Thursday, July 12, 2007

Borobudur... Not Amongst the 7 Wonders?

Voila! They just announced the new 7 wonders from whoever version it is, which is obviously not being recognized by UNESCO. 100 million voters were believed to have selected the so-called new 7 wonders in the world. Yet, another disappointment for me.

Borobudur Temple is not and has never been one of them. It is not even amongst the 21 finalists! Since we were kids, we were made to believe that Borobudur was indeed one of the 7 wonders. It's a deceiving fact. Now we figured out that our school books were wrong (perhaps like they have deceived us for many of the histories of the country). Never mind....

Regardless, I am still disappointed with the fact that Borobudur is not on the top 21. I then questioned the selection criteria. What is it? History? Architecture complexity? Popular demand? In the fairness, Borobudur can easily beat some of the finalists. History... it's got it. Architecture beauty and complexity... it's got it. Popular demand... perhaps not. Why not? Hhmmm... maybe the Indonesian government did not pay much enough to the voting organization? Sounds political and sarcastic, but this is why once again everyone should question the selection criteria.

To put it this way, being in the top 7 would easily bring in the tourists to the country. How many of you have had a dream of visiting the 7 wonders before you die? I do. Now, if it's not part of the tourism marketing campaign, then what? Perhaps Indonesia needs a stronger Tourism Minister to negotiate. So much for being a nationalist today.