A Quick Stroll Through Prambanan

It doesn’t matter how often you visit this place; it never gets old. This compound is timeless, and nothing has changed since.

If you love history, this is one of the best places to visit and learn how majestic temples are built, but it is also a great place to people-watch. I last visited this temple almost 4 years ago when I started my personal historical blog. Prambanan Temple: Facts Over Folktales. I learned there is to know about this temple, its structure, how it was built and the deep symbolism that lies in this place.

If there was something I was passionate about, it was ancient architecture, which never failed to mesmerize me. Think about how these structures stood over time, whereas houses these days could crumble within minutes despite the seemingly advanced construction techniques.

This time around, though, my walk was quick. It was just a hopping sort of walk, and I explored this place almost in a hurry. Even hurrying up inside this compound, you would still have to circle the place and all the spots that are there just because the management decided it’s best to add something since most people often think, “We’re only seeing stones.”

While I was shading below a banyan tree and watching the temple, I heard school kids shout 씨발 이 새끼야 ( Fuck you bastard) when a seemingly unassuming Korean visitor passed by. It’s bizarre, but thanks to their lousy pronunciation, they might not understand it. These schoolchildren kept shouting it while taking pictures, which was pretty uncomfortable.

In this place, people come all over the place, and sometimes students want to interview or have a conversation with foreigners to improve their English. I apparently learned in Vietnam that they’re doing similar things. That’s pretty much the same in Indonesia as English isn’t the main language. Most of us here are learning it as an ESL or sometimes a third language. But anyway, I heard kids yelling inappropriate stuff, and it was awkward.

When I last visited, construction was ongoing to restore the place, but it looks like something needed to be added this time. They left some parts to add a more dramatic look to the overall temple. These days, plenty of events are held in this temple square since it makes an excellent backdrop for musical/entertainment events.

My stroll was quick, but whenever I was standing in this area, I was travelling through another time. To be in that space is to experience a time-travelling experience. You get to witness how majestic and advanced the past civilization could be during its glory days.

More pictures here ..................

In these frame, the biggest temple is surrounded by smaller ones. They big ones houses statues and their real dimension is actually pretty tall and high. I wonder how tall people in the past were because these temple stretches for more than 30 meters. They couldn't be 5'2 or less since the stairs are actually pretty steep too.

Also, one last thing, the ticketing system in this place is great. You can also get it from Traveloka and you don't really have to queue at the ticketing center. You will get a QR code and directly scan it at the gate. That's one thing that's changed from the management, I think which is now a lot more modern than what it used to be.