27 | November | 2012 | Life in the Wee Hours

After Prambanan, we hopped on a tandem bike and went around the compound to look at the other temples. Most of the temples were not in very good condition. We stopped at Sewu but couldn’t go in because the temple was severely damaged during the 2006 earthquake and is structurally unsound.

Sewu is an 8th-century Buddhist temple and the second largest Buddhist temple in Central Java after Borobudur. It is quite hard to tell just how big Sewu is supposed to be because most of it is debris on the ground. I wonder if they will ever be able to restore this place to even a fraction of its former glory.

ruins of Candi Sewu

quite a mess!

one of the guardian statues

the other guardian statue

our bike fell down; it was two-tyred

bicycle built for two

Prambananis a 9th-century Hindu temple compound dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia. Like Borobudur, it is truly a sight to behold

We visited Prambanan on the 3rd day of our trip and were blessed with beautiful clear skies. It was quite crowded when we got there with two large school groups wandering around and generally getting in the way. But we outlasted them and managed to get some good photos.

The temple was damaged during the May 2006 Java earthquake and it seems the damage was quite significant and they are still carrying out restoration works and repairs. Nonetheless, Prambanan is still extremely impressive.