Indonesia never was a pretty picture in mind. All that came to mind was the mad rush of all sorts of vehicles, bad roads, rough drivers and the tropical heat. The image of a distant cousin of India which lagged almost the same distance or more in the development scale!
Against this back drop and with a heavily painted picture in mind we landed in Bali,armed only with a Linda Hoffman book that helped little to assuage our fears.
A little memoir here is an account of the key highlights of our 6 days in bail, and a progression scale of change and love
Day 1 : Strangers in a strange Land
We landed in Denpasar airport in the afternoon. We were welcomed by our car rental guy who took us to our Toyota Avanza. Found to our surprise that rented cars come with little or no fuel unlike other places where they come with the tank filled up. The order of the day was to fill her up on our way to Uluwatu temple.
The runway
The roads we met fit the mental image to a Tee. The traffic was horrific and the roads could not be narrower. Only relief was road signs which were plenty and clear enough. Went to the first pump and found that there is nothing called Petrol or Gasoline here in Bali. There was "Premium" and "Solar". The pump will not fill us up for some unknown reason. With fears of fuel running out and being stranded on day one itself, I started making contingency plans in mind! But in a short while we reached a good fuel station and filled to the brink with "Premier". What a relief!
Then we started on our way to Pura Uluwatu, the temple on a cliff at the
Bay.This temple complex covers the entire bay area, which has a Plateau like shoreline. In fact, the ridge of the plateau runs along the shoreline for as long as you could see. At a distance is the main temple stands on the top of the ridge, where the bay projects into the see little more than the other areas. This gives a fantastic visual impact when viewed from a distance. At sunset you could get a photograph covering the ridge, the temple and the sea with the evening glory of the sun going down the sea!!
We reached in the evening around sunset but were a wee bit late for sunset. What a sight it would have been! Took a few shots and we were on our way back.
The day and our minds started cooling down now and priority #2 surfaced. This time it was simcards to knock the doors of Sat Nav open. Saw a shop on the way and bought Sim cards and recharged for data plans. Google Nav started working like a dream and we were set free.
We decided to halt for the day near Kuta for the night, and checked in to a decent hotel. The hotel guys arranged for a seafood diner by the beach, which, while being high on the expensive scale but did not disappoint on the WoW meter.
By this time we were tired and in full anticipation for the next day. We tucked into our beds and slept over.
Day 2 : The story of a Temple and a little roasted Pig
New day, new plans. Armed with Google Sat Nav, we were on the way to the real Bali. Away from the madding crowds of Denpasar, the target was the UNESCO world heritage site of Mt Batukau and its Ancient temple. Tasted some yummy Bali street food on the way and also saw some glimpses of Rural Bali. But most of the route to Batukau is covered in the main highway lined with towns every few kilometers. The traffic as usual was heavy and the driving quite rash. It seemed that Bali was teeming with life everywhere!
We reached the temple by afternoon, and were welcomed by the cool breeze coming downhill from the mountain. The narrow road to Mt Batukau leading from the main highway is a nice drive and as you go uphill the weather change is quite pleasant. The temple itself is majestic and has that stamp of ancient honor and pride all over it. We soaked in the elegance of the place for a while, taking a few pics, but mostly admiring its stone and wood architecture.
Candi Bentar(the split gate)-two halves of a solid, elaborately carved tower cut clean through the middle, each half separated to allow entrance into the temple.
The gates are guarded on both sides by these 'Rakshasas' Padmasana:An open seat-type shrine,adorned with cosmic turtle and serpents honors the sun god.
The merus(Balinise Pagoda):
The tallest among them is dedicated to Mt.Batukaru
There is also a temple pond with a small sanctum built in the middle. Water itself is a running theme in the Balinese temples, with most temples being built near the sea or life giving waters of a lake or river.
The man made lake completes the ''cosmic'' design.The lake goddess and the lord of Mt.Batukaru sit in the central pavilion.
We left Batukau to Jatiluwih, the famed Rice Terraces of Bali. An ancient form(art?) of rice cultivation which was perfected by the Balinese over centuries . Aided by a complicated system of irrigation and making full use of the hilly terrain, rice terraces are a defining feature of Bali that must not be missed. There is a sharp turn into the main Jatiluwih area and as you turn in, the scene is nothing short of breathtaking. Unending hills carpeted with the intense greenery of rice plants, with different elevations being clearly separated by brown stripes f mud. As you look further out, the elevation changes do not register and you feel like looking into concentric circles of intense greenery converging into infinity.
Our motor finds green-peace over here Young weirdos on scooters twice their size!!You see 10 year olds driving scooters all over rural Bali A water temple A self sustained fish-crop-livestock farming system