Bali, Day 2

We woke up at our beautiful hotel with a view overlooking rice paddies, and had an outdoor breakfast before embarking on the day's adventures.


Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)

Before we walked into Goa Gaja, we had to buy a sarong to wear in the temple (they rent them, but you end up paying as much as it would cost to buy anyways). Julia and I spent about 20 minutes haggling with the different women selling sarongs (there were probably about thirty stalls outside the temple)--we were the only customers, so all the women were eager to have us buy from them, but our hardline bargaining was not flying over too well, especially considering we got the price down from about 300,000 rupiyah (a little over $30) to about 35,000 ($4) apiece. I had decided that as I was going to Cape Cod straight from Bali (talk bout beach to beach) I would bring all my female relatives back some sarongs, so the fact that I was looking to buy over ten helped with the bargaining. Asra (our guide) just laughed as we took forever to do this.


As for the temple, since our hotel was right next to the temple, we were the first ones there, and were able to take it in in tranquility with the morning light highlighting the heavily-forested temple beautifully:


The origin of the cave is uncertain. One tale relates that it was created by the fingernail of the legendary giant Kebo Iwa. It probably dates back to the 11th century at the time of the Majapahit takeover of Bali.


The cave was rediscovered by Dutch archaeologist in 1923. The fountains and bathing pool were unearthed in 1954.


The cave is carved into a rock face and you enter through cavernous mouth of a demon. Inside the T–shaped cave you can see fragmentary remains of lingam, the phallic symbol of the Hindu god Siva, and its female counterpart the yoni, plus a statue of the elephant–headed god Ganesha. In the courtyard in front of the cave are two square bathing pools with water gushing into them from waterspouts held by six female figures.


To the left of the cave entrance is a statue of Hariti, surrounded by children. In Buddhist lore, Hariti was an evil woman who devoured children, but under the influence of Buddhism she reformed to be a protector of children and a symbol of fertility.


To the south of the cave complex there are crumbling rock carvings of stupas (domes for housing Buddhist relics) on a cliff face, and a small cave.

Ikat

We then stopped by traditional ikat weaving:




Me in the main weaving center:



A beautiful rice paddy vista outside the weaving center (you couldn't go more than 30 feet without stumbling across one of these views in central Bali):


The whole journey wasn't all easy, though--check out this "bridge" we drove across:


Basakih (Mother) Temple


Besakih Temple has been known as Bali’s ‘Mother Temple’ for over 1,000 years and is perched 1,000 metres high on the southwestern slopes of Mount Agung. Besakih is an artistic and unique complex that consists of at least 86 temples which include the main Pura Penataran Agung (the Great Temple of State), as well as 18 others.


Julia and I had to fight off the "tour guides" who wanted to charge us to give us the tour. Asra wasn't allowed in due to some silly rule, and the tour guides told us we couldn't go without a guide. However, Asra and the guidebook both informed us this was a scam, we could go wherever we wanted and there was nothing they could do about it...so we did!


Besakih is the biggest and holiest amongst the temples on the island and is surrounded by breathtaking and scenic rice paddies, hills, mountains, streams, and much more. It is said to be where the very first revelation from Balinese Hindu's God, Hyang Rsi Markendya, was received.

Along the way we stopped to use the bathroom at one of the 100 or so stalls lining the road to the temple, and met a man who spoke excellent English who translated for his grandmother...who he claimed was over 100 years old (and she looked it, too!) I was also chased down the hill after figuring out the rock bottom sarong price and asking too many women for it--they figured out that I was trying to bargain off one's price at another stall and three or four started yelling at me...oops.

Kopi Luwak

Our next stop along the monument-lined road (some celebrating Balinese heroes after the Indonesian invasion, some World War II heroes from the Japanese invasion):


...was a coffee plantation. While clearly a tourist trap with coffee prices higher than US prices, we did get to see a real-live civet (yup, the animal that doesn't quite digest coffee beans, pooping them out for us to brew into the very-expensive coffee Luwak):


Julia tried her hand at roasting some beans...


