For orientation, this chart shows Benoa, our port in Bali; Semarang & Tanjung our 2 ports on Java with Tanjung being the port for Jakarta; and then the route up to Singapore, just off this screen at the top left. We signed up for a private tour from Semarang out to Borabodur, an ancient and elaborate temple that was built in the 9th century and rediscovered much later. In the early 1800s Stamford Raffles, a British citizen who was governor of Java, worked to make sure there was funding for reconstruction. Now it's a UNESCO World Heritage site and no new work can be done on it. Raffles also managed significant development in Singapore sometime later:  The Raffles Hotel there is famous for its elegance. (Itinerary) 

 
The dockside entertainment included an enthusiastically managed dragon and two large puppet characters in addition to the music and dancing.

 
But we didn't have time to enjoy the entertainment, we were following Charlotte, our tour leader, in her blue print top. She'd arranged for two buses and a police escort.

 
The cops were eating breakfast as we loaded ourselves onto the buses. The police escort cleared traffic and ran us through red lights on the ride out to the site. We were sitting near the front of the bus and saw some pretty close calls along the way. The traffic there was so heavy that we might not, otherwise, have been able to get out there and back before sail-away.

 
The ride out was interesting as we saw active volcanos, rice paddies, and drove through villages and towns.

   
Those of us without sarongs were loaned one for the visit. After a gauntlet of vendors, who apparently were not allowed past a certain point, we were in awe of what lay before us.

 
We were there fairly early in the day so while there were other tourists there, the crowds would increase later. Our strategy was to climb directly up to the top level, which represents heaven and then to descend more slowly walking around each level before heading down. The stairs were uneven and some were large even for our long legs.

 
Looking back as we climbed. These strange stone bell-shaped stupas are placed around the last two levels. The openings allow you to look inside to see if a Buddha sits under it and if one is there it's good luck to touch his toe.

 
Dean should have good luck now. Oh wait... we are both lucky already!

 
Some of the Buddhas sit uncovered by the bell structures. They have quite a view from here.

 
And so we head back down. As we look up, we saw these young women taking a selfie of themselves while they were in heaven.

 
On the lower levels relief sculptures adorn every wall face. Even the stone flooring is a work of art.

 
The gargoyles are fantastic and most also serve as drain sprouts.

 
A real gargoyle (AKA a dragonfly) ate a meal on a corner stone.

 
The traffic around the lower levels is much lighter, but there is so much to absorb.

 
Some of the blocks seem to be much newer, but maybe they had just ben cleaned differently, or not at all.

 
A great variety of subjects from ships to elephants...

Looking down from this level we saw the demonstration area that shows the methods used to reconstruct this huge temple.

We reached the lowest level and even though this represents the worst of human nature, the images are still stunning.

We headed off into a wooded area where there was a lovely walk and looked back at the whole temple.

 
A little used stone staircase was covered with moss and fern. A row of string lilies bloomed profusely.

 
We came in from the woods and headed toward the bus. Families and tourists could hire a carriage to ride around the area.

 
Or they could ride an elephant. Extended families gathered at the base before heading up to the temple.

By this time streams of tourists and school children (in matching clothes for ease in keeping them together) were headed up to the temple.

When we got back to the bus, the drivers and the driver assistants were gathered in the only shade in the parking lot:  the baggage area under one of the buses.

We passed this related site nearby, but we did not stop.

 
It was time for lunch. We would have rather used our time for something else, but it was not our choice.

 
It was a nice restaurant, but it was associated with a silversmithing/sales operation so the exit from the lunch was through their showroom. We continued on out and took a photo of another carriage out here in this rural area. The restaurant was surrounded by rice paddies.

 
Some of the rice was nearly ready to harvest.

 
As soon as we boarded the buses, the rains came. We'd been so fortunate with the weather. This was the end of the wet season for this part of the World, but we had great weather for our adventures here. One of the other activities was rafting. We were happy with our choice, but maybe next time... We were in the second bus on the way back to the port, so our driver had to keep up with the first bus to maintain the areas cleared of traffic by our police escort. Not as exciting, but probably safer.

A cattle truck was heading through the tollgate at the same time we were as we got closer to our port of Semarong. The next day was Tanjung, the port for Jakarta.