Magic and Chaos at the Waisak Festival in Borobudur Temple

WJ and I initially wanted to join the Waisak Festival on our own, but that would mean that we would have to get up in the wee hours the day before and make our way to another temple to collect our invitations for the festival. We would also have to join in the procession from that temple to Borobudur Temple to bring the holy fire and holy water in the early morning and walk for about 45 minutes or more.

Because we didn’t want anything to go wrong and avoid missing the Waisak Festival, we decided to join a tour with Javanava Travelcafe in the end. We did fly to Yogyakarta specially for the festival! The tour started from Yogyakarta City, and since we already booked our rooms in Borobudur, we decided to join them at the end of the procession.

Sadly, our driver (from Javanava) couldn’t get through the first gates and we drove to another gate where we were rejected as well. We had to head back to the initial gates where we were finally let through, missing about 30 minutes of the procession.

But even getting in late, the procession snaked through the path leading to Borobudur Temple and never seemed to end! After joining in the procession with the rest of our group and our tour guide (who walked from the other temple), we reached a clearing before Borobudur Temple for a short break. And we could still see the rest of the procession continuing from our vantage point – it was neverending!

While we sat in the shade and admired the temple from afar, our tour guide shared the history of Borobudur Temple. Did you know the significance of the number 1 in relevance to Borobudur Temple?

• There are 10 levels, which adds up to the number 1 (1 + 0 = 1).
• There are 72 stupas surrounding the main stupa (7 + 3 = 10, 1 + 0 = 1).
• And there are 505 Buddha statues in the temple, which adds up to the number 1 again (5 + 0 + 5 = 10, 1 + 0 = 1)!

It’s pretty cool!

We roamed around the compound and saw the setup for the activities of the night, our much-anticipated event! Unfortunately, we couldn’t go into the temple as they closed it for the Festival, and there isn’t a reopening date set yet. Luckily for me, I’ve visited Borobudur Temple 5 years ago but WJ and our friends were quite disappointed.

We sat on the grass under the beating sun while the monks chanted and talks were given. We heard one chant in Mandarin, but the rest were in other languages we didn’t understand. After the chanting was over, the monks went around blessing people with holy water. WJ also joined in the queue to pour water over the infant Buddha statue’s shoulders, which symbolises the cleansing of his mind and body.

After eating a picnic-style lunch on the grass, we took a ride to Padma Spa at Plataran Spa & Resort for a bath and one of the best massages I’ve ever had! We could also see the ancient Borobudur Temple in the distance surrounded by greenery, squirrels, birds, and butterflies. And without the crowd, without the cars, and without the noise, it looked even more magical. We emerged from the spa refreshed and ready to take on part two of Waisak Festival.

But first, we had a sumptuous buffet dinner within the compound of Borobudur Temple. I really enjoyed the krupuk ikan (fish crackers)! Sadly, there was some miscommunication after dinner and we didn’t get great seats for the night’s activities and were partially blocked by the cameramen and a plaque.

We were given plastic sheets to sit on the floor facing Borobudur Temple, flanked by unlit candles in straight rows. To get everyone orderly, there were stickers pasted on the floor to show where you should sit and where the candles are supposed to be. There was a period of meditation, which I tried to partake in, but sitting on the hard floor for a long period of time was painful and my legs were also getting numb. But I tried to make as little movement and noise as possible, so it wouldn’t be too disturbing to the people around me. It was still quite peaceful if you could ignore the loud buzzing of the countless drones above us.

After the meditation, the holy fire on long candles was handed down each row to light the candles next to us. The holy water was already in the bowl surrounding the candle. The scene was beautiful with long lines of lights glowing in the dark night.

Then it was time for our favourite part – the release of lanterns into the sky! Groups of 3 to 4 people were given a lantern each, and we pasted stickers with our wishes on them. Our friend lit the candle at the bottom of the lantern, and we waited for it to fill with enough hot air before letting it go.

After the first magical moment of the lanterns floating up and lighting up the sky, we looked downwards and realised that some of the lanterns were stuck in the trees framing the area. The burning lanterns fell from the trees in a trail of fire, and we could hear screams from the crowd who were cramped there.

While we were watching the falling flames, a group of three aunties next to us who failed to get their lantern to float had just made the questionable decision to stomp on it to put the fire out. Instead of extinguishing the flame, the paper lantern caught fire and the blaze burned bigger. Everyone close by was darting across the candles on the floor, trying not to knock them over while trying to get away from the flaming pieces of paper. I grabbed my bag right next to the blaze and got it (and myself) out of safety, while our quick-thinking friend and another stranger poured water over the flames. it was a wonder nobody got hurt in the end!

Aside from the fire hazards, it was a magical day and we’re so happy we ticked it off our bucket list!