Across the Islands of Indonesia
印尼群島之旅：雅加達—萬隆—日惹—峇里島
From Jakarta, I travelled to Bandung 萬隆, the celebrated “Paris of Java 爪哇巴黎.” Surrounded by green mountains and softened by a cooler climate, the city seemed to breathe more gently. Tea plantations rolled across the highlands like waves of emerald silk, while the memory of the Bandung Conference gave the peaceful landscape a special historical dignity—the voice of a newly awakening Asia once echoed here.
The road then carried me eastward to Yogyakarta 日惹, the cultural heart of Java 爪哇. Here, royal tradition still lingered around the Sultan’s Palace 蘇丹王宮, while batik patterns 蠟染圖案 preserved stories in colour, line, and delicate human hands.
Before dawn, I journeyed to Borobudur 波羅浮屠. Rising from the mist, the immense Buddhist monument appeared less like a building than a sacred mountain shaped by faith. I climbed its terraces slowly, passing hundreds of stone Buddhas and carved reliefs 浮雕 that told of earthly desire, suffering, wisdom, and liberation.
As the first sunlight touched the bell-shaped stupas 鐘形佛塔, the surrounding jungle emerged from darkness. Mountains floated above a sea of mist, and for a moment the world seemed perfectly still. Every ascending terrace felt like another step away from worldly attachment and closer to enlightenment.
Yet not far away stood the restless Mount Merapi 默拉皮火山, crowned with smoke and shadow. Its name means “Mountain of Fire 火之山.” Beautiful yet dangerous, it reminded me that creation and destruction are forever intertwined. The temples spoke of eternity; the volcano answered with impermanence 無常.
At last, I crossed the water to Bali 峇里島, where the atmosphere changed as gently as music changing key. Hindu temples 印度教寺廟 stood among rice fields and palm trees; stone gates opened toward sacred courtyards; and offerings of flowers, rice, and incense appeared each morning before homes and shops.
I wandered beside the terraced rice fields 梯田, where sunlight shimmered on the water and farmers worked in harmony with the ancient subak irrigation system 蘇巴克灌溉系統. Along the coast, waves from the Indian Ocean struck the cliffs, while temples such as Tanah Lot 海神廟 seemed to rise directly from the sea.
At sunset, the sky burned gold, crimson, and violet. The silhouettes of temples, palms, and dancers merged against the fading light. Through the movements of Balinese dance 峇里舞, through the metallic rhythms of the gamelan 甘美朗音樂, the island revealed a world where devotion and beauty were inseparable.
