We began today with a very early morning—we met together at 3:30AM to drive about an hour to see a magnificent sunrise from the Borobudur Buddhist temple. This temple was built from 800AD-900AD and then was later abandoned due to volcanic activity surrounding the area. We arrived and then walked about 10 minutes to the top of this very large temple and waited until the sunrise came up over an active volcano across the valley. It was a beautiful sight and a great way to start off a very enjoyable day.
After the sunrise, the choir had some time to walk around the temple after which we gathered together to go to the Pusat Rehabilitasi Yakkum, a local rehabilitation center for disabled children and adults. BYU Singers had a very special opportunity to shake hands with each disabled child and introduce themselves. Seeing the smiles on the children's faces was definitely one of the highlights of the tour so far for many members of the choir.
After the introductions, the choir gave a short performance for the children and their family members that were accompanying them. The choir performed Hela Rotane, The Battle of Jericho, and four men from the choir gave a stunning barbershop rendition of Auld Lang Syne in Indonesian. Then after the crowd cheered for one more piece, they sang Luk Luk Lumbu as well.
From the rehabilitation center, we then went to eat lunch at a beautiful restaurant next to a small river. It was an open restaurant where we felt a wonderful breeze as we ate the delicious food that was prepared for us. After we were finished, we walked over to the buses and right next to where we were parked we saw a man holding a small alligator. Needless to say, a very select few within the choir took advantage of this opportunity for a quick photo.
He was actually quite friendly! We then went to the Prambanan Hindu temple, which is the largest temple in Indonesia. It has several buildings within the temple area, and the choir had some time to walk around and enjoy this very impressive structure. After seeing the Prambanan temple, we gathered on the buses to drive back to the hotel and finish our day with an evening of relaxation. Overall, it was very hot and humid today, but we all fully enjoyed each of our various activities.
