August 2 2010
Ashton and I had another early and exciting day. We had a buffet breakfast at our hotel and then hired a driver to take us to some of the most talked about temples in the area. The whole day we traveled across rice paddies and through jungle. The first temple was Gunung Kawi Sebatu, the holy spring temple. Trying to think back now, they've all started to blur together a bit, but everyone was absolutely amazing and words can't describe. Pictures can't do justice. The Holy Spring temple was very peaceful and serene. There was a lovely koi pond with a large fountain as well as a few beautiful bird cages, one with a cockatoo, another a rooster, and the third with two doves. Also here there were two gated pens with 4 deer. The deer are so sweet and small and completely different than any deer I've ever seen before. They have a nose like a cow, short red fur, the males with small pointy antler that stick straight back and fangs. Yeah sharp teeth that hang out of it's mouth like saber tooth tiger. It may only be the males that have the fangs though, I could not see fangs on the female but I did sit with them for a while, feeding them leaves. There were many beautiful shrines, and lovely spiget springs that poured into pools of water. There was a stage of sorts as well as intricately structured coverings that housed traditional ceremonial costumes, masks, alters, a priest’s throne and other objects. After this, we were taken to see some rice terraces. It was truly incredible to see all the layers of rice field paddies, looking so much like a topographical map and all so very green. The second temple we went to was Gunung Kawi Tampak Siring Gianar, the rock temple, which had huge carvings in the side of tall cliff walls. They were massive and very impressive. When entering any of the Hindu temples here in Bali, you must be wearing a sarong to cover your legs. (Even the statues in Bali have to wear a sarong. No joke.) Here, there was also a holy temple where we had to remove our shoes as well before entering. My feet were cold on the wet stone and I slip, almost falling flat on the ground when my feet slide on the slimmy green rock. Inside were small niches in the wall. They were like little hermitages for prayer and extensive meditations. After this we drove past the active volcano here on Bali and it was really quite impressive. The scene is beautiful. Quite a few irritating peddlers but I guess that is just something you have to get use to around here. We cross the road lined with fruit vendors and look over the edge of a makeshift railing. Below you see the base of the mountain is black from all the volcanic rock and neighboring all this is a beautiful blue lake. Next we traveled to Tirta Empul also known as the holy water temple. Here we saw a beautiful pool of water with a natural spring bubbling up through the sandy bottom. Everything here is so lush and the colors are so naturally vibrant. Greens and browns of every imaginative shade. There are more pools of water. Bubbling teals and cool grey stone. One, a large koi pond surround by the brightly Balinese orange brick wall, another, a pool of water for bathing and prayer. There was a large group of Hindus here from Borneo who wanted their picture with Ashton and I. We suddenly became celebrities. Their guide said they wanted their pictures with us because we are tall and have white skin and because there are almost no tourist who come to Borneo. (No tourists, maybe I should put Borneo on my to do list.) Our next stop between temple hopping was a small coffee plantation specializing in Kopi Luwak coffee. They grew many other things there as well. Regular coffee, two types of cacao, coco, vanilla, lemon grass, cinnamon, snake skin fruit (which, was delicious), pineapple, and many more including many different types of herbs. They showed us how they make the coffee as well as showed us the animal for the luwak. It can’t be any bigger than a cat and looks a lot like a weasel or a mongoose. This type of coffee comes after the animal eats a cherry and then passes the pit. The pit is then collected, cleaned, dried, and roasted. Apparently this is one of the best coffees and very expensive. A half pound can cost as much as 120 US dollars. We got to try several different teas and coffees that they make. Ashton bought some coco mix and spicy curry. We finally made it to the last of the temples on our list, Goa Gajah, the elephant cave. There have never been any native elephants on Bali but the carving above the cave depicts one and you enter the cave through an opening in a mouth. The cave is small but lit and it has several niches for people to come and meditate. At the actual temple, we once again had to wear a sarong for entrance and here, located behind the Hindu temple was an ancient Buddhist temple in a cave on the side of a steep hill. We took a minute on the way, for Ashton to stop and pray with this goofy looking Hindu. Quite old, bad teeth, crooked old glasses, he was an interesting character. At the Buddhist temple there was a small shrine but I am not sure how far the cave goes back. Our flashlight was not very good and with muddy grounds and bats flying all around our heads we decided to not venture too far in. We headed up the trail a little further and found a woman who guided us to "The Jungle Temple" (Might I add that we were and had been all day in some serious jungle already.) The trek to this temple was a steep downhill grade on mud and rock, a really interesting/slightly nerve racking quest across a river covering flimsy bamboo bridge, and then moss covered boulders we had to hop across. Both temples were Hindu, hand carved caves. The first went back fairly far and was a place that monkeys like to spend the night in. Again many bats and poor lighting kept us from traveling into the furthest recess of the cave. The next temple was three cave openings. Large representing Vishnu, medium representing Shiva, and small for Ganesh. (At least that’s what I think she said…) They are carved on the cliff face on the far side of the river. You must swim to enter. We did not. Once in apparently, you can climb out of the water into more small niches for meditating. As well, each cave chamber connects inside by the flow of water. Only men may enter and people come to meditate here every six months. If you cannot swim across, you sit on one of the nearest boulders. There are plenty. Pretty intense. We were sweltering hot by time we got back to the car. Even the holy springs had no real cooling effect. We stopped by a woodcarving workshop on the way home and got to see some world class carvings as well as the raw materials and how the carvings are constructed. So much intricate work it is unbelievable that some of the very large pieces did not take an entire life time to complete. When we finally returned to Ubud, we showered and left the room to attend another traditional Balinese dance performance. This one is known as the Kecak but is also called "The Monkey Dance" or "The Fire Dance." I enjoyed it much more than the first. It was pretty funny. It starts off with this huge group of men 50 or more and they wear a sarong with no shirt. They are making this strange hissing sound like some one has poured water on a fire and then they join in chanting. They make a circle around this giant candelabra and are there, chanting with these movements through the whole performance. The performance is based on a war that had taken place. One in which mythological Balinese characters are involved. It is hard to know who is who and who is the good guy and who is the bad guy. There was a red monkey and a white monkey, a guy with a scary red mask, a popular eagle like bird figure, two women with bows and arrows, a funny looking character who fights with the monkeys, and a few other interesting costumed performers. There was a bit of comical relief through out but it ended in a bon fire made of gasoline and coconut shells, a man carrying an interesting headdress of sorts and running bare foot through the fire and its coals. Then the men in sarongs bid farewell and the crazy guy who ran through fire, sits for people to give him money.
Ashton and I had more traditional Bali for dinner at the Bumi Bali restaurant. We each had a salad and duck. Mine was not very good, first disliked dinner of the trip. Ashton’s was better. We both could have done without. We grabbed some gelato on the way home and just as we returned a monsoon of rain began to fall and hasn't stopped since. Ashton has already fallen asleep so I suppose I should do the same. But before I do I have to tell about the terrible bicycling crash we saw today while driving to one of the temples. I had almost forgotten about it till just now. Some poor tourist on a bike tour threw on the brakes going next to our car heading down hill when she slipped on wet ground and flew head first over her handle bars face planting it on the concrete. The biker behind her then crashed his bike right on top of the girl. It was definitely the closest to tour de France I'll ever be.
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