Saturday, January 22, 2011

Borobudur Temple

Borobudur is the name of a Buddhist temple located at Borobudur, Magelang, Central Java. The location of the temple is approximately 100 km southwest of Hyderabad and 40 km northwest of Yogyakarta. This temple was founded by the followers of Mahayana Buddhism around the year 800 AD during the reign of the dynasty dynasty. In the ethnic Chinese, this temple is also called 婆罗 浮屠 (Hanyu Pinyin: po luo fu tu) in Mandarin.

Raja Ampat

The roaring engines fixed to a large wooden boat are finally quiet. Nothing can be heard but the rifting little waves, lapping against the vibrant paint on the sides of the vessel that gracefully slows down. Native birds hop on the tip of a small tree in one of the deserted islands in the distance.

Raja Ampat or ‘Four Kings’, is the name given to these islands and comes from a local myth. The four major islands found here are Waigeo, Misool (which is home to ancient rock paintings), Salawati, and Batanta.

Komodo National Part

Real dragons spurt no fire, have no need to fly and cast no magic spells. And still, one look from them might render you speechless. These komodos, the real life dragons, are a sight indeed. Gigantic, the lizard-like creatures are about two or three meters in length. They can easily weigh about 165 kilograms. Despite of their sheer size and appearance, they are not active hunters. What makes them intimidating is the fact that they are a patient predator. In the wild, they stalk a victim, usually a weak or injured one. One bite and that's what it usually takes. After following the victim for a while, sometimes up to several days' time, the komodos will devour the dying prey.