Indonesia's World Wonder

Borobudur - World's largest Buddhist temple

28.01.2009 30 °C

When the Normans invaded Britain in 1066 and built great cathedrals and abbeys in Westminster and Salisbury they were probably unaware that their eclesiastical monuments had been superceded by the Buddhist and Hindu temples of Java.

After being ravaged by time, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions for more than twelve-hundred years, the Buddhist temple at Borobudur stands today as a testament to the skill of its architects and stonemasons. This gargantuan multi-tiered structure rivals any of the Christian megaliths in design, construction and decoration. The massive masonry structure was built without mortar of any kind. Hundreds of bas-relief panels depict Javan life in the ninth century A.D., and there is a stone Buddha around every corner and under every bell.

As we walked the five kilometre labrynthine circuit under a scorching tropical sun, our thoughts turned to home; to the labyrinth in our garden on Gabriola and to our B.C. friends who are enduring the worst winter in decades. Sorry folks - we didn't plan it that way.

How much further? I can't stand this heat!