My upcoming itinerary will involve many islands culminating in a well deserved spell of R&R on the island of Bali. Having tramped, hiked, climbed and driven around and hiked up most of the places on the island, I came to the conclusion that I had in fact seen it all. I was a tad perplexed as to how I would ‘chill-out’ for a couple of months. My one cure for any kind of complacency is to take a road trip. But to where? Been there, done that, seen that. So, I put this poser to my wife Candika and as always (typical female) she came up with a good idea for a road trip. Yes, it had been quite a while since I had visited Negara in the west of Bali, and yes, it had been a very long time since I was last in Gilimanuk, the further most point west on the island. There I had it, a road trip a la re-visit.
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At the moment it is boom time in Bali with record numbers of tourists from around the world visiting the paradise isle. This is not only great news for the Balinese Government but it is also great for the traders on the streets, the restaurants and places of nightlife. Bali is truly rockin’ n’ rollin’. I was reading a good article today regarding this boom time but, it seems that people are staying for a shorter period of time and although you have the entry turnover of mass proportions, does it equate to mass money pouring into the island. Naturally, it depends how you look at the situation. It’s fantastic the increase in tourism but are the tourists spending the same amount as they did on previous visits or less?. Personally, I think it is less. It appears to be a growing trend where airlines such as Garuda offer unbelievably cheap holidays for a great price and this is superb for those tourists wanting a quick break but, they are not staying longer and thus not spending the money.
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Today in Bali is Kuningan. Occurring once in every 210 days in the Balinese cycle of days, Kuningan is the end of the most important of the regular religious ceremonies for the 10-day Galungan period. During this period the deified ancestors of the family descend to their former homes. They must be suitably entertained and welcomed, and prayers and offerings must be made for them. Those families who have uncremated deceased ones buried in the village cemetery must make offerings at the graves.
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When I get over to the island of Bali, more often than not, I like to get out on the road as much as possible and away from the mania that is the tourist strip of Kuta/Legian. Of course it’s great to chill-out by the pool in your hotel or whatever accommodation you choose, drinking a few Bintang’s and in general, meeting people and relaxing. This is some people’s choice of a relaxing holiday and I have known some folk that never leave their hotel. Those people I feel sorry for because although, after returning home, tell their friends “Oh we went to Bali for our holidays”, they in fact didn’t. Sure they landed at Denpasar Airport, received the complimentary shuttle bus to their hotel, booked-in and cemented themselves on the premises, but, that is not seeing or holidaying in Bali. You have to get out of the tourist drag and into the countryside to ‘feel’, ‘see’ and ’listen’ to the beauty that is Bali. A majority of tourists embark on guided tours, organised by their hotel or by private charter.
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If you travel up to the north of Bali to Kintamani and see the stunning views of Gunung Batur from any one of the many restaurants situated there, you will also be able to view the expanse of Danau Batur and on its far shores the village of Trunyan. The aforementioned places are on most tourist itineraries as is a visit to the magnificent and sacred Pura Ulu Danau Batur. Penulisan as a village doesn’t really have that much to offer except for the exceptional vistas, but if you travel further north along the road you will come to the small village of Sukawana. Here, the road junctions and to the left is the road to Singaraja. Right on the intersection of this junction you will find the ancient and mysterious temple of Pura Tegeh Koripan. Also known as Pura Puncak Penulisan, if you weren’t looking for it then you would probably drive by as all that is visible from the road is a long flight of steps.
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Not many visitors to Bali know of the existence of a Chinese temple in Kuta. In fact, when you leave Bali to head to the airport, you travel right past it and it is easily unnoticed. There are a couple of Klentengs (Chinese temples) in Denpasar but they are smaller whereas the Vihara Dharmayana on Jalan Tanjung Mekar is a relatively large temple and patronised by the Chinese community in Kuta. Anybody can enter the temple, look around and take photographs (please do it discreetly so as not to disturb those praying). There are several Bhuddist statues and the whole temple is decorated in the lucky Chinese colour of red. Both my wife Candika and I are Bhuddists and regularly visit the temple for prayer. One of the greatest times to visit this temple is during the week of Chinese New Year. It is indeed a pageantry of colour and friendliness, but the best is that you are welcomed heartily to join in on the celebrations even if you are not a practising Bhuddist.
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Visitors to Bali have an abundance of places and attractions to visit besides the chaos of shopping and partying in the tourist strip. Bali is renowned for its numerous temples and other places of worship, its fascinating culture and its beautiful, friendly people. Wherever visitors go into the countryside on day trips it is inevitable they will see the rice terraces that adorn the faces of hills and mountains, the higher you go in elevation on the island, the more spectacular the rice terraces. These terraces are a classic feature on the landscape of Bali and are the rice cultivation on varying levels that follow the natural contours of the escarpments. The land is formed into multiple terraces, giving them a stepped appearance and are, in this manner of agriculture, a method of soil conservation to slow or prevent the rapid surface runoff of irrigation water. These rice terraces off some of the most spectacular panoramas and most are, breathtaking.
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I have seen just about all there is to see on the island of Bali, know about a lot of the great places to eat and hotels, but I have to admit after reading an article today that I have never heard of or even seen the Ubud Hanging Gardens Hotel. Apparently the hotel & resort has just won the 2008 ASEAN Energy Award for an energy efficient building in the tropical category. This makes the hotel an excellent place to stay for those visitors who are eco-conscious in their choice of hotels. The award was won by the Ubud Hanging Gardens Hotel because it an excellent example of how developers have not destroyed the environment to establish a tourist resort. So, I had a look at their website and truly, this is a magnificent place and worthy of the award. It has38 luxury private pool villas, each with a heated private infinity plunge pool set high in the rice terraces overlooking the Ayung River. This is definitely one of those places where you can relax and soak up the peace and harmony of nature without the howling madness of the heavily-touristed area that is the Kuta Strip.
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With a motto of “A Celebration of Life”, the great and always interesting Kuta Karnival is on again in October down on the sands along the stretch of Kuta Beach. This is a good one to visit if you are in Bali at he time because there is so much on offer from sunset dances on the beach through to traditional art performances and sports activities as well as the ever popular bazaar of culinary kiosks set up along the full length of the beach for when you get a tad …
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Today in Bali it is the start of Galungan. Occurring once in every 210 days in the Balinese cycle of days, Galungan marks the beginning of the most important recurring religious ceremony that is celebrated by all Balinese at the same time. During the Galungan period the deified ancestors of the family descend to their former homes. They must be suitably entertained and welcomed, and prayers and offerings must be made for them. The families who have ancestors that have not yet been cremated, but are still buried in the village cemetery, must make offerings at the graves.
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