Roadtrip to Penebel in Central Bali-part I

Every once in a while I like to go for a road trip. It gets the dust out of my feathers and reminds me why I am in Bali. Around midday today I got into my road trip gear, long pants, long sleeves and gased up at the station in Kerobokan. The full tank cost about 8,000rp and soon I was on my way towards Tabanan, via Canggu and Bereban. The main road to Tabanan really stinks, its traffic heavy I hate it. Much nicer to cruise through the rice fields in Canggu trying to miss all the pot holes and local crazies on motorbikes. The district of Tabanan has some of the nicest rice fields in Bali and my plan was to check out the area around Penebel, which is SW of Bedugal.

The roads in this area are small, but all accessible by cars and motorbikes. Passing through the village of Bakisan, I stopped and observed an odalan (ceremony) in progress. People were arriving in traditional dress and the women were bearing offerings. I asked one lady what the occasion was and she said it was a cremation for a young man killed in a motorbike accident. As always with Balinese ceremonies people sat around and chatted in an informal way. Drink sellers had set up a stand and people were getting on with the task at hand.

Smelling the satay chicken cooking at the side of the road, all thoughts of death escaped me. Ordering 10 pieces and a few chunks of ketupat (compacted-rice), I sat in the ditch with the rest of the locals enjoying my peanut flavored treat. The snack cost 5,000rp. The cremation party were busy laying offerings at a small alter set up in the flat area above the road. A vessel for the body arrived in sat off to the side, waiting to be set. Later the body will be places inside an effigy of a bull and burned. All the while I snapped away nobody seemed to mind and as it was not in a temple area I didn't have to wear a sarong.