Tour of Temples and return from Bali

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The Bali Temple Tour and the return

As a solo traveller i preferred a join in group tour. In addition to reducing the cost it also facilitated companionship on the tour. But I was in poor luck for the. “Temples Tour” as most people had already have made their arrangements. So,I had to take the expensive option of hiring a car myself for the day. Then I reasoned that it was a price worth paying as a Bali visit will not be complete if I left without seeing some of the temples. Temples are such n integral part of Balian culture.

There are thousands of temples on the island graded according to their importance and location. Nearly every house of any value has a temple on ite grounds and then there are ones shared by a few households on the compound. Where as Bali was a Hindu only island now there are more than 15% Muslims now and a few percent of Christians and Buddhists The Hindu religion strictly follow the caste system to the level that was prevalent around 70 years ago in Kerala. With the influence of Muslim government in Jakarta it is changing slowly. If Siva was the prime deity in Nepal it is the Trimurthy (3 bodies) of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva who are worshipped together here. Similarly if Arjuna, the archer is the preferred charector in India it is his brother Bhima, the mace wielder who is the favourite here.

The car was right on time at 0800 hrs. It certainly was going to be very wet day. I had a severe cold and mild temperature.At first I was thinking of cancelling the whole trip then decided against it as there was no guarantee if the next day will be a better one.

First we had a long drive of an hour and a half to the first temple. The driver provide me with a Sarong (a cloth one wear around the waist covering the knees) and a red tie keep it in place. I used the same in every other temple I visited.

The Kehen is a not a very large temple by any means but quiet beautiful. It was built by the side of a green hill. It is called the temple of hearth where devotees give offering on small hearths. It is dedicated to Brahma, Lord the Creator. The important things for me was the imposing gate and stairs leading to it. The pagoda style towers thatched with ijuk, a black fibre from the sugar palm This is what is generally used for thatching most temple buildings. Very organic. On the temple grounds there was a great Banyan tree. It looked very old with support roots coming from the branches all around. There was the main temple, then there was a private temple which was at least as beautiful as the main one. As I was not a Hindu and was not doing any “pooja” (worship) I was not allowed into any of the temples. Luckily the rain moderated a bit that I could take some photographs.

The second temple was the Besakih temple called the mother temple probably because it is the biggest temple in Bali. Parking in designated car park I was given bike ride to the gates of the temple which was 500m of steep climb. Then I was given a guide who was with me all the while I was on the temple premises.

This Temple was built in the 8th century. A lot of restoration had to be done following the violent eruption of Mount Agung. It has a hugenumber of steps leading to the main gate. There were many Indonesian youths in red shirts on the steps and I could not get a decent photograph. This is a huge complex and is at an altitude of 1000m. This along with the incessant rain bought the next problem of a descending fog which put everything in a haze.

In addition to the main temple there was a temple for the local king then there was another for the farmers (a bigger one because there are so many of them) who were in the lower cast of Sudra. The rain and the fog made the visibility poor and I could not do much more there. It was a long walk back in the rain to the car but luckily it was downhill.

The Tirta Embul Temple is probably the most attractive for tourists. Named after the natural water spring inside the temple grounds it has lush gardens around. At first one walks through the imposing gates into long courtyard with a huge open building on one side. Proceding further you get to the the purification pool where cool cristal clear water pours out from 13 ornate spouts. To get into the pool you have to be a devotee or have special permission from the temple. I saw a lot of Australians /Europeans/Americans in the pool. The incessant rain was not an issue here. The area was very colourful and full of people even on a day like today. On the side there was another bath with lesser number of spouts they may have been designated for other rituals.

The main temple was further in, I could see inside from the gate as but I was not going in. Coming out of temple was through a maze of lanes full of shops selling a lot of local handicrafts, food items etc..

The Gunung Kawi or Rock Temple was only a couple of kilometers from the Tirtha Empul. From the main gate well constructed steps (285 to be precise) leads down to a valley. On both sides were beautiful rice terraces with rice nearly ready for harvest, going down as we descend. At the end we pass throgh small rock hole to land beside a beautiful stream. Turning left there were courtyard and sculptures were cut into a rock face. Now turning right we cross the stream (beautiful views over the stream and water falls) on)) and enter another courtyard again beyond which sculpters were cut into the rock faces. Turning right, passing a gate we enter the main courtyard. The worship area as usual was out of bounds and is a room cut onto a rock.

This is an enchanting place of natural beauty. May be because it was the rainy season there was water in stream and lush vegitation all around.

Climbing the steps and getting back was not too bad. I found my driver waiting for me at a side road.

Goa Gaja (elephant cave) Temple was the last of the five temples planned for today. Again walking through beautiful gardens and down a few steps one enters a large open area. There were two unused cleansing baths bigger than ones in Tirta Temple. There were similar but fewer water spouts in them. The cave (which we could enter had two wings on the left was an altar of Ganesha and on the other side there were 3 Shiva lingas.

Walking out there were gates and courtyards with ceremonial buildings. Just when I was going back up I realised that another walkway and steps lead down to a valley where was the temple garden. It was a beatiful natural garde with a natural waterfall and a stream running through it. There was a Lotus pond and well constructed walkways.

On what could be considered as a “miserable rainy day” I was really happy that I used it so well. To top it all my cough and cold seem to have subsided a lot. I would have missed a lot on the heritage of Bali if I had opted out of it. Of course one can visit a lot more temples some of which are set on even more exotic locations like offshore and middle of a lake. It gave me a glimpse into the Balinese culture. It did help me understand more as I was interested in the fantastic Hindu Mythology. The Balinese believe that the natural spring in the Tirta temple is from the seven great rivers of India The Sindhu, Ganga, Saraswathy, Brahmaputra etc

The checkout from the hotel was at 12PM and the flight to singapore at 8PM. I had a few hours to kill. Hired a car again and set off for Garuda Vishnu cultural park.I had seen the huge statue from the beach in Semeniyak and was keen to see it close. It took us an hour and a half to cover the 15 km to the cultural park and half an hours wait in the queue to get the entry tickets. Only then I noticed the the Garuda Vishnu statue and the gardens were out of bounds. Thete were a lot of cultural events as shows and traditional dances that came free with the ticket which I coukd not make use of anyway. The entry price for locals was 80,000 Rp which I thought was exorbitant. The Vishnu garden has beautiful statue depicting as protector of all living beings. Then on apedestel was a huge and handsome statue of Vishnu (with both arms missing). Reminded me of Appollo. Took some clde photos of Garuda. But as the huge combined statue was a bit further away it was harder to get a good shot. But the statue itself was quite pretty (compared to the grotesque old figure of the huge Patel Statue in Gujarat).

The good thing was unlike yesterday it was sunny and pleasant but I was rather disappointed with the place. May be my expectation was too high. It has a lot going for it to be a great place in the future.

The driver dropped me at the airport well ahead of time. Unlike leaving Nepal I was sorry to leave Bali, then there was the carrot of getting back to settled routine life in Ireland.the one thing that stick in my mind is there gates, whether it is to the temples, house compounds, hotels or even government buildings. The insides were always flat and plain with any decorations on the three other sides. I have not seen this anywhere else. But it makes sense. The other is the lush vegitation especially when one go up further inland.and higher.

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