Puras and a Ceremony

A pura is a Balinese Hindu temple which differs from the indoor Indian Hindu temples. Puras are open air complexes surrounded by a wall with beautifully decorated gates. All of the temples I saw had traditional split gates, which are guarded on both sides by temple guards. Each family has their own pura as well as a village pura.  

Split gate from a family temple

    Split gate from Pura Tirtha Empul                   A temple guard at Pura Tirtha Empul

The first temple I visited was Goa Gajah, also known as Elephant Cave, which dates back to the 11th century. There are also holy water bathing pools within the complex.

The next temple complex I visited was Gunung Kawi, which also dates back to the 11th century. The 10 shrines are carved out of the existing rock, measure about 23 feet high and are very impressive. The complex is situated in a beautiful jungle with a flowing creek and towering trees throughout.

The last temple I visited, Pura Tirtha Empul (Temple of Holy Water), was built on a large, bubbling spring in 926 AD. The spring is regarded as very sacred, and is said to have been created by Indra, the King of Gods in Hindu mythology, and to have curative properties. While I walked around, I stumbled upon a small ceremony.

The spring that provides the water to the bathing pools

 Offerings to the Gods

Check out #3

I know my Bali posts have been going on forever, but that's because I saw so many amazing things.  I only have 1 left, and I hope you've enjoyed them!

Stunning Beaches of Bali

One of the things I really wanted to do in Bali was visit the beaches of the Bukit Peninsula. I'd heard that they were gorgeous with dramatic cliffs and temples, and I just had to see them. I started off going to Padang Padang Beach, where a surfing competition was taking place. The beach was packed with surfers and spectators as well as food and beer stands. This made for a pretty good afternoon.

Padang Padang Beach

Uluwatu Temple

My next stop was Uluwatu Temple, located on the top of a steep cliff overlooking the vast Indian Ocean.  It was absolutely breathtaking.  There were monkeys everywhere at the temple, and I was told to take my sunglasses off the top of my head so they wouldn't steal them.

Suluban Beach

Suluban Beach is very close to Uluwatu Temple, so I stopped there for a beer before heading to Jimbaran. Suluban Beach is the most beautiful beach I have ever seen (thanks Steph!). I must have taken over 50 pictures in a span of 30 minutes. The incredibly wide sand beach with rocks and coral visible from at least 50 feet above was very impressive.

Jimbaran Seafood Barbecue

On my way to back to Sanur, where I'd be spending the rest of my time, I stopped in Jimbaran for their famous seafood barbecue. The tables are set up right on the sand, and you select the live seafood you want from the many tanks set up in the restaurant. I felt a tad guilty as the waiter pulled the crab out of the tank and took him to the kitchen, but the guilt went away as soon as it arrived on my plate. Wow, was it delicious!

YUM!

Rich in Tradition

When I came back to Bangladesh from Bali, a lot of people asked what I liked most, and I had trouble answering. I mean, Bali is amazing for so many reasons! But after a lot of thought, I've come up with my answer: Bali's incredibly rich traditions. From the woodcarving, silver making, and painting villages, to the beautiful ancient temples, to the fascinating Balinese dances and performances. The culture is so different from what I've seen, and I absolutely loved it. Not to mention the beautiful weather, people, spas, and beaches - just to name a few of my other favorite things :)

When I visited Mas, the woodcarving village, they showed me the fascinating and intricate process. I ended up buying a mask of Barong, which is a physical manifestation of the protective spirit in Balinese mythology. Barong defends people from evil influences and is represented by all sorts of animals. The most common one is the lion-like creature that originated in the Gianyar region, where Ubud is located - and where I watched the Barong and Legong Dance.

Sanding the wood

This carving took over 2 years to make!  It was at least 5 feet tall, and I can't imagine how much it's selling for...

Now to my favorite Balinese tradition: the dances. The Barong dance centers around the lion-like creature (whose wooden mask I bought) and his battle with Rangda: a story narrating the fight between good and evil.  There are monkeys, male and female dancers, and of course the evil Rangda.  The Legong dance is more refined with intricate finger movements, elaborate footwork, and expressive faces.  I loved the wide eyed female dancers and tried very hard to capture their expressions!

Barong

Rangda

The rest of the photos are from the Legong dance.  

The next ones are from a performance on Sanur beach.  I love their expressive eyes!

