MICHAEL
Today, we arrived in Semarang, which is on Java Island in Indonesia. The size of Java is amazing. It is incredibly dense with over 150 million inhabitants. Compare that to New Zealand, which is twice the size of Java Island, and is home to merely 5 million people.
I signed up for what turned out to be a fabulous excursion to Borobuder Temple. Borobuder is an enormous, 2000 year-old terraced temple that rises pyramid – like, amid emerald forest and fields. It is a UNESCO world heritage site, and the temple is remarkable not just for its beauty, but for the symbolism of its design. Borobuder mimics the shape of a lotus, and every aspect of it represents Budist views of the cosmos. There are six stacked square platforms, topped by three circular ones, a central dome, and four stairways that lead to the top. Practically every square inch is covered with sculptural reliefs and there are 504 Buddhist statues.
The temple rises to nine levels, and the legend is that the higher you climb, the more benefit will accrue to five of one’s major organs. The staircases are very narrow and very steep, but nevertheless, I made it to the top, so I guess I’m gonna live a few years longer. The temple is a very popular pilgrimage site, and recently they have had to limit the number of visitors to 1,200 daily. One very interesting thing is that since it is a very holy Buddhist site, one cannot trod upon it in everyday footwear. When you arrive at Borobuder, the first thing to happen is that they fit you out with a pair of special sandals that you have to wear as you climb. Fortunately, they were pretty comfortable, and they worked just fine. After our tour, we went to an on-site restaurant for a very delicious Indonesian buffet lunch.
Also fascinating was the way we got to and from the temple. Traffic on Java, considering its density, is unbelievable. To get there and back by bus from the pier would normally take about three hours. What Viking did, and I give them great credit for this, was to arrange for a police escort for us. You have to imagine this. There were seven huge, black, ominous looking, Mercedes buses, and a spare bus in case one broke down, traveling close together under police escort. The police would call ahead at areas that were particularly congested and local patrolman would hold up opposing traffic, allowing us to go through red lights with impunity. As a result, we made a three hour trip in only an hour and a half. I could only imagine what the locals thought as they saw this possession go by.
What did Beverly do today? Not a whole lot. I am being very picky with the excursions I go on because of the pain and my walking problems; they are a big consideration of what I do. I spent the morning on the pity pot, and then I got myself up and moving, put on my bathing suit to go in the pool, and put on my happy face. I met one of my knitters for lunch, and we decided to go to the pool together.
At first, we went to the aft infinity pool, put our feet in the water and it was like a hot tub. The outdoor weather was blistering hot at 98° with a lot of humidity. So we weren’t interested in being outside under the sun. We next went to the main pool, put our feet in and it was like a hot tub so we decided to go down to the spa. We put our feet in and it was like a really hot, hot tub. At this point, we just wanted to get in the water, so we did, and did some exercises. Then it was back to the room for a shower. I had a couple hours left before Michael got back so I went up to deck 7 and sat in my usual knitting spot. All in all, I walked a mile, and I got nowhere!