Java Jamboree: Abodes of the Gods

If you have seen Borobudur and Prambanan Temple and have lots of time to spare - one extra day perhaps, you could well consider taking a trip out of Jogjakarta. Take a trip out in the early morning and reward yourself with breathtaking views of terraced hills planted with padi in the countryside. If you are traveling towards Wonosobo, you would pass densely populated towns with strange names and then you'd realise the air has become cooler and there are thick mist around. You'd start imagining you are in the abodes of God and no wonder- You have come to a marshy plateau that forms the floor of a caldera complex on the Dieng active volcano complex called the Dieng Plateau. Dieng comes from the word, Di Hyang which means abodes of the Gods and you'd be pleased like we were to find the oldest Hindu temples in Central Java. There arer eight small Hindu temples from the 7th and 8th centuries left out of a total of 400 and though the structures are rather small and plain, you'd love this Candi Arjuna that we visited. If not, the local children and wild dandelions would warm your heart...

At Candi Arjuna...