9/24: Some Wonders of Bali: Hindu Temples & Religious Processions

We got picked up at the Sindu Guesthouse in Sanur at 8:30 by Wi, our driver from Be Balinese Tours (BBT from now on) for three of the next five days. After many, many emails between me and Wayan Juili, the owner of BBT, we had devised 3 day-long custom itineraries that meant that Steven and I would see much of Bali.

Today's tour will take us from Sanur, located in the SE part of Bali, to, and then, along the eastern coast before heading inland and then north aways. Then, we'll be driven SW and end the day in Ubud, our hub for the next 5 nights, and the center of Bali as far as tourists are concerned.

Our last breakfast at the Sindu Guesthouse in Sanur.

We soon discovered how lucky we were that Wayan had chosen Wi to be our driver: he always opened and closed both our car doors for usven when we repeatedly said we would open/close them, he always stated he preferred to; he gave us daily bottles of water but unsealed them first; he told us to tell him when and where we wanted to stop for photos, etc; always asked if we had liked certain sights or not; told us the car was ‘ours’ for the day and that therefore we could adjust the A/C or choose to open the window for fresh air instead; and, from the get go, said every day how thankful he and Mr. Wayan were that we had chosen BBT for our tours in Bali – what a great start!

Shots from the road: a massive water bottling plant.

Since we were driving toward Kusamba, an hour away on Bali’s east coast, we had plenty of time to chat on the way. Wi, a lovely man in his early 30's, mentioned that for Balinese people, rice is their staple food; he has rice and porridge for breakfast daily, vegetables, meat and rice for lunch, and nasi goreng or fried rice with vegetables topped by a fried egg for dinner. Rice is the cheapest food to buy in Bali as it’s grown throughout the island; rarely, he said, do Balinese foods made from flour because of the higher cost.

We had ‘morning Balinese language class’ right away in the car with his telling us the words/phrases for hello, how are you, thank you, you’re welcome, etc and making sure we repeated the words after him every time. Later in the day, he would spot check us by asking, in Balinese, one of the questions we’d learned to make sure we knew the correct response – the best way to learn we thought.

Wi told us he had learned English in school and then had taken courses at a language school. Before becoming a driver and licensed tour guide, he had worked in the rice fields, at a reception desk at a hotel for 6 years in Ubud (our ‘home’ for the next 5 nights), and also at an art gallery, all with the goal of improving his English. 

Arrived in Kusamaba which Wi mentioned was part of the Klungklung Regency, one of the 8 regencies in Bali. We got confused when Wi talked about the political geography or makeup of Bali as the word ‘regency’ was not one we were familiar with and thought he meant ‘region.’ I believe the word regency is used in Bali not only to indicate the 8 large cities but also the area surrounding that city. Each regency is further subdivided into districts and then into villages and finally into banyars or neighborhoods.

FYI: All the temples, called Pura in Balinese, that I’ll mention for the next few days in these posts are Hindu. Pura is a Sanskrit word meaning 'a space hidden by a wall.'

First temple of the day that we stopped at was Pura Goa Lawah, also known as the Bat Cave Temple, where we saw Balinese tourists who had come to pray from far and wide on massive buses/coaches. They wore mostly red, white and gold colored clothing; the latter color represents prosperity. We were struck by how incredibly beautiful Balinese women are and admired the lovely lace blouses they wear during religious ceremonies. We could not enter as a ceremony was taking place at the temple.

Photos from Pura Goa Lawah located in Kusamba on the coast:

Rules for visiting Pura Goa Lawah.

Had to wear sarongs at almost very temple.

Balinese Hindu Religion, according to Wi:

Balinese people are mostly Hindu, Wi mentioned, and their religion seems to control/dictate their daily lives from sunup to sundown: the Hindu offerings we saw everywhere, including on the ground and in trees in Sanur, can be interpreted, Wi said, in a myriad of ways. They can mean good luck; saying thank you for a good life or job or healthy family; asking for apologies and forgiveness; as offerings, of course, to their god. As Balinese people believe in magical spirits too, the offering are also made to the bad spirits.

The Hindu leader of the community conducting the ceremony.

The 3 basic tenets in Balinese Hinduism, which derived from Indian Hinduism, are a good mind, good behavior and good work, Wi explained. Ceremonies, we soon learned, are an integral part of the Hindu way of life on/in Bali as they honor their god, the human body and the environment.

With our great guide/driver Wi outside the temple entrance.

Not far up the road from Pura Goa Lawah was our next stop: to see how salt is made at one family's home. 

Photos from Salt Maker Home Industry:

Watched the man walk down the black sand beach with the heavy baskets, collect water which he then sprinkled on the black sand just behind the salt making hut. The sand somehow cleans the water so the salt is not contaminated - sorry, but I'm fuzzy on the details!

Then the sand is shoveled into the huge stone tub above, which drain into the troughs below. 

