Bali has a rich culture that dates back a long way. The everyday offerings and ceremonies give a glimpse of a history that was filled with mysticism and symbol.
Barrie from Perth who is in Bali with Chandika is an expert on the history of Indonesia and offered to show me an area that’s come to be known in some circles as the Holy Land.
I arrived down on Jalan Legian on my motorbike around 7.45am. It was raining and I decided to bring my raingear. Barrie was staying at the Prawata hotel on lower Jl.Legian close to Poppies I. I had never been here before and it’s quite unique place with a virtual jungle of plants and trees, together with ponds all over. I parked in the lot and found Barrie and Chandika waiting close to the lobby. The weather did not look promising and the water was cascading off the roof.
Barrie has organised a vehicle with driver and I felt quite decadent having a that room to choose from. As it turned out we all sat on one seat.
Our driver Wayan didn’t seem to have a clue about where we wanted to go even after Barrie explained the route, so we took off through Denpasar in the direction of Sukawati to check out the market there, which is famous for food, arts and crafts. Sukawati is about 14 miles from Kuta to the NE.
Upon arrival we were immediately in a busy parking lot with locals and a school party checking everything out. Fruit sellers were camped out and this peanut vendor doubled up by selling corn. Barrie and I watched a ceremony for several minutes. The art market section was piled to the ceiling with sarongs, photo albums and carvings. I bought a couple of locally made photo albums with leaves pressed to form the decoration on the cover. I’ll send these to my mum sometime.
Silver jewelry was on display too and my mind went back to the Eugene Saturday Market where our friends Ram and Tashubi make jewelry. I’m sure if a person knew what they were looking for a decent profit could be made by shipping some of this stuff home and selling it.
After visiting a typically bad Indonesian toilet we sat in a little warung for a cup of tea ( I had a Bali coffee ). The locals were dealing with the rain and going about their business.
Pura Canggi temple in Sakah
Our next stop was the Pura Canggi temple in Sakah. This one dates back to the 14th century. Wayan the driver started asking locals for directions and we eventually found this place.
Barrie was here 10 years ago and reminded us of how things looked back then. This was going to be a hot day and I made sure I wore my sun hat from Santa Barbara.
Straight away I started seeing some of the familiar Hindu icons and designs that I had in India several years ago.
Most of the temple out here in Bali have a perimeter wall and separate structures for ceremonies and religious observance. Barrie commented how the state of some of these temples is a kind of sad because they were left to ruin for many years.
I admire the artwork and love the location some of the temples have. I do feel somewhat of a pretender in that I don’t know the whole Balinese cultural history and a lot of the icons and meaning goes over my head. Barrie pointed out some of the areas where an important object had been smashed and parts taken, or piled together in a different area. Would be great if they authorities could make more of an effort to restore these historical places and objects.
All the puras ( temples in Bali have a banyan tree in the grounds and at one place they were so and Barrie suggested I go for a swing, these trees are very impressive.
Blahbatun - Pura Gaduh
To visit this temple we had to show respect by wearing some kind of traditional outfits. I wore my Indian lunghi pretending it was a sarong, Chandika bought a sarong at the market and looked quite Indian herself. Barrie went for the ‘back to the 60’s’ look with the cool headgear and the swishy sash. The tiered roofs are a symbol of importance.
The highlight of this temple was the king’s head statue. The stone head is called Kebo Iwa and predates Javanese influence in Bali. Kebo Iwa was the minister to the last king of the Bedulu kingdom. He did not perform well in battle and had his head severed. This statue was made to represent his return.
In this temple we observed preparations for an up coming ceremony. One guy was trimming the thatched roof making the underside completely flat, another guy was building a table from scratch. Barrie told me that traditional furniture never used nails, screws or glue. This guy was making and testing each joint as he went along. A while later he had made progress.
In this temple we observed preparations for an up coming ceremony. We observed some locals readying a barong for the dance and saw painted masks hanging. Only a specially designated person can take the masks from their storage place and repair them. One guy was trimming the thatched roof making the underside completely flat, another guy was building a table from scratch. Barrie told me that traditional furniture never used nails, screws or glue. This guy was making and testing each joint as he went along. A while later he had made progress.
Kutri – Bukit Dharma Durga
At this temple we saw a stone statue of 8 armed goddess Durga killing a demon possessed water buffalo. This temple has ‘holy-seats’ shaped stone places for the gods to sit on when they return to Earth during festive times.