...while nearby, a worker sorted male and female beans (one is more expensive and delicious than the other, though I can't remember which is which now):


Tirta Empul


The name Tirta Empul is derives from the large spring in the centre of the temple. "Tirta" means holy water and "Empul" means spring so Tirta Empul is holy water spring. I loved the intricate carvings inside of the shrines:

The temple was built around 960 AD during the rule of Candra bayasinga king from the Warmadewa dynasty. It's divided into three main courtyards: the front yard, the middle yard and the inner sanctum. Here I am at one of the gates into the outermost courtyard:

And again, at one of the inner gates:


Here's a snap of the inner sanctum:

And a ceremony going on inside the sanctum:

There are two rectangular pools in the outer courtyard, each fed by a line of fountains that stretch from east to west and face the south. Each fountain has its own name and function. According to tradition there is a fountain for spiritual purification, another for cleansing from evils, another is an antidote for poison, etc.. Many people were bathing in them for luck:

Suharto built his vacation home overlooking the temple:

We passed an ancient tree on the way out (they tie sarongs around trees and carvings to indicate their holiness):


Gunung Kawi Temple

Our last temple of the trip was Gunung Kawi Temple, which consists of 10 "candi" cut into the rock face:


Each candi is believed to be a memorial to a member of the 11th century Balinese royalty. There are four on the west side of the river and five on the east side. Each of the sets of memorials has a group of monk's cells associated with it (not pictured).


Legend says that the group of memorials was carved out of the rock face in one night by the fingernails of Kebo Iwa (it's uncertain who the real builders were but they may date back to the 10th or 11th centuries). I could see a giant doing this with his fingernails, right?


Julia at one of the temple entrances:


The four monuments on the west side are to Anak Wungsu's chief concubines. Another theory is that the whole complex is dedicated to Anak Wungsu, his wives, concubines and to royal minister. There was a gorgeous rice paddy on the long walk to the temple:


Tegal Lalang

Our last stop of the day was at a beautiful rice paddy vista at Tegal Lalang, a wood carving village.


We concluded the day with a delicious dinner before Julia had to head back to the airport:

Thank you Asra for being an amazing tour guide!

And then there was one...more on my outdoor activities next!

Bali, Day 1

Taman Ayun

Straight from the airport to our first stop, Taman Ayun.

From the tour company: Pura taman ayun is a beautifully appointed temple, with its own surrounding moat, in the village of Mengwi, 18 km from Denpasar.

The history of this temple is closely associated with the beginning of the Raja Dom of Mengwi, in 1627. It was built in 1634, at the time at the rule of the first Raja of Mengwi. I Gusti Agung Ngurah Made Agung, who letter become known as Ida Cokorda Sakti Belambangan.

In the innermost sanctum, the shrines of 11, 9, 7, 5, and 3 roofs are dedicated to various other main temples on the island.




These shrines were built by the Raja to ensure that his Kingdom and people would be able to share in the prosperity and fertility of the nation, and also to enable all the people at Mengwi, to conduct the religious ceremonies at the temple, such as "meajar–ajar", Memendak Sang Pitara and also to request holy water to protect the rice fields from pestilence, etc.



Pacung

One of the most famous rice–paddy panoramas on Bali, offering expansive views over the broad and gently sloping terraces sculpted from the south–facing hillsides.


I enjoyed a ham sandwich...my first in MONTHS:



Ulun Danu Beratan Temple

This temple is located on the shore beside of Lake Beratan, about 61 km to the north of Denpasar. It is surrounded by the Puncak Mangu mountains.

This temple is an original Subak temple (farmer´s society temple) and is dedicated to the goddess of the lake "Dewi danu". The temple was build around 1633 AD. the complex of the temple consists of 4 different temple compounds:



The temple of Lingga Petak, a single shrine of three roofs dedicated to Lord Ciwa (Shiva). When the temple was restored, the builder found a big white stone, flanked by two smaller stones. The dominance of white stone in relation to the other stones is resembled a lingga (phallic, symbol of Ciwa) therefore this shrine is called Lingga petak or Ulun Danu. It represents the reproductive power of Ciwa as the God of fertility.


