Meeting point Hemis
Peregrination follows ruination. When Naropa decided to leave Nalanda it was because of a devastation of epic physical proportions – the ancient university lay razed by a series of invader ransacking and burning of texts that took Buddhism itself back by several centuries. Born into a Brahmin family in Bengal he was a dutiful son […]
Borobudur at daybreak
As you ascend the over 100 steps to the top of the Borobudur Temple you actually pass through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology all the way to Nirvana. Chances are that you will be climbing up, unawares, in the pre-dawn dark at 4.30 AM to catch the famous ‘Borobudur sunrise’ your progress aided by […]
Prambanan and a pickpocketing
Contrition followed admission. Two men sat on the ground with their heads tucked between their knees; three women, faces covered, sat on a wooden bench and whimpered. These were the core members of a notorious pickpocket gang who worked the Prambanan heritage site; a well-oiled operation that involved several ancillary hands depending on the scale […]