end of the line

All good trips must come to an end. Happily this one did long after I'd forgotten what day it was.

I will miss the temples and statues and fountains.

And iced coffee.

And freshwater pools surrounded by grenery.

And leaves as big as I am.

 And restaurant farms overlooking rice paddies.

And all the flowers. Sigh.

I even had a great meal in Taipei airport on the way home: beef tendon soup with tempura, kimchee, edamame, and a pot of puerrh.

But in the end, there's no place like home. Especially when you live here.

Happy 2014! May your year be filled with adventures.

Prambanan

Prambanon was built in the 9th century before Hinduism and Buddhism gave way to Islam on Java. It looks startlingly like Angkor Wat in Cambodia, which I visited in 1999. 

The temple was felled by earthquakes and vandals. Locals took home pieces of rubble and built their houses upon them.

It was restored from the 30s to the 50s, with no real plan. A puzzle where they did not know what the original temple looked like.

It's filled with gorgeous carvings of Hindu gods and stories from the Ramayana. 

Because of severe damage from the 2006 earthquake, visitors are required to wear hard hats to go inside the main monuments. As with other temples, sarongs are required too. 

This group of Red Cross employees adopted me. 

Frans recommended we visit Sewu temple, which was built later but before the Hindus left for Bali. We were the only ones there. It reminds me a little of Montmartre, aside from the beheaded Buddha.

Pretty wonderful. 

Our handsome guide Tri. "Religion is in the heart." He says he's an observant Muslim who drinks an occasional beer and has a tattoo. He has a great sense of humor and speaks fluent German as well as English, Bahasa Indonesia, and Javanese. 

Even better than Borobudur, in case you need another excuse to visit Jogjakarta.