The related temple of Puncak Mangu has a single shrine of eleven roofs dedicated to Lord Wisnu in his manifestation as the Goddess of the Lake Dewi Danu.

The related temple of Teratai Bang is dedicated to Lord Brahma.

The final temple of Dalem purwa / suci is dedicated to Dewi Uma Bhogawati the Goddess of food and drink.




We were lucky enough to be there after a ceremony, and witnessed a parade of Balinese:


Munduk Waterfall



Tanah Lot Temple

This temple is located at southern coast of Bali Island, Kediri district, Tabanan regency. The history of this temple is closely related to Dandhyang Nirartha´s pilgrimage to Bali Island, here he spent the night while teaching the Religion, Morality to the local people who came to him. After he left, the local people built a temple on a small island in around 1489 M which was used as a place for worshiping the supreme Godhead to asked prosperity and welfare.

This temple/Kahyangan named "Pura pakendungan" which is now known as "Tanah Lot". Apparently the Japanese moved it during the occupation--it had been beautiful, but with the new placement, was better outlined by the sunset.

Best sunset on the island:


Followed by the traditional kecak (fire) dance:

Bali.

Just finished a first day of Bali touring. Beautiful, but as I expected, a little different than the rest of Indonesia; a little similar. Longer posts as I have time. Talk to ya later!

If You Don't Drive on the Right Side, You Don't Drive Right.

Please excuse the bad grammar of the title. It's just true. And putting all the traffic problems, honking, lack of obedience to traffic rules, and polluting vehicles aside, I've come to the realization that this is true.

Erin and I reserved a car to go to Bandung on Saturday for 6 AM, specifically requesting a driver familiar with the Bandung area. We didn't get confirmation until late Friday night that they had received my bank transfer, but he showed up on time Saturday. We had reserved that time specifically so we could get in all the activities we wanted to do that way and avoid the traffic-jammed city of Bandung, instead skirting around it to make the most of our time. We explained this to the person we reserved with and tried to explain to the driver.

So, to our suprise, we encounter no traffic on the way there, and two hours later find ourselves in the center of the city of Bandung. We then drove around for TWO AND A HALF HOURS before reaching our first (and, turns out, ONLY) destination because the driver had no idea to get to where we wanted to go--he stopped and asked for directions five or six times. Add to that the growing traffic and the fact that this is the biggest tourist destination outside the city and can you see our frustration?

So, we saw Tangkuban Perahu, hiked around for a couple of hours, ate some jagung bakar, and returned home. A little anticlimactic, probably not worth $30 each, but nice to get out of the city.

Check out us and the volcanic crater:

All in a Day's Work

DISCLAIMER: this is another melancholy post about the annoyances of Indonesia, written by a tired (from the mosque next door waking me up daily) and homesick (USA in 12 days!!!) American girl.

After the trip to Bandung, I got up early on Sunday and prepared for another adventure, this time solo and in the city limits. I was going to head all the way north to Kota to the Mangga Dua shopping complex for some quality knock-offs after picking up some coffee at the aforementioned Anomali Coffee. However, my roommate told me that Ambassador ITC is much closer and has the same stuff as Mangga Dua, so save the time and go there. Great!

I grabbed a bajaj to Anomali, arriving around 8:45 AM. Closed. Lights out, no one inside. Really??? No coffee at almost 9 AM? Interestingly, there were many people out and about on bikes for car-free day, a bi-monthly event where certain roads are closed to motorized vehicles on Sundays and people can bike, run, or stroll along the highways. I'm sure they wanted coffee as much as I did.

So, I walked to the (not so) nearby Pacific Place mall, which has a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (ironically, full of bikers), grabbed a coffee and a cab, and headed for my refined first stop: the Jakarta Cathedral. I got there just as mass was ending, and caught some Catholic mass in Indonesian before waking inside and getting a glimpse of the cathedral itself. Nothing to write home about (although I guess I am kind of doing that here?).


