Borobudur: From Relief to Reality
The outriggeR boat in the Borobudur temples relief is really fascinating. Not only for the stunning shape, the relief also records the trail of the greatness of Nusantara sailors in ancient times. Sailing in humble boats, they conquered the oceans on a voyage to Africa. Today, an ex-marine of the British Navy, with several local crewmen, has taken the challenge to retrace the voyage with a similar boat. The Borobudur boat has been tested in the Java Sea. But can it endure the violent waves of the open seas? Follow the experience of TEMPO, who went along on the maiden cruise.
August 26, 2003
IT was 10pm. The Borobudur, its sails furled, was entering the waters of Karimun Jawa when a sudden storm hit. Huge waves, 3 meters high, thundered down the water, pushing and pulling the boat. The boat that had left the port of Tanjung Mas, Semarang earlier in the day, became natures plaything.
Overwhelmed with fear, everyone on board found themselves on a roller coaster ride, shaken up and down.
The ferocity of the storm that night really tested
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