The Forgotten Splendours of Borobudur

 

I had accidentally discovered some years earlier from an earlier bout of pneumonia that deep continuous rest caused the disappearance of quite a number of lines on my face. Obviously one does not require such a painful experience to benefit from the self-regenerating effects of deep continuous rest. The idea therefore is to create a situation where one has no choice but to simply let go of all your cares.

Clearly there must be some criteria. We city types demand a lot as a matter of day-to-day comfort. Cool dry air-conditioning. Good coffee. A choice of perfectly cooked cuisine. Bug-free surroundings that display the same superb orderliness as a French hedge maze. Lush sheets and good bottled water. Things that happen instantly when ordered.

And perfect goes a long way too. Descending down the driveway to Amanjiwo, the driver stops midway and points through the windscreen. And there is your first sight of the great 9th Century monument of Borobudur. A giant jagged black edifice that you can see, precisely between the central pillars of Amanjiwo’s cul-de-sac, exactly through the centre of corridors, lobbies, pathways and the restaurant. Yes the entire resort is built around the view of the Borobudur monument.

Borobudur was highly fashionable amongst the jetset in the 80s and the 90s. And in those days, the jetset were truly the elite of the world – heiresses and actresses all carrying an effortless sparkle, a time when air hostesses were fabulous, leggy and blonde, and first class travel, dare you remember it, didn’t have sleeper beds but served the most exquisite malossol style Iranian oscietra.

All the graces of this old world alas are extinct. Gravity has caught up with the leggy blondes, first class now reclines flat with art deco leather and wood veneers, the jetset are now corporate travellers on free miles, and the supply of Iranian oscietra caviar has finally petered out as of 2009.

But the circumstances that originally created Amanjiwo in Borobudur has left us with a legacy of past glories. Amanjiwo itself now stands as a monument to those sepia-toned days of shoulder pads and big hair. It is a resort not built with removable veneers and modular systems for regular updates of a 21st century sensibility, but with giant blocks of precisely cut volcanic stone to last a lifetime. Nearly 200 staff attend to the needs of a maximum of 70 guests.

And this is reflected in the nature of the guests of Amanjiwo as well. To stay here is to be transported back to those elitist times. It is a hushed ambience here, no shrill voices of kids or women. Sober pastels, quiet confidences, knowing conversations regarding the geology and nature of the Kedu Plain upon which the Borobudur monument sits. 

The Kedu Plain sits between two twin volcanoes whose regular eruptions have given the area its fertility for 400,000 years. But the Kedu Plain looked very different 1,200 years ago when the Borobudur monument was built. Unlike most large religious structures, Borobudur was built on an upthrust of bedrock, the gain in altitude positioned the monument perfectly above what was then a large lake 15 metres deep. This then highlights the architectural intent of Borobudur. At the time of its construction, it was a lotus-shaped mandala of carefully cut stone that appeared to float serenely on the lake.