A local offered to show how traditional cloth was made so we walked a little ways around the corner and I saw these 2 ladies on the porch getting on with their work. Also on the porch was the world’s first CD player.
At this temple there was a large stair case with steep step covered in moss. Barrie had been up these 10 years ago and claimed his leg prevented him from going up again….okay Barrie, your missus made it.
Chandika and I walked up and it actually wasn’t a long climb. At the top was a temple and of course another banyan tree through which I could see the temple grounds below.
Arriving back at ground level without breaking our necks Barrie was chatting to a old priest. He can speak Bahasa and gets on very well with locals. He told us about a foreign couple who had just come down the stairs, he being extremely angry that his wife had dragged him up there.
Bedulu –Pura Kebo Edan
Here was saw a 3 meter high stone statue called the Giant of Pejeng. This is about 700 years old.
We ate a restaurant called Talisman which overlooked a river. Barrie had been here before when the restaurant didn’t exist. I liked the place and it had many carvings. Barrie pointed out one foot high carving of too figures standing one behind the other. My photo didn’t come out but when I asked Chandika what the carving represented she said ‘the forbidden act’.
We bought Wayan his lunch and myself and Chandika ordered a couple Balinese style dishes from the menu, Barrie electing to go with fruit salad.
Barrie told me he has the ideal marriage. Wanting to put Barrie on the spot I asked Chandika what she liked about him. She couldn’t come up with and answer right away and so I asked what she didn’t like about him. She said he sometimes makes her angry. I asked what she did when she got angry and she said cry. I said I raise my voice.
Chandika is a Chinese Indonesian and has a Chinese name too. Barrie wanted to reflect her Chinese heritege and after the last name changed to Birchall he added the ‘Lee’ from her name so they both are ‘ Lee Birchall’.
Pura Penataran Sasih
This temple has a 2 meter long hourglass shaped drum made of bronze. It is the largest single cast one piece in the world. The approximate age is 1,000-2,000 years. Legend has it that the drum fell to Earth as a fallen moon.
Our guide Katut showed us the drum and explained the inscription on the front of the temple was in Balinese. Katut told me he was a Leeds United fan and thinks that Mark Viduka was a good player.
Goa Gadjah
Legend has it the cave was created by the fingernail of the giant Kebo Iwa.
Arriving at our last stop for the day Barrie told me to start taking photos immediately. Barrie and I started a conversation about travellers vs. tourists which we’ll continue. Barrie thinks of himself as a traveller as he doesn’t do tourist stuff. We descended to a large open area with a water filled temple, a roof structure and the Goa Gadjah cave. This temple looked impressive to me and it was quite a coincidence because my sarong is from India and had elephants ( gadjas ) on and I was wearing a leather belt from my time in India back in ‘95 with Goa on it. So Goa Gadjah was destined to be my temple for the day.
A school party was a couple of minutes behind us and we hussled into tiny cave. The inside was quite narrow and dark. It came to a T-junction after several yards and at one end was a gadjah statue representing Shiva’s son, the elephant head Ganesha. At the other 3 lingums ( phallic symbols ) with the female counterpart the yoni. Hinduism has a lot of this male / female life-creating icons. The guide explained to me that the 3 lingums also represent the 3 gods, Brahma ( the creator ), Vishnu ( the protector ) and Shiva ( the destroyer ). In India they have massive lingums in the temples and often pour milk over them as offerings. My guide said they do that here too sometimes and went on to explain that the male / female symbols were like when I am in bed with my girlfriend creating new life ( I don’t have a girlfriend but it was nice of him to put it into simple terms).
The cave also has a statue of Hariti, the evil child devouring woman. She was reformed to become protector of children after being influenced by Buddhism.
The school party had by now filled the cave so I squeezed out to rejoin Barrie and Chandika. I looked into the pool area and saw a line of kids all trying to get a hand full of water. This place is supposed to be a ‘fountain of youth’ for the face and they seemed eager to stay as young as they were.
We went to the temple roof structure and bought a drink from the vendors, me having a cold Bintang.
As I was taking photos a a couple of kids said hi and I snapped them, as soon as I showed it to them they shouted ‘SATU LAGI PHOTO’ (one more) and their friends all piled in.
