PISA

Source : http://wikitravel.org/en/Pisa

Pisa is best known for the world famous Leaning Tower, but those who come here with their mind already made up that the Tower is the only thing to see may miss the rest of the architectural and artistic marvels of this beautiful city. The long walk from the Campo dei Miracoli to the train station is run through a pedestrian mall with many interesting sights, shops, and restaurants. Pisa is a safe city, you do not need to worry about your property or person. However you should take the obvious precautions (like, if you stay in a very cheap hotel, take your valuables with you) and watch out for pickpockets in the touristy areas.

Pisa has regular trains to and from Florence (usually three per hour), toand from Lucca (usually every hour) and is also accessible by bus, and has an international airport. Pisa Airport "Galileo Galilei" is the main airport of Tuscany and is served by several airlines operating hundreds of weekly flights to national and international destinations. Numerous companies offer charter flights to and from a number of European and non-European destinations. Flying to Pisa is really cheap and easy: the most important low-cost companies reach Pisa. The airport is close to the city centre – it takes only a few minutes to reach the centre by bus, train or taxi. It is even possible to walk to the centre, this takes around 30 minutes.

You can purchase bus and train tickets from the information office in the arrivals hall. The trains are the fastest way to get to the city. The tickets cost €1,10 and the ride takes only about five minutes. However, the trains are not very frequent. There are only two per hour. The bus has a regular service every 15 minutes and it takes about 15 minutes to get to the city. The bus runs to Piazza dei Miracoli and the central station. Tickets are best bought at the information desk, since the ticket machine at the bus terminal is often out of service. Tickets cost €0.95, but if you buy them from the driver on the bus, you pay double. The bus terminal is directly in front of the airport, on the right side when coming out of the terminal building. Once in the city, its main sights are easy to locate and are all within walking distance.

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Borobudur

Source : http://wikitravel.org/en/Borobudur

Built over a period of some 75 years in the 8th and 9th centuries by the kingdom of Sailendra, Borobudur is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. Constructed out of an estimated 1,600,000 blocks of volcanic stone, dredged from the river and assembled solely by human labor, the nine-terraced temple is a representation of the transition towards nirvana and is famed for its 1,500 intricately carved reliefs, covering a total length of five kilometers end-to-end. The volcanic Mount Merapi, one of the most active volcanoes on Java, can be seen steaming on the horizon directly north of the site.

The Borobudur is a top priority for every traveler going to Indonesia. Located about 42km from Yogyakarta it is a UNESCO world heritage site and the world’s largest Buddhist monument. Borobudur, a name deriving from an expression meaning ‘Mountain of accumulation of merits of the ten states of Bodhisattva’ is commonly thought of as a Buddhist structure, yet its initial construction was planned and executed by Hindu builders sometime around 775AD.

The temple consists of six square bases topped by three circular ones. About 1500 narrative panels telling the story of Buddha and over 500 Buddha statues complete the site.

The site is open from 6 am to 5.15 pm. 3 km east of Borobudur you can find the Mendut Temple with a 3 meter high Buddha statue. It’s nice to go walking there, but there are also irregular buses and bemo’s.

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