Today I took a trip outside of the city to the Prambanan temples, which are over 1000 year old huge stone structures. It was easy to get there since that new bus system went directly there. I bought myself a hat so I could walk through the midday sun with more ease.
I noticed there were two ticket offices. One for Indonesians who could get inside for $1 and one for foreigners who could get inside for $10. Just a little difference, but oh well, I didn’t mind too much since this was one of the main things I wanted to see in the country.
I walked through the museum first and then to the ruins: Candi Lumbung, Candi Bubrah, and Candi Sewu. The area is similar to Angkor in Cambodia.
Two years ago there was a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in the city I’m staying in now. 5,782 people died. The effects could be seen on some of these stone buildings too. Some of the stones were cracked in half. But overall, in the past two years they have been fixed so they look as good as new.
In Candi Sewu the ruins of 249 towers surrounded a bigger tower. An Indonesian man came by and started talking to me and then offered to take me inside. Going inside was off limits since after the earthquake, but he did anyway. It was like an Indiana Jones moment, going in the dark rooms. He lit a match so I could get up some of the stairs. Afterwards he asked for some money, but I didn’t mind to give him a little for that service. He said he was an assistant to the archeologists here, but I had a feeling he was a liar just like everyone else in this country.
Later I saw the biggest buildings, centered around Candi Shiva Mahadeva. Because of the earthquake, there was a fence around the temples so I couldn’t get right next to them, but it was still a nice sight with the sun getting low, a volcano in the distance, and piles of stone ruins all around.