from his make shift bed on the floor. A sleepy face rises and we're ushered out the heavy wooden door, on the doorstep he asks to see our ticket, he is still too sleepy to read so he puts on his glasses and peruses the document. Once the receptionist is happy with his knowledge, he disappears back inside, closes the door and we listen to the heavy bolts being slid back. This was a clearly and jam on toast free zone. The streets have started to come to life, the imam is calling, elderly people are making their way to the communal washing areas, hotel touts check if we require a room. The cockerels are crowing and the onions are cooking, lets hope the two meet.
The drive to the base of the viewpoint was about an hour away, as we got higher the pitch blackness became grey as the clouds thickened around us.
We stopped at a small village and parked up, the path up to the viewpoint was mostly paved and not too steep, just as well at this time of the day.
By the time we reached the summit of Menarah hill, the sky had brightened as the sun breached the horizon, the sea of clouds far below us nudged from grey to soft pink. As the minutes quickly passed, so did the colours, through pink to crimson to burning bright yellow.
Around us the details of the countryside emerged from a cloak of darkness, the deep green valley, edged one side by a terrace of paddy fields and on the other by rows of tall trees. To the right, in the hazy distance rose another great mountain, the small cloud hovering at its table-top peak gave the initial appearance of a smoking inferno. As our eyes roamed down and down to the surrounding lower hills, its vastness is completed and it's magnificent.
Back to the rising sun and Merapi is backlit, casting shadows that stretched miles into the sky, which itself is putting on a show of every shade of blue imaginable.
Borobudur was still out of sight under a heavy layer of clouds, but this didn't bother us a bit, the cloud barrier made the forest top look incredible as the higher branches poked through. In places the clouds had become whispy and moved across the plain like lost souls.
By 6:15 the show was over, the sun had risen so high that looking at it was no longer possible, and the entire vista was drenched in warm blinding light. Our cue to head back down and on to Borobudur.
We arrived at the temple by 8am and already huge crowds had amassed.
We'd not really read up on the site and so it's size astounded us, on the side facing the approach, several tiers of carved stone Buddhas (504 in total) gazed down at all-comers. The dome at the top of the temple was so high that it was still gripped by the early morning mist.
The place was so busy, it was manic in fact. Thousands of people clambering up the same steep, narrow steps to the tiers and ultimately the multi-domed pinnacle.
As we broke away from the main crowd at tier 1, things were immediately more enjoyable, we had space around us and we could go at our own pace. The 9th century building is in pretty good shape, it is built from andesite and has largely stood the test of time. Along the walkways of each tier, intricately carved facias depicting the life of Buddha line the route. Most are still fully intact and look almost new, a few have moss or lichen spreading over them and are crumbling, which for me at least, makes them look more 'authentic'.
As we approached the steps to go to the next tier, Jan was approached by a small group of kids who asked if she would mind answering a few questions, a little reluctantly she agreed and the kids practised their English on her. At the end they asked for a photo. This seemed to open the floodgates and we couldn't move even a few metres without being asked for a photo by a group of kids.
After maybe 10 or 15 photos we'd really had enough and the next group of kids that asked we said that we were really sorry but we were in a rush, the look on their faces all but broke our hearts and we didn't refuse anyone else. In the end we must have had 30 photos with various groups at the temple, generally everyone was incredibly polite and seemed genuinely excited to have their photo taken with us. Some of the groups of lads, we suspect, were giving us a bit of cheek, but with great big smiles how could we refuse?
The rest of the temple was so busy that we couldn't really absorb it. The crowning stupas, each housing a statue of Buddha were just swamped with local youths lounging around them and so the ancient enchantment was about the same as a bus stop in London on a Saturday night.
We headed back to the hotel, tired but overall pretty happy with the trip, the experience at Borobudur was disappointing, but there was no getting away from the temple's beauty or vastness. Even if we'd had the entire place to ourselves, it still would have been a wet lettuce compared to the stunning sunrise at Menarah hill.
We're off to East Java. To see some active volcanos.