Temple Ceremony at Pura Luhur Pacak Sari in Bedugal Bali

Danau (lake) Bratan is one of the 4 big lakes in Bali, the others being Danau Tamblingan, Danau Buyan and Danau Batur. The main road passes north – south on the west side and after visiting Pura Ulun Danau Bratan on the western bank I doubled back past all the tourist warungs on the SW corner and up the hill to Pura Luhur Pacak Sari.

The music from the gamelan up the hill was reverberating across the lake and told anyone who was in the area that a ceremony was in progress.

Still wearing my sarong and sash, I passed the front steps of the temple where the pecalang (banjar traffic police) were directing cars, and rode up the side route to the makeshift parking area. There was no entrance or parking fee and there were no other westerners around.

The locals had fixed up a running water supply for the stalls selling food to clean their dishes and to use for hot water. I was offered a Kopi Bali, a cup of hot water with coffee grounds in, by these ladies and sat sipping it. Temperatures were cooler than in the Kuta area but the sun was strong. I had to wear my baseball cap in order to avoid being torched and must of made quite a funny site, brown sarong, purple sash, lime green Nike shirt and USC baseball hat. Still here in Indonesia brighter is better. They probably though I was Burt Reynolds.

Slightly down from the crest of the hill was an area that had been set up in front of the temple for celebrations. To the right, a gamelan orchestra pounded out music while a couple of young female dancers played the part of a girl and a boy in the flirtatious Oleg Tambulilingan.

All around the arena area offerings were set up and locals crowded in to get a good view of the entertainment. I kept to the sides trying not to block anyone or make my presence any more than one of the crowd. No one seemed to mind and many people said hello.

At the back side of the temple another gamelan orchestra was sitting, dressed in salmon pink jackets and flashy udengs.

I saw many mothers with daughters and sons with fathers. I imagine that by the time a Balinese person is 20 they have seen hundreds of ceremonies. Joseph Campbell, the famous expert on comparative religions said that growing up in NYC as a Catholic choir boy he was surrounded by a mythology that was rich and complete. Seems it would be case here in Bali, with the gamelan instead of the church organ, the pedanda instead of the priest, a sarong in place of a choir outfit and the array of Hindu gods and legends in place of the Bible.

I stayed for a hour and decided to leave. Looking over the backside of the hill I saw the village that most of those present probably came from. Riding back down to the warungs at the SW corner of the lake I hit one on the corner of the main road and ordered a cap cay (steamed carrot, spinach, chili, cabbage in a Cantonese style sauce) for 8,000rp. It was pretty good and I found out all the staff were from Lombok. I surprised them by saying Saya Orang Muslim and then surprised them further saying I had been to their home town of Lebuhan Haji on the east coast.

Riding back I had to get into my poncho as showers are part of life in the mountains. Taking a route through Apuan, a very scenic area, I noticed again that road and villages tend to follow ridge lines and the valleys are developed with rice fields. Its great to find a quiet valley without a major road nearby, that is where I would build my house.

At a small roadside shop I bought a chocolate cake and a bunch of bananas for 1,000rp. A bettel nut chewing lady told me she had 8 children and loved the fact I could say Kenken kabare? (How are you?) in Balinese.

Temple ceremonies occur all year round and are a pleasant alternative to t-shirt shopping on Jl. Legian.