I then crossed the street to the biggest mosque in SE Asia, Istiqal Mosque. It was pretty freaking big, and swarming with people selling everything from food and souvenirs to plastic bags. Yes, two different women tried to sell me empty plastic shopping bags! The most notable thing for me was that EVERYONE LEFT ME ALONE--no one stared, no one cat-called me, and most people didn't even offer me what they were selling. It was actually quite refreshing. I didn't attempt to go inside--there were lines out every door and I didn't have anything to cover my head with.


From there I walked to Monas, the national monument. There, it was the opposite--everyone tried to sell me something (and I was so hungry I did buy some unidentified sweet pastry-like item). When two girls heckled me then asked if they could take a picture of me (not with me, mind you, OF me), I said okay,if they took one with my camera, too. As soon as I handed them my camera, thirty or so children appeared from all directions out of nowhere and started crowding around us and yelling. Somehow they managed to get this picture of me without the children, and as soon as they were done, I fled the scene for fear I would never escape otherwise.

Picture taken by the girls:


I then headed to the corner of the park closest to the direction I needed to go (yes, I had consulted a map ahead of time), to hail a cab. Turns out, because the road is one-way there, we had to circumvent the entire 1 km-square park to drive right past where I had hailed him to get to where I wanted to go. Does this city need an expert to tell them why there is so much traffic? What a waste of gas.

Next stop was Grand Indonesia, where earlier I had spotted a Forever 21--I was eager to pick up a couple of cheap sundresses that I could wear upon my return to the other hemisphere. No such luck. Forever 21 in Indonesia appears to get the stuff that is too poor of quality to make it the Forever 21s in the US (and you thought it was bad there!)--ragged hems, uneven seams, you name it.

But that wasn't the worst part. Forever 21 in Indonesia IS NOT CHEAP. The basic t-shirt I tried on was the equivalent of $30 US, poor quality and all. Disgusted, I headed to Zara, where the prices were the same as the Forever 21, but the quality akin to its US counterpart. Unfortunately I didn't find anything I liked, but I left quite puzzled. Who knows. People don't seem to ask "why" here (see earlier posts!), so maybe they just accept it.

Bear with me, kids. I then went to the food court, which is "New York themed," though the way they decorate it makes it look like Paris more than New York. There were showtunes blasting from the speakers and fake street signs with streets from New York, such as "4th Avenue." Really, guys?

I then finally headed to the Ambassador ITC, a multi-story complex of small stalls selling knockoffs, cheap clothing, electronics, you name it. I was prepared to bargain and bargain hard. The problem was, no one would bargain with me. I went to multiples stalls, each selling different selections of the same fake wallets, purses, and watches. They wuld quote me a price about the equivalent of $50 US, I would laugh and say "Expensive!" and offer a much lower price (multiple people and Lonely Planet advise to go down to a third of the offer and work up from there). They would then laugh, and next they are supposed to come down a little, I go up a little, we meet halfway and all parties are satisfied.

Nope. Not a single seller would come down at all for me. I started to suspect it was sort of a scam--they are all owned by one person who is authorized to bring prices down, or they refused to do it to a foreigner thinking I would crack, but I didn't. After an hour or two, I walked out empty-handed (okay, not really, with a sympathy 50 cent soft-serve ice cream) and disappointed. After experiencing KL Sentral market where sellers will chase you down the street screaming "DISCOUNT FOR LADY GAGA" (okay, maybe the Lady Gaga part only happened once, but the discount-screaming multiple times), I was really surprised and disappointed.

My co-worker said I should have maybe gone to Mangga Dua--there are many more sellers there so maybe it is more competitive. But she is the same co-worker who told Julia and I to go to the terrible coffee shop, so maybe that isn't even true, or it's only true for Indonesians. Looks like I'm out of luck on knockoffs unless Bali has a bunch of good shops.