Tourists dodge nuisances at Borobudur Temple

YOGYAKARTA (JP): The government may have transformed the Borobudur Temple complex in Central Java into a tourism park, but other problems which intrude on visitors' comfort have arisen.

Take for instance a beggar who follows two foreign tourists from the parking area to the ticket windows. "Give me some alms, have pity on me," the beggar repeatedly entreats the visitors while holding out his hand. One of the tourists, possibly wanting to get rid of the nuisance, drops Rp 100 in the beggar's hand.

But it does not mean the annoyances will stop. On the way to the ticket windows a group of hawkers and umbrella renters waylay the visitors. They walk in step with the tourists and praise their souvenirs.

"It is cheap, mister, only Rp 10,000," they say in broken English.

The tourists show no interest in the offers, but the hawkers surround the hapless tourists like ants on the sugar trail.

Tourists may feel relieved once they have passed ticket control. But wait. A bevy of photographers operating within the temple complex offer instant photographs simultaneously. Later on, the tormented tourists continue their plight after the exhausting climb of the temple steps. They are welcomed again by hawkers who have not given up offering their wares. The hawkers do not hesitate to chase any tourist who tries to circumvent them.

"We are at odds to bring order to these activities," said Yuwono Sri Suwito, director of operations and development of PT Taman Wisata Candi Borobudur-Prambanan-Ratu Boko, a state-owned company managing the Borobudur, Prambanan and Ratu Boko temples.

Suwito said the hawkers were a dilemma. The organizers wish to offer an opportunity to local inhabitants to benefit from the visitors to the temple, but the rules and regulations they have made for the hawkers are not respected. The disorder disturbs the tourists' enjoyment.

The number of hawkers has alarmingly grown to at least 600 roaming the grounds around the Borobudur Temple. "They destroy the fences to enter the grounds to avoid detection by security," Suwito said.

The number of official kiosks within the complex, used as souvenir shops and eating stalls, has already increased from 80 to 120. "The regional government should immediately take steps. It should not only have financial considerations," said Suwito.

PT Taman Wisata, a state-owned company within the ministry of tourism, post and telecommunications which, managed the temple since July 15, 1980. The company has equipped the Borobudur Temple with a Borobudur study center, an archeology museum, an audiovisual center, a hotel, a children's' playground and souvenir shops.

Researchers can make use of scientific data at the study center, visitors can obtain information on the Borobudur Temple at the audiovisual facility located east of the temple. PT Taman Wisata also plans to build the Borobudur Multimedia Show Program theater with the help of French technicians. The entertainment facility is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia and resembles the Superdome in Tokyo, Japan.

The objective of these supporting facilities is not only tourism. This aims at diverting visitors from the temple, alleviating the overcrowding of the temple grounds. The number of foreign tourists visiting Borobudur shows an upward trend. At the end of 1996 there were 3.3 million tourists, 6,200 people daily on average, who visited the 85-hectare complex. They paid Rp 1,500 entrance fee each.

According to Suwito, it is feared the crowds of people on the temple may alter the position of temple stones.

The Borobudur Temple management has reaped profits which have increased annually, following an initial investment of Rp 80 billion from the government and the Overseas Economic Corporation Fund (OECF) of Japan. The management recorded a Rp 428 million profit in 1993, which increased to Rp 1.485 billion two years later. In 1996, the management recorded a Rp 4.548 billion profit.

The Borobudur Temple is presumed to have been built during the Sailendra era in 800 A.D.. Its name is derived from byara (temple) and beduhur (hill) in Sanskrit. In accordance with its name, Borobudur was built on a hill with two million andesite stones. The stones in the form of cubes are estimated to have been taken from the slopes of Mount Merapi located east of the temple.

When the temple was rediscovered in the Dutch colonial times it was heavily damaged by natural elements. Dutch archeologist Theodorus van Erp started renovations in 1907 and finished it in 1911. This work was still not at its perfect stage. Renovations on a larger scale could only be done 60 years later in 1973 with the use of high technology funded by the state budget and UNESCO. This work took 10 years. This renovation is estimated to conserve the Borobudur Temple for 1,000 years on the assumption there are no natural disasters.

The management's concern is the visitors' level of appreciation, which is still limited to a short stopover. Many organized package deals for foreign tourists usually only reserve one hour for a temple visit. "The tourists only listen to a short explanation by a guide and take photographs. That is all," said Suwito.