 The water evaporates leaving the salt. which is left to dry in the open air. Wi told us this whole process and the family's livelihood is dependent on the sun. The family delivers the salt to individual homes and to the village for sale in the market. We really appreciated learning the process firsthand from the family as opposed to taking a factory tour.

Back in the car again so time to chat some more and learn more about Wi and life in Bali. It was variously interesting, scary and even downright frightening to learn that there are no speed limit signs anywhere on the island. Technically (as in wink, wink, nod, nod) the speed limit is 60kmh; some drivers, Wi said, drive like they are out for a slow Sunday drive (Wi too, we generally thought!) and some are Monday drivers, i.e. driving much faster! No one is ever ticketed by the police for fast driving.

There were, for us, no discernible rules of the road; last second lane changes are the norm (who needs turn signals here?), and a driver always needs to be on the lookout for other cars or motorcycles passing on the right or left and even motorcycles coming straight at you on ‘your' side of  the road. We had seen some of that as pedestrians in Sanur but being a passenger in the front seat was an altogether different case.

Wi mentioned that he thought there were 32 or 34 provinces or states in Indonesia – he wasn’t sure of the exact number. He said he had never ventured out of Bali and expressed no desire to do so. His goal was to be a good husband, father and driver/tour guide; if he managed that, he was happy, he said.Wi mentioned that he thought there were 32 or 34 provinces or states in Indonesia – he wasn’t sure of the exact number. I envied his contentment and goals.

By this time, we had arrived in Tenganam, a village of 200 people, that initially we thought looked positively moribund. 

Photos from Tenganan Village:

When Wi dropped us off while he parked the car and grabbed something to eat for himself, we wandered through what appeared to be a dying village. There was no one anywhere in sight and only a couple of very small shops open.

For cock fighting again, just as we had seen on our bike tour yesterday in Sanur.

We couldn’t understand why Wi had brought us here and began walking back to the car. Saw Wi coming to meet us and we realized we hadn’t ventured far enough as, a few minutes later, there was a huge religious ceremony taking place.

Men making different kinds of satay (sate in Balinese) for the festivities.

Wi stated that attendance at village religious ceremonies is compulsory for Hindus living in those villages. People’s names are read off and, if some don’t come, fines are levied. As Wi said, there is no day without a ceremony somewhere in Bali!

The women's lace blouses/tops were just exquisite and worn with such elegance.

Sarongs are required to be worn by both men and women, including tourists, visiting most temples in Bali and borrowing them to wear was part of our tour fee. Wi hadn’t known about the ceremony today so he hadn’t come prepared with sarongs in the car. Luckily though we were able to rent them so we could enter the area as being witnesses to the ceremony turned out to be an incredible experience.

Traditional Indonesian Gamelan Orchestra where male musicians
mostly use cymbals and  drums to play wonderfully sounding music.

This was day 2 of the 11 day long ceremony, but the first day with music, and was thus the longest one for the year in the village. We could only figure it must take months preparing for this one. 

Entrance to this area where the women were preparing items
for the ceremony was restricted to the women of the village.

Wi mentioned that a pig is bought for the ceremony which is the slaughtered in Tenganan Village.

Many crops are grown in Bali: corn, sweet potatoes, strawberries, mangoes, oranges, coffee, chocolate and the chili peppers used above.

I wonder where these apples had been bought as we never saw any ones like that for sale.

Part of the huge sign, below, indicating the festivals and ceremonies in the village held throughout the year. This photo only was of the one we had just seen.

All the villages in Bali have ceremonies but most only last 1-2 days. Steven and I wondered how much 'work' could be done with religious ceremonies being held so often. Guess our Western way of thinking is coming through.

Back in the car to drive to the small community of Candidasa Beach located almost on the easternmost coast of Bali.

Photos below of the Beach:

Wisata in Indonesian languages means tourist site.

No swimming is possible on the black volcanic ash beach here because of the waves, rocks and strong currents, Wi explained.

Surprisingly there were no other people around, neither locals or tourists.

Next up was a one hour drive onto Tirta Gangaa, aka the Water Palace. 

Photos en route:

Wi's prayer offering for a safe journey in the car.

On the way to Tirta Gangaa we drove through a very mountainous area with one, Mt. Agu (sp?) at an altitude of 1430m (about 4300’). It last erupted in 1963.

Photos from Pura Tirta Gangaa:

Tirta Gangaa, built in the 16^th C, certainly looks like a temple but it is not one, Wi explained, ‘just’ a palace. 

We could understand why temple entrance fees were not included in our day tour price as the fees soon added up pretty alarmingly – only 40k rp for us here but some charged 65K rp. Never realized that there was such a thing in Indonesia or anywhere nowadays as a toll fee we also needed to pay to enter a number of villages where there were tourist attractions!

Back to the Tirta Gangaa again after my digression: Wi dropped us off again by the entrance and told us he’d find us inside; we had no idea how immense the complex was – wow!

