Waisak2019 with 198 Customers (18 May )
It was a beautiful day of Waisak today.
It did not rain all day long, we had clear sky in the daytime and could see the full moon at night. All of the events of Waisak was progressed very well as it’s scheduled in the program, so our tours went smooth too.
We had 2 types of Tour Waisak this year, Full Day Tour and Lantern Tour.
We started Full Day Tour from very early morning, picking up our guests in Yogyakarta while picking up the other guests in Borobudur too.
First Full Day Tour began from Borobudur Temple. There were very few visitors but many Buddhist monks who were praying. Also we could see the special Waisak decorations including the big golden Buddha statue. There were full of photogenic sceneries in the temple.
After this, moved to Mendut Temple. The main road to Mendut Temple from Borobudur Temple was already closed, so we passed through the villages, it took around 1 hour. In Mendut Temple, we had some free-time, some guests joined in the chanting with the monks, some guests took a lot of photos.
And then, we had a lunch, which was delivered freshly in a yard near the temple. As there was 1 guest who had her birthday just today, we prepared a birthday cake and enjoyed the cake with all of our guests.
Our afternoon started with the parade around 13:30. The parade went in the main road that was closed for the parade, there were no cars/motorbikes passed, very safe to walk. The distance from Mendut Temple to Borobudur Temple is about 3km, it’s almost flat, so as long as you have prepared for this activities with good shoes, sunblock and drinking water, you can walk up until Borobudur Temple.
While the guests of Full Day Tour walk to Borobudur Temple, Lantern Tour started. We had several tour buses of Lantern Tour, all buses went around 8 places in Yogyakarta to pick up our guests. Thanks to our guides could meet our guests as planned, all buses could arrive in Borobudur on time.
All of our guests enjoyed Borobudur Temple view in the sunset time and took 1 hour for buffet dinner in a restaurant. We had 1 vegetarian guest, we prepare the vegetarian dish for him, the guest also enjoyed some vegetarian foods from the buffet too.
After the dinner, we moved to the lantern by our tour buses because we had special space to park our buses near the lantern.
To be honest, every year until last year, there were always some sudden changes occured from the published lantern schedule. For example, suddenly changed the time, changed the place of lantern, had been forced to wait for a long time. And no any information/explanation about the situation were announced to the participants of the lantern. So the lantern is the moment that we get nervous the most in Waisak. This year also we were very anxious, but fortunately everything relating to the lantern was organized very well by the Buddhist organization this year, there was no any troubles, all guests could get their space and lantern soon. They put their wishes on the lanterns and released. We, our tour staffs and guides could afford to enjoy the lantern too!
The lantern made us like being in fantastic dream, it was really beyond any words. We had the lantern experience many times, but still now we could feel someting special in the scene.
The lanern finished around 21:00 this year. After finished the lantern, we said good-bye to all of our guests and left Borobudur Temple Park by our buses. All guests could reach their places in Yogyakarta/Borobudur before midnight.
Actually, every year Waisak Tours make us exhausted physically and mentally if we compared with our normal tours that we organize daily. Because we are handling the tours with a big team, sometimes we have arguments due to different status/different thinking during preparing the tours. On the tour day, we are under the pressure of responsibility all day long, sometimes we need to run around to look for the missing guest…But how can I express it, Waisak Tours give us a sense of accomplishment, well… something invisible but very important, not money, something more precious in our life.
That’s why we have Waisak Tours every year. Yes, of course next year too!
Special thanks to our valuable customers.
We do hope that tonight’s experience will stay in your heart long.
Special thanks to our guides and drivers.
We could achieve our tours without any troubles this year too thanks to you all worked hard.
Special thanks to our tour staffs.
Your works behind of the scene are priceless. You are the real heros/heroins.
Special thanks to Waisak.
See you again.
