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Published: March 15th 2013
My last full day in Bali I took an organized tour. I'd been trying all week, but with a minimum of two people needed per tour, I'd been stuck waiting for someone else to book first so I could join them. We set off at 9am for a tour around central Bali to see 7 different sights:
• Goa Gajah -- the Elephant Cave
• Tampak Siring -- The holy spring water temple Tirta Empul
• Temen -- a coffee plantation
• Penelokan -- Mount and Lake Batur
• Besakih -- the most important temple in Bali, located at the base of Mount Agung
• Bukit Jambur -- rice terraces
• Klungkung -- Old Court Justice of the Kingdom
The couple I joined was from the east coast of the US but had acutally lived in Minneapolis a few years ago. We had fun chatting about familiar places until our driver started playing tour guide. Lucky for us, he was well informed and could answer our barrage of questions. The woman had also done a lot of reading, so it was like I had three tour guides of my own!
1. The cave itself wasn't very impressive. The outside was, but inside
it was small. I'd been warned about this by other travelers, but I'd still been hopeful. We spent more time wandering around the forest and rice fields nearby.
2. Going to Tirta Empul was a surprise. The brochure just said "holy spring water temple" which could have been anywhere. Tirta Empul had been recommended to me by a fellow at my homestay who'd been in Bali for a few months and had gotten quite involved with the local culture on a spiritual level. He'd said three hours would be necessary to really experience the springs, and I suspect he was right. I obviously didn't get that much time, but then, I'm not one for dunking myself in water whether it be springs or the ocean.
We were lucky enough that it was the day before a very important festival, only held once every 15 years (I think). Many people were out in their traditional clothes. While we were there, we saw a large procession down a hill. Our guide/driver explained that five years after a person dies there's another funeral of sorts for the ashes. Sometimes, more than one person will be honored at the same time. Most
likely, this is what we saw: a town coming out to honor their friends and loved ones who have passed on. Our guide guessed that they were honoring ten or more people.
3. The coffee plantation was more interesting than I'd expected. I'd been expecting to be shown a few coffee beans, given a few samples and then--surprise--a gift shop! We got an actual tour and our guide showed us the different spices they grow and then we sat down to a lovely view and a large coffee and tea sampler! There were 8 kinds in all and we had a wonderful time trying them all numerous times. They ranged from lemon tea to ginger tea to coconut coffee to caramel coffee to regular coffee. Each one was a bit of heaven in my mouth. And there was also some barely sweetened hot chocolate! I did buy a small packet of coconut coffee that should last me a few months of Sundays.
4. Just a quick stop, but the view (minus the relentless hawkers) was spectacular. The volcano on our left, the lake to the right and the sweeping green slopes between. A bit more perfection dotting the
landscape.
5. The holiest temple in Bali and also the worst I've encountered as far as touts go. It was so bad that they nearly didn't let us in unless we hired a local to accompany us for a steep extra fee. If the temple wasn't so amazing, I'd advise skipping it--it takes a strong will to deal with harassment like that. We finally got in because the couple I was with was Hindi and said they wanted to participate in one of the blessing ceremonies. (Which they did).
Inside the temple was amazing. Flags fluttered in preparation for the festival. Displays of offerings were also being assembled. The carvings in the temple were so intricate. I wish we'd had more time there to really explore.
6. The rice terraces were okay. They were perfect like a postcard, which I find less realistic because of the perfection. I did just spent half a day wandering around in the paddies freely. And the kicker was that you had to buy lunch at the resort... which was a bit pricy. But it was a nice view.
7. The last stop was beautiful, but really needed an explanation. Even
after looking it up I'm not quite sure sure if it was a court or a palace. But it was a lovely, relaxing spot and a nice way to end the tour!
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David Alfaro
Great pictures Kris! I like to follow your blog. Enjoy Bali and keep posting your great stories :)