Heard another guide say these koi have ‘Bali Belly’ which I took to mean they’re overfed. For most tourists, the term is akin to Montezuma’s Revenge though!

How much fun watching people navigating the stone steps in the pond, especially when 2 people meet each going in opposite directions.

You see these flowers all over Bali and also in Java where I'm finally writing this post. The color ranges from a psychedelic pink to bright orange all in one bush - just amazing!

Over the last couple of trips, Steven has gotten really good at imitating lots of statues and paintings!

Wi leading the way and our blindly following him wondering which direction he will take us as there are a few choices to be made!

Great time when we walked the steps and this French family needed to pass us!

As you can probably tell from the photos we had a really fun time here at Tirta Gangaa but it was time to head on out.

Back in the car, through the jungle and into the countryside next, passing lots of vegetable crops and rice terraces on the way.

As Wi drove, he explained that education in Bali, his only frame of reference, is free for the first 9 years, i.e. 6 years of primary and 3 of middle school. Beyond that, families must pay to send their children to high school. He also told us that every home compound (i.e. multiple generations all living together) has its own temple and each village has its own temple too.

Wi indicated that he honks the horn before driving across a bridge to ask permission of the spirits there. There is a heavy 'spirit' influence in Balinese Hinduism.

Photos from the car:

Intrigued by the wooden fencing although we didn’t think 

it would help much in case of an accident!

Looked like chefs were being driven to area restaurants but your guess is as good as mine!

Almost every village had its own stunning, and huge, statue or monument at the entrance, normally at the roundabout.

I asked Wi about the ‘decoration/adornment’ on his rear view mirror (I will try and find the photo I took of his). He mentioned that his mum (that’s the way he pronounced it!) makes them to sell in the market, using in part, old Balinese coins. They are used in temples, buildings and in cars. I was very honored when he presented me with one on our last day that was made by his wife and had been touched by his mum. 

Must be in a far more prosperous area as the roofs suddenly were a rich clay tile.

Stopped next at 13^th C. Bale or Kertha Gosa in the city of Klungklung. Kerta Gosa is a large complex comprised of the Floating Hall, Court of Justice, a Museum and Bell. Wi mentioned that every village, temple and home compound in Bali has a bell used to call people to meetings, to warn them of impending danger, etc.

Photos from Kertha Kertagosa:

The Floating Hall.
Really liked the paintings in The Floating Hall an artist displayed here but they were the first ones we’d seen in Bali, we had no frame of reference as to cost/value so we didn’t look at them very carefully.

Plus Wi had us on a pretty tight schedule which meant that he didn’t plan any time for us including lunch breaks! Thank goodness we had thought to bring sandwiches and snacks with us in case we got hungry along the way!

Photos from the small Museum at Kerta Gosa:

Saw the weaving and thought immediately of you, Darlene, of course!

These interesting paintings were made using cloth and paint according to the tag.

As we sat down outside the museum, we could hear, over the area’s public address system, the Muslim Call to Prayer here, for the first time since we visited Jerusalem and Amman at the end of last year’s trip. Since hearing the music and singsong voice of the Call for the first time 2 years ago, I’ve loved listening to it. 

Wi told us that every town, village and even every home has its own bell which can be used to summon people to meetings, alert them to possible emergencies or impending natural disasters, etc.

Photos of Court of Justice at Kerta Gosa:

Photo from Floating Palace to Museum.

Photos of the Court of Justice where men were disciplined:

The beautifully paneled ceiling, each one telling its own story.

View from the Court to the Floating Palace. 

Back in the saddle again onto Gianyar City where we stopped at a Batik Factory. We were lucky we got there before they closed for the day so we could see 2 women weaving the beautiful itak batik fabrics. The finished product would cost 800,000 rp, about $56, the manager told us. Did you go to any batik factories, Darlene or Suellen, when you were here, I wonder? Naturally, the ‘tour’ ended in the gift shop where they had some stunning items for sale.

Onwards again:

 Only spent a short while at the Gianyar City Market as it didn't have anything we needed or wanted. Too bad in hindsight Wi hadn't allotted more time at other markets or attractions instead of our going there. It must be so hard though to plan that sort of thing as a guide.

It was supposed to have been the Night Market but we were there a little early for that so it may have been still the Afternoon Market. The 2 overlap obviously time wise so there's always a sale to be made.

Photos from Night Pasar (i.e. market):

I cannot imagine learning how to do this. I'd sure need plenty of ibuprofen afterwards!

Steven's 'Fanny' with friends!

Far more interesting was seeing a procession of people in the city of Bedulu walking down the street from one temple to another at rush hour. Talk about great timing coming across this today - we were thrilled! Absolutely marvelous to watch but it resulted in a very long traffic jam later!

Photos from procession:

After a long day discovering the highlights of eastern Bali, Wi dropped off at the beautiful Ubud Bungalows located right on Ubud’s main street, about 6ish. How great to just collapse in our lovely bungalow below.

Posted on 10/5 from Jogja, Java, Indonesia.