Bali
Friday–Thursday May 8–14, 2009
After landing at Denpasar, we drove north to the town of Ubud, near the center of the island, which would be our base for tours of the north and east to see palaces, temples and farms. Religion is an important part of life, and traffic–stopping parades to a temple for a ceremony, like the one above, are a common sight.
On our first morning we went into central Ubud to look around. It is definitely a tourist friendly area.
We visited a palace and two temples in central Ubud, walked around in the large public market, and then took a walk through a residential area to get a feel for the place.
The head wrap, the sarong and the flowers are all typical of our experience in Bali. This guardian is in the central Palace, where the local royal family lives.
This is a fine door at the Ubud Water Palace. There is a restaurant nearby, and some evenings you can have dinner and watch Balinese dancing in the Palace.
We also walked across the street to the public market. It is a large emporium, with four floors of merchandise. We visited the basement and street level floors during our first day, and then later, as a part of a cooking class, went back and had a more thorough introduction to Balinese groceries.
This market starts up, so we heard, around 4 am; obivously, we cannot vouch for the time. The market is open until the late afternoon, seven days a week. Here is an outdoor view of the basement level. Most of the action is inside, with dim lighting. Here you can see the woman in the lower right carrying a parcel on her head—absolutely typical of what we saw. Most of the market is devoted to vegetables, fruit and starch. We did not see much meat for sale.
At the Ubud Palace, there is a large, covered platform. Here is a photo of a part of it. Musicians play from it in the evening.
Here is another area of the Royal Palace—beautiful and very well maintained.
We had a guide and a car for three days. Above is a typical rural scene—a woman carrying a load on her head, a motorbike or two, and tropical foliage.
We were told that a part of Bali is not favorable for the growing of rice, but where we went, rice was ever present. The shades of green are amazing.
Above is a a Hindu–Buddhist temple, Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, built on islands in a large lake. It was starting to rain when we got there, so the picture is a bit dark. The towers are attractive, but they are not, it turns out, a rare sight in Bali.
Below is Pura Taman Ayun, dating back to 1634. It is surrounded by a moat.
This is Goa Gajah, with fountains and a cave. Our book says the date of construction is uncertain, but it was in the 11th century, or earlier.
With the sun shining, we visited Tirta Empul, dating to 962. It has a spring with pure water that is used for bathing. When we arrived, a religious ceremony was just getting underway, with women carrying offerings to the ceremonial site.
Large, decorated doors through perimeter walls are a common feature in the sites we visited.
This is a carving of a man brandishing a Balinese knife at the Pura Kehen temple, which dates back to 1206.
We enjoyed views of beautiful rice terraces, above, and Mt Batur, below.
We also visited Tirta Gangga, a water oriented palace, and walked down and up the 200 steps to Gunung Kawi with its 11th century (?) cliff carvings. Kerta Gosa, with its wonderful ceiling paintings, was also a highlight.
All of the people we came across in Bali were very friendly. Experiencing the culture was a highlight of the trip. The food was excellent, especially the fried rice and fried noodles, with the chili sambal flavoring.
Next—on to Kuala Lumpur for an overnight stay and then a flight south to Java.
