More from Candi Cetho

Really, really spectacular.

Remains of Majapahit

Candi Cetho looms out of the mist, remains of the ancient Hindu kingdom of Majapahit perched at the top of a steep hill in one of the few remaining Hindu towns in Central Java. Most Hindus fled to Bali as Islam spread through Java, but a few people made offerings to a shiva linggam as we walked through the mist.

Nirvana

After climbing a few sets of steep stone steps, you emerge blinking into the open top level of the temple of Borobudur - Nirvana.

Each of these stupas contains a Buddha statue, many missing parts of themselves after all these centuries but still majestic. The diamond shaped gaps represent the instability of human existence; the square ones, the perfect equilibirum of enlightenment. One stupa's statue is known as the Lucky Buddha, as my guide Aisyah tells me. When terrorists hid 10 bombs in the temple complex, only this one, tucked right into the stupa, failed to explode. She tells me to touch the Buddha and make a wish.

I feel a bit unsure about touching such an ancient monument, but I do anyway. I lean precariously on the rough lip of the stupa and reach my arm through the gap between the interlocking stones, wrap my fingers around the stone thumb, close my eyes and wish.

Relief

Onlookers to the level of Earth, or Form, at Borobudur.

Borobudur!

Hot off the presses from my visit to the Buddhist temple of Borobudur in Java, Indonesia, this morning. It's reputed to be right up there with Angkor Wat (and Bagan, in Burma) - oh, and it is. One of the most beautifully intricate places I've visited, from the moralistic reliefs at the base, through the reliefs telling the jataka tales of Buddha's life, to the simple, beautiful stupas of "Nirvana" at the top level of the temple.

Happy tigers for everyone

Murals depicting the Chinese astrological signs in the same Chinese temple in Mae Sot, Thailand.

The wombat makes a rare appearance on her own blog

Visiting a small wat in Chiang Mai.

Perspective

Long corridor open to the air at the temple of Bayon, Angkor Thom.

Mudra

Apsara caught in the middle of a dance, Angkor Wat.

The Buddha, the Dharma, the Sangha

Temples in Thailand have tripartite roofs to represent the threefold refuge of the Buddha, the Dharma (teaching) and the Sangha (community of monks).

Some, like this one at Wat Pho in Bangkok, have threefold upon threefold roofs...stunning and quite different from the other temples I had seen.

Thai temple painting

Thai temples are full of life in so many ways. Not only are they full of worshippers at any time of day (especially around New Year's), but the walls are full of paintings, the paintings full of people dancing, walking, eating, gossiping, fighting, meditating.

Inner Sanctum

The head temple of the Cao Dai sect in Vietnam. They favour eyes, lotuses, and revere Victor Hugo as one of the three great spirits bringing us messages from the world beyond. In Tay Ninh province, Vietnam.

Happy New Year!

Today, New Year's Eve, we went to temple, like good pretend Buddhists. Specifically we went to Wat Phra Sing in Chiang Mai, which is having a full-fledged temple festival for the days around the changing of the year. Around the various temple buildings were stalls selling flowers, candles, and other offerings, and alongside the main temple there was a fair with clothes, knickknacks, and a bunch of food stalls.

Inside the main temple building there were many special types of New Year's blessings on offer. We chose a little banana leaf basket filled with spices, flowers, little bags of water and so on, with a little flag on which to write your New Year's wishes. We followed all the others in carefully inscribing our wishes, then bringing the basket up to place in front of the statues of Buddha where we knelt and prayed. Finally, we went to place the basket on one of the large trays holding the offerings. We weren't sure what the significance of the different trays was, so we went for the one that had a picture of an elephant above it. We didn't miss the essential step of posing for a photo while placing the basket! Then we went to the food fair and snacked on sweet sticky rice grilled in bamboo. All Chiang Mai seems to be gearing up for a huge party, even though the Thai New Year is officially celebrated in April with a big waterfight that we are sorry to be missing.

On the other side of the temple was a garden peppered with bilingual sayings on wooden signs. This one seemed especially appropriate for the season.

Happy New Year!

This one's for my sister

Kittehs need to nap in Thailand, too. This one's sleeping between the legs of a large, ominous statue of a gentleman in a frock coat at Wat Pho, Bangkok.