Walking our last flight of steps for the day we took our positions in the van again and headed for Kuta, we were all pretty tired with the heat, the stairs and being in the sun a large part of the time.
I went to the restaurant with Barrie and Chandika and sipped a hot lemon tea before heading home on my bike.
This trip was in very easy reach of Kuta and is accessable without tickets or outside permission. If you get a chance check out couple of these temples, they are typically Balinese and are very much a part of the culture.
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Hi Nick,
Been reading your reports this p.m. I live in Nevada City, CA and am a friend of Mike Hillis. Big hello from Mike! He said to check in with you as I am planning a July trip to Bali. i am an artist and used to teach Bharata natyam (classical Indian Dance) and have done some Balinese dance but never been to Bali. I want to take a few months to paint and dance in Ubud and visit the mountains..do you know what is open in Ubud..good places to stay, etc…I’ve never traveled over seas by myself and am looking for tips on how to make it safe and wonderful and as respectful of the local culture as possible. Is it easy to get paints and silk or canvas for painting on there? And how expensive is it to express mail light parcels to the US. Ah so many questions….Anyway thanks for the lively Bali reports!
Zoe
G’Day Nick,
Absolutely brilliant!. Well writen and fotographed. Candika likes the way you ‘captured’ her Indian side!.
About those steps at Bhukit Dharma Durga. My excuse is that I needed to talk to the pendeta!.
It would be interesting to see what other people think about the differentation between a ‘traveller’ and a tourist’ and what they consider themselves to be.
Let’s hear from ya!.
Last night I found a small gem of a place located in Jl Legian. I must have walked past this place a hundred times or more but never noticed it!. The restoran is elongated and seems to be squashed by two larger buildings, but it manages to accomodate 30 people at a sitting as well as provinding a ‘25 hour happy time’ where people can sit quite comforatbly on the seats provided along the long cocktail bar.
What impressed me the most was the subdued lighting. Candles provided a romantic touch, and the soft blues music was a fantastic bonus.
Being an arty restoran, paintings by local artists adorn the walls,and the one of the barong hanging near our table was indeed an awesome sight.
Goes Art Bar & Restoran
Jl Legian 134 (Opp. Prawita Hotel)
The relatively extensive menu was great to choose from with some of the usual Indonesian favourites available. There was of course the common Bali restoran fare of Pizzas, Italian, and Mexican, and of which the latter was the option for Candika and I last night.
Guacomale and Corn Chips for an appetiser was tasty even though the chips were a tad too oily.
For the main dish, Candika chose Taco’s (Rp24,000) on my advice considering she had never eaten Mexican food before!. An ample serving with the usual trimmings was not enough to impress Candika. It seems her new membership to the ‘Speedy Gonzalez Social Club’ has just been rejected!.
I chose the Bean Enchiladas (Rp23,000) which was tasty but the chef was a little too heavy on the cheese topping and I had my suspicions they might have come out of a packet!. However, I enjoyed the meal and the side accompaniment of soft Chilli rice and bean paste.
Atmosphere: Great!
Quality of Food: A tad above average.
Service: Excellent
Rating: 7.5
If you wanted to wine & dine a young lady at a reasonable price, then this romantic place is for you.
Thoughts on “Tourist/Traveller”
I mthink tourists would tend to stick to places other Tourists go & recommend, but tend not to try something different or go off the beaten track unless they have heard it recommended by others.. Tourists stick together….
Travellers are more likely to look for something a little different & hope to arrive somewhere remote?
Does that make sense. Travellers try the new things that eventually tourists might try?! If the traveller has passed it on to a Tourist who in turns passes it on to others. But the TRAVELLER goes there first!
They are might thoughts & i think I would be a traveller, as I am always looking for something new each time I am on the Island, I guess it makes it easier that my hubby is from there, but I would say I am a traveller.