Such beauty!! :)

Rice Terraces and Javanese Shadow Puppets

My second day in Ubud, I decided to rent a bicycle and visit the nearby rice terraces. If you know me well, you know that I am incredibly clumsy on bikes, and I almost always seem to fall. Three major falls come to my mind: A 4th of July night, riding down Monte Alban in Mexico, and riding down a big hill in Vienna, VA. And now I can add riding down a hill on a busy road in Ubud to the list. When I rented the bike, they didn't give me a helmet. Apparently they only provide them for motorbikes, which made me quite nervous. So here I am, by myself, riding down the busy road without a helmet. I make it all the way down the hill and pull over to stop, when I lose my balance and topple into the road. It was actually more embarrassing than anything else since I was at a complete stop when I fell. Luckily I only scraped my knee and arm, and a lovely Australian woman stopped and gave me band-aids and neosporin. She even told me about a delicious organic farm in the rice fields where I could go to lunch. And she was right - it was a very yummy feta and tomato salad with baba ganoush and a glass of Balinese wine.

In order to get to the rice terraces, I had to park my bike and walk through a dense jungle by myself. I didn't see any other people, despite the fact that it's a popular trail amongst tourists. As I set out through the jungle, tons of lizards were jumping out and startling me. I was a little uneasy walking the trail by myself to begin with, so as soon as a good-sized, black snake slithered over my feet, I jumped, yelped and immediately decided to head back. Luckily on my way back, I ran into a couple Swedish tourists and decided to walk the trail with them. I'm so happy I ran into them because it was only another 15 minutes until we stepped out into the beautiful view pictured below.

I saw this t-shirt being used as a scarecrow and had to take a picture.

Masks for sale along the trail

The rice terrace pictured below was taken in a village outside of Ubud, called Tegallalang. On one of my day trips, I stopped here to have a cup of tea and enjoy the scenery. If you look at the top of the hill, you can see 2 tiny little people - that'll give you a better idea of how impressive the terraces are.

  

One of the cultural performances I saw in Ubud was the Javanese shadow puppet show. The shadow puppets are traditionally made of leather, painted vibrant colors, and are incredibly intricate. When the show ended and we walked behind the screen, I was surprised to see that the puppets were painted. I found out later that the men used to sit behind the screen where the puppets could actually be seen, while the women watched the shadows from the other side. All of the puppets are controlled by one person, the Dalang, who also provides all of the voices. Accompanying the voices is an orchestra of gongs, drums and percussion instruments - which were all very loud. The Dalang spoke in both Balinese and English and added a lot of humor to the story.

Not the best picture, but you can see what the shadow puppets look like without the screen

Monkeys, Temples, and Firewalking

I had an amazing time in Bali, and it's one of the best countries I've visited so far.  Bali has everything: a fascinating culture, beautiful beaches, volcanoes and jungle, perfect weather, and warm, helpful people.  This was my first time traveling abroad by myself, so I was a little nervous, but everything worked out perfectly.

My first stop was Ubud, known as the cultural center of Bali.  I stayed in a homestay a few paces from the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, so there were macaques running around everywhere.  I took a walk through the forest, and inside are thousands of monkeys, three temples and hundreds of eager tourists handing out bananas to passing macaques.  These monkeys are obviously pretty aggressive, so I remained wary, unlike many of the other tourists.  At one point I was sitting on a ledge taking pictures of the monkey photographed below when all of a sudden he leaped toward me and grabbed my water bottle attached to my backpack.  It took a lot of effort to shake him off, but eventually he hopped down.  A total of three monkeys jumped on me as I walked through the park, and each time I yelped and tried to get them off me.  Needless to say, monkeys freak me out a little.

As soon as the locals put out their offerings to the Gods, the monkeys pick through them for the edible parts: usually rice and fruits.

This baby monkey was crying and sucking his finger as he looked for his mama - he eventually found her and clung to the front of her.

Pura Taman Saraswati (Ubud Water Palace)

Ubud Palace, where Ubud's royal family still resides

He found his mama...

My first night in Ubud I attended a Kecak Fire and Trance Dance.  The dance consists of a hundred men sitting in a concentric circle around the fire chanting, singing and swaying.  It depicts the Hindu story of Rama and Sita, dressed in beautiful and ornate clothing and headdresses.  After the story ends, a man representing a horse dances across the fire to protect the society against evil forces. The whole thing was absolutely fascinating and beautiful.

This was day 1 of my 9 day trip in Bali - there are many more photos coming!!