FINDING LIGHT AT BOROBUDUR
As we pulled into the parking lot, our driver asked if we had any water. Answering that we didn't, he laughed and handed us each a bottle from his glove compartment, explaining that we would need it. At 4:30 AM, Central Java, Indonesia was shrouded in complete darkness. I'd made the short flight from Bali to Java because I’d read that experiencing sunrise from the top of Borobudur - a 9th century Buddhist temple - was the experience of a lifetime.
Paying for our entry at the visitor center, in exchange we were given flashlights to help illuminate our way along the temple site’s dark path. We set out. Despite the busy atmosphere of the visitor center, once we began walking we found ourselves almost entirely alone, nothing to light our way but the laughably weak beams of light from our flashlights. As the largest Buddhist structure in the world I expected - even in the darkness - to be able to spot its silhouette looming in the distance. But the area’s thick jungle shrouded our view and offered nothing. Just a sky full of glittering stars.
After about 30 minutes, we arrived at the base of the temple, a squat stone monolith that seemed to punch a hole in the surrounding night sky. We directed our flashlight beams up the stairs, trying to gauge how far we'd need to climb to get to the top. But all we could see was that the dark stone staircase was steep, narrow and dangerously uneven.
Making our way up carefully, we eventually finally arrived at the top. The air was cool and refreshing. We found ourselves surrounded by a chorus of perforated stupas, each with a statute of the Buddha in its interior. People moved about in awe, smiling at one another, the magic of the moment dawning on us. We made space for one another, each finding a spot around the top of the structure to sit. And together, we waited for the sun's arrival.
Every time I look at the photo from this day, my mind is transported to how I felt in those moments as the sun came over the horizon. That, in a nutshell, is the power of photography. It allows us the gift of traveling through space and time, remembering moments that changed us as human beings.