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Published: December 27th 2022
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Wonderfully, colorful, culturally fascinating Bali. A Hindu island in a predominantly Muslim country. Their ability to stay true to their culture and religion, even with the massive amount of tourism they have endured. It is impressive! This is our 4th visit to Bali, the first introduction to SE Asia in 1989, returning for 2 months in 1995 and our last short visit in 2008.
As we planned our return, we wondered how much change we would see. We reserved our accommodation at Alam Indah, where we stayed in 2008. It is south of the Central area of Ubud, and a much quieter section. A few restaurants have been added, alot more motorcycles, and cars! Traffic is horrendous. But we are told this is a school holiday and there are many people from the neighbor island of Java visiting. But everywhere you look you see Temples. Individuals placing offerings in front of the family statues and blessing them with holy water, in honor of their ancestors. Even with the street congestions, there is a peace to it all.
We were able to take a day tour to visit some of the temples in the interior of
the island. It was so nice to see the rural villages where, other than cell phones, not much has changed. Once outside Ubud, the traffic subsides, even with the narrow roadways throughout the interior. We visited 3 of the major temples, the first one, Taman Ayun, we were the only ones there. Built in 1634, it was a family temple for the Mengwi kingdom to worship the ancestral spirits of the kings.
Our next stop was a very famous instagram spot, that we knew absolutely nothing about. The 'Handara gates' built in 1976, actually enter into a golf course and the wonders of cell phone cameras provide a mirror reflection to imply you are in front of a pristine pool of water that reflects the sky above it. The spot has been dubbed the “gates of heaven”. It does make for a cool photo 😊
The next stop is Ulun Danu temple where they are finishing the 3rd day of a festival. Lots of offerings and decorations and music. It was fascinating to watch. Set on a small island in the middle of Beratan lake, one of the 2 major lakes that irrigate the
rice terraces. After a quick stop at our driver's village and we see the gardens and pig farm of his cousin. Then on to Jatiluwih Rice Terraces, now a Unesco site. We are to walk the 45 minutes thru the rice fields which would have been fun, but 5 minutes into the walk, it starts to pour! Fortunately there is a worker's hut and we take cover there. While waiting, the farmer and his wife share a cup of coffee with us and he plays his gamelan. Sitting there as the rain hits the metal roof near by, droplets pouring off the thatch roof and looking out over the beautiful terraced rice fields. Life just seemed so perfect!
Our last quick stop, Tanah Lot as the rain continues. A little wikipedia history - 'Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 16th-century
Dang Hyang Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and decided to rest there. Some fishermen saw him, and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock, for
he felt it to be a holy place to worship the
Balinese sea gods.
' A long day but a fascinating tour with Made, as we enjoy his stories.
We also attended a dance performance at one of the Ubud temples. Almost every night at least one of the major temples offer an opportunity to see some traditional dance and or play. Fortunately, we are given an English sheet to assist in understanding what we are seeing. We still get quite confused, but it is still fascinating to watch, with the beautiful costumes and makeup and the Temple backdrop. On the Barong dance, it is an interesting description - 'Life is understood to exist on the cusp between chaos and order. Too much chaos and everything disintegrates; too much order leads to stagnation. A dynamic balance between the two is required'. Not that i understood that in the performance.
We enjoyed a lovely Christmas eve dinner at a nearby French restaurant. There were about 20 people attending, most from the French chef's family. Then Christmas Day we enjoy a Balinese
dinner dance at a nearby cafe. The performance consisted of traditional costumes and various dancers. Of course, the youngest ones stole the show. Travelblog does not allow me to post videos, but i think i will post a couple on Facebook.
So, it has been a great way to celebrate the holiday!! we leave tomorrow for Candidasa, a village on the East coast where we will be joined by Patti and Doug at the end of the week.
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Diana Rink
non-member comment
Bali Wow!
Looks like amassing trip. We sure enjoy you blog and pictures. Thank you for sharing