Bali: Temples and "Skirts"

For some reason, we seem to way up early each morning, perhaps it was related to setting the clock back an hour, or half an hour, for several days in a row!  We were up before we made our final approach into Bali and thus had morning views of the shore line as we came in.  This breakwater was intriguing.  It was obviously man-made and it had a wide green strip of grass along the top. Perhaps it is a VERY challenging golf course!!??!  Actually, we speculated it could be a fish farm inside it or, protection from minor tsunamis!

 

From our balcony, a beautiful, albeit through the heavy smog, sunrise.

This was one of several fishermen who were out for the morning catch.

Bali was our first port where we would visit temples of the old orient world.  Even the port terminal building was built in the shape of the temples.  From our cabin, we could see the building.  All of our tour buses were parked next to and behind the building.

As we got off the ship, guides with trip identifiers were waiting.  Note the outfits.  Our guide informed us that all legitimate Balinese guides wore the same outfit.  There were also three little children there to greet us.

Inside the terminal building.  We all had to go through a check to make sure we had ID.

Everything was so well organized, we were soon on our way.  Passing this building, we weren't sure whether these were homes or shops.  One actually has a bookcase in it, thus the possibility that it is a home.

Lots of  nurseries (garden type!) along the way.  We learned that the Balinese are very much into greenery!

Many of the Balinese are craftsmen.  They create statues, furniture, woodcarvings, etc. and put them in their front yards for passersby to see and perhaps stop and purchase. Their primary jobs are likely to be farming and these are just  a hobby and hopefully a source of additional income.

Rice fields (paddies) are everywhere!  A bit hard to see in this picture but the things sticking up are the local interpretation of "scarecrows" to attempt to keep the birds away from the rice as it matures.

A typical street in Bali.  This one is quite a bit cleaner and far less cluttered than most of the ones we passed.

Our first temple stop - Kerta Gosa, also known as Klungkung Palace

Bali's version of Sistine Chapel!

The main gate of the Kerta Gosa

One of the smaller temples used for deciding judgement.  It also has a painted ceiling.

Meeting table in the smaller temple.  The guy carrying the "12" sign was our guide.  12 was our bus assigned bus for the day.

We learned that Bali's religion is distinct from the rest of Indonesia:  Unlike their Muslim neighbors, the Balinese are Hindu with Buddhist elements as well as those of indigenous animist beliefs.  To the Balinese, every living thing contains a spirit.  When they pick a flower as an offering to the gods, they first say a prayer to the flower.  All over the island from the capital Denpasar to the tiniest village, plaited baskets filled with flowers and herbs lie on sidewalks, on the prows of fishing boats, in markets and especially at the temples.

After our visit to Kerta Gosa, we were off to Kemenuh Village in Bali to visit I KT.ALON, a wood carving & Balinese Art Shop  in Kemenuh Village.

One of the works on display and, of course, for sale!  The intricate carving and the detail of the painting were amazing.

An almost full sized cow carved from wood.  The intriguing part of this carving was the "etching" in the wood to it look like it was covered in hair.

From the wood carvers, we were off to Mas Village to see the Barong dance.  The "orchestra" consisted of several kinds of percussion instruments.  This picture show members playing what looked to me like an early, perhaps primitive form of a xylophone.  Note they are played with with wooden versions of hammers much like we might  use for driving nails. 

Two forms of drums.  Especially note the one on the right.  We found it particularly unique!

The musicians played for about 10-15 minutes while a couple of busloads of us seated ourselves, FORTUNATELY in a covered area (did I mention that the sun was blazing HOT!).  There was a 10-15 minutes lull and then they started playing again as more people began arriving.  Seems a couple of our buses had gotten delayed.  Once everyone was in and seated, the show began with the appearance of a dragon.  Note the black-and-white checkered cloths around the waists of the statues.  They symbolize the balance between good and evil, similarly to the Hindu black-and-white ying-yang.

The Barong dance actually tells a story that was printed on the program they gave us.  There are quite a few characters that come and go through the dance telling a story of good and evil.  If I understood it correctly, it is part of the religious beliefs of the area.  What we're finding in our travels is the basic beliefs of all religions are quite similar, it is the rituals that vary.

Another act of the story.  I'm including a couple of pictures just to show the elaborate costumes that are used.  The temperatures were in the 90's and the humidity wasn't much less so the actors must have been sweltering!

Another act of the story.

The final character, this represents a bird.

The full cast appears for the folks to applaud!

On the way out, we walked through the gift shop (isn't that always the way?!) and this cat laying on the counter caught my eye!  I don't think I've ever seen a cat sooo relaxed.  I rubbed his head and belly, he opened one eye, partially lifted his head and immediately resumed this position!

Next stop was lunch.  We were hoping for air conditioning.  Did I mention it has HOT that day?!!  There was none however, the restaurant was well covered from the direct sun and there was a beautiful breeze blowing across the water in the adjacent rice paddies.  The temperature was perfect!

Lunch was buffet style.  Food was excellent and not near as salty as the food on the ship.

A view of the rice paddies.  Most of these looked like they had recently been plowed and were being prepared for the next crop.

A portion of the sidewalk leading into the restaurant.  It was made of different colored, polished pebbles mortared in place.

After lunch, on our way to the Batuan temple, we made a stop, perhaps obligatory, at a batik factory.  Tom stayed on the bus, I did a quick round of the shop.  There were 4 batik artists actually demonstrating putting the wax and paintings on the fabric.  Quite fascinating!  Didn't get any interesting pictures from this stop.

Our last stop was at the Batuan temple.  This temple REQUIRED that all people, men and women alike, wear sarongs (thus the "skirts" in the title line).  Here, Tom gets his "skirt"!

Entrance to the Batuan Temple.  It was just across the street from the temple like building where the buses were parked and we had been "dressed" for the visit.  Getting across the street would have been a serious problem had we not had our guides and a couple of policemen.  Traffic is extremely heavy and there are no crosswalks.

OK!  Dressed and ready to tackle the traffic and visit the temple.  We were both wearing jeans and with the silk sarongs on, it was difficult to climb the steps!  Note:  You tell by the looks on our faces it was HOT!

The main three buildings and the courtyard they surround.

A huge "gong" and a couple of smaller ones.  I asked our guide if I could hit the gong.  He handed me the "hammer", I proceeded to climb up to its level and gave it a serious hit.  Tom did manage to get it on video.  Reminded me of the old "Gong Show" and what would likely happen if I ever tried to sing karaoke!

In one of the temple like buildings, an elder is teaching young children the crafts of old Bali, keeping tradition alive.

The structure of the temple containing a relic of Buddha.

Back on the road headed back to the boat we pass what folks in this part of the world refer to as "the American Embassy"!  They are almost as ubiquitous here as in the US!  However, the ones here serve spring rolls!

  

Outrigger boats in the harbor area.  These are more elaborate than the ones we saw in the South Pacific islands in 2010.

What a fascinating day we spent in Bali.  The more we explore, the more we come to realize the similarity of customs and traditions around the world.  This brings to mind a quote that was on our "turn down" pillow chocolates one evening:

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."― Augustine of Hippo 

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