I think Tourists absorb & then once home it evaporates, Travellers hunger & thirst to absorb more info & never get enough…
Take Care, have a great w/end.. Only 6 more to go………
Hi guys. I knew Barrie would educate you Nick. I bet you have learnt more in the past two weeks than all year. Just had to read last weeks posts as I have been in hospital for 7 days due to a disection of my carotted artery???(I didn’t even Bungy jump this visit) Started with a sore neck the day I got back from Bali and got worse until the left side of my face drooped. Gave me a chance to meet some/many neurologists as it is a rare case and they came for miles to examin the freak. I asked for their opinions on Mades daughter and her loss of speech after a fit three years ago. Looks like I need a paediatric neurologist so the search is on. If I find one willing to donate his/her time we will bring Made and Puspita here for treatment. If any readers have any knowledge in this field and are traveling to Bali please contact me. The specialist wants to present me to a seminar in August and I agreed in the hope of meeting a charitable doctor. HI BARRIE, we were having dinner at Bali Corner one night when some guys walking past yelled to the waitress “Have you caught the rat yet?) Always found the food good there but. Go next to 96 for a good pizza but watch out for the one chilli they put on one slice of each pizza. Nick has seen my wife cry there.
Hey guys - total random post. I came across your site/blog whilst searching for Bali stuff.
My wife and I are emmigrating (3-5 years is current plan, but may stay longer) from Vancouver, Canada (just a short drive north of your home town of Portland) to Sydney, Australia - paperwork currently in final processing. We have both been to Bali a couple of times, and are planning on a short (1 week) stop there on our way to Australia (either at end of this year or eary next year - depending on how long it takes to wrap up all our personal stuff).
Your site is great! Interesting to read whats it like to actually live there, rather than just do the tourist thing - even though we always think we are not being touristy when we visit, I guess it’s not the same..
One question (hope you don’t mind) - how do you pay the bills? I know Bali is cheap to live/eat/play, but it still costs some money - are you making enough from this site to cover your bills? Also, how long do you plan to stay? Lastly, do you need any funky visa’s or anything to work in Bali? Any restrictions on these?
Cheers from Canada - keep on blogging.
D.
Further to my last post, if you are still in Bali when we visit - would you be up for a couple of Bintangs?
Cheers.
D.
Hi Tracey!,
Not long before you are cruising here in the sun and with your hubby eh. Pedro must be getting stir-crazy also waiting for the time to pass.
I agree with you Tracey regarding the difference between a traveller and a tourist. Tourists tend to stick to the regular “Tourist track’ whereas traavellers are adventurous folk who walk a path not trodden.
Rob, have you tried appealing to the AMA in Oz?. Failing that, there is always big business and media butthey can be a shit and a hassle.
Sure ain’t nothing wrong with rat and it makes great sate. But I agee that the comment made by those guys was inappropriate as Bamboo Corner is the cleanest eating place on the island in my opinion.
Hi Duncan,
Living in Bali is great. I work for BootsnAll.com and hope to make Baliblog a financial success.
I’d like to stay here for the foreseeable future and we’ll see how things work out. I rented the house for a year ending in Feb, 2004.
I have a business visa organised through Arjuna immigration consultants. This enables me to stay here for up to 6 months without leaving the country. A business visa doesn’t actually allow you do conduct business, just attend seminars and cultural events and ‘gather information’ which is what I’m doing. I am actually not selling anything here in Bali which is cool.
Anyone can apply for a business visa after they arrive.
I’d love to meet you when you get here.
Zoe,
When you come to Bali e-mail me and I’ll help you access what you’re looking for.
There are plenty of batik painting places specially in the Ubud area.
Ubud has many good little losmans ( guest houses downtown which you can rent by the day for 40,000rp or so including breakfast. Obviously that price comes down a lot when renting for a long term. You might also find an house to rent for your time there.
I find the Nalinese very accepting of outside influences. At temples you should wear a sarong and avoid overly revealing attire. Otherwise they are very happy to let you observe and join the process of visiting temples and recieving blessings as I did in Besakih, the Mother temple.
Hinduism seems to me a religion that opeinly celebrates with much decoration and music. You won’t find anyone here trying to convert you or tell you you are inferior because you aren’t Hindu.
I will get back to you on the postal question.
See you when you get here
Nick,
thanks for the quick reply. You made me feel so welcomed. An art student of mine turned friend has out of the blue decided to accompany me,,we will definitely contact you when we get to Bali around July 11th. Been thinking about the word distinctions..tourist…traveller… How about voyager? We are all voayagers in the labyrinth of life are we not? Anyway..voyagers in the labyrinth of life has a much better ring than tourists in the labyrinth…Look forward to meeting you!
Zoe
Excellant read.The ‘impressionist reporter’ and a lot more.
Hope you guys all enjoyed a great day.