Pedaling slowly, the narrow road dipped and suddenly opened on a dizzyingly wide open field. Like the Red Sea it parted, with both sides planted with newly harvested rice. I took my time, controlling my speed, studying the patches of greens amongst an otherwise golden sea of stalks. Before it ended, the road took a sudden upward stance. I braced myself and pedaled harder, accelerating towards an even narrower road paved by natural stones cocooned by a dark tree tunnel. Compress. Decompress. Compress.

NICE BREAKFAST PLACE A FEW MINUTES AWAY FROM BOROBUDUR TEMPLE

All traces of the 2am wake-up time from the Royal Ambarrukmo Hotel were gone by the time we finished our sunrise stint at the temple of Borobudur. Gone were the yawns and the sleepy eyes; the sun has risen high enough for it to lose its golden quality and most of us have photographed the temple to death anyways. There was only one thing left to do, break the fast.

The sun rose like a god. Breathing life to layers of what was once a dark and lifeless landscape. Giving forms and shapes to a massive temple, unfolding seconds by brighter seconds, right before our very eyes. It awakened the land, birthing a brand new day. But for travelers who got up at the ungodly hour of two in the morning to witness this rebirth, it awoke something else entirely; the switch button from the heavy cameras hanging about their necks.