Day 70: Temples and Rice Terraces of Bali … Indonesia

Friday, 17 March 2017
At Sea — Bali Sea

Taken from the NavChannel on the Morning of the 18th
Stats @ Ship’s Time 5:30a (EIST) … UTC 10:30p (17 March)
Temp: 82.9F (28.3C)
Position: 6.59.60S / 114.47.52E

We will either find a way, or make one.
~ Hannibal ~

5,939 miles — that is how many more nautical miles we have added to the total sailed since leaving Miami on January 6.  Grand total thus far: 20,004 NM.  Today was turnaround day for Insignia and the beginning of the fourth segment of our cruise — an almost month-long one billed as “Spiritual Retreats.”  I’m sure the ship was a hubbub of activity as it usually is when there are passengers disembarking and others coming aboard to replace them.  We missed all of that by going off to explore more of Bali.

Today’s tour was a private one — just the two of us.  It was again hot and humid … and crowded, though we did enjoy serenity in bits and pieces here and there.  Everywhere we went, the Balinese people were very charming, very friendly, and very welcoming.  Tourism is the lifeblood of the island, so that’s part of why they are happy to see us, I’m sure.  But it’s more than that … they believe in karma … what goes around comes around … it’s an important philosophy by which they live.  They are genuinely happy people — at least that seemed to be the case with the individuals with whom we interacted today.

Our excursion, booked through Dewa, who took us around with the Zs yesterday, covered sights north of Benoa.  Dewa had other commitments, so he arranged for Ketut to drive us.  The price quoted to us by Dewa was IDR 500,000 (at today’s rate ~ USD $38) for the car, driver, and petrol … lunch and admissions, extra.  Even with the extra we added as a tip and also to reimburse him for things like parking and tolls, it was an inexpensive day of touring for us.

Ketut was scheduled to pick us up at 8:00a, but we disembarked at 7:30a hoping he would arrive early.  He was walking up to the meeting point as we exited the port area … as happy to see that we were early as we were to see him there.  By 7:45a, we were heading out of the city … leaving behind, to a certain extent, the rush hour we knew would be clogging up the city streets.

On our way, we passed through several towns and villages.  Yes, there were houses and temples, too, but what was really interesting was the number of shops and art galleries we passed … and gardening centers filled with trees and plants and colorful flowers.  Miles and miles of shops sold carvings made out of every medium one could think of … the most popular ones being lava rock and wood.  There were also basket weavers galore.  Most all of the things we saw on display were intended for building and decorating temples and homes.  It was simply amazing.

Shortly before 9:00a we were at our first stop for the day — Goa Gajah … or Elephant Cave … a 9th century compound that is now on the UNESCO WHS tentative list.  Some records indicate that the place dates back to the 11th century, so the earlier date may be associated with the Buddhist temple that previously occupied the same site.  The name is thought to come from Lwa Gajah, which means Gajah [Elephant] River … now called Petanu River.  This is a place of meditation that is sometimes described as an archaeological site rather than a temple — though there are several of those on the premises as well.  Although I had read that sarongs and sashes were required, Ketut said we didn’t need them.  So we paid the IDR 30,000/person (~ USD $2.30) admission and went down a long series of steps into the ravine where the complex is located.  Having the place practically to ourselves was wonderful.

There was vegetation on both sides of the stairs, making us feel like we were in a dense forest — that would continue to hold true when we descended further into the ravine after we explored the courtyard.  First we saw a meeting hall … used often for performances … we didn’t dally there.  Next up was a pool that was excavated in 1954.  Called a Patirtaan, this is a place to take tirta [holy water].  It featured several statues depicting Hindu angels, the vases in their hands serving as waterspouts.  Telling us that if we washed our faces with the holy water, it would make us 25 years younger, Ketut encouraged us to go down to the pool.  No sign of returning youth yet!

One of the most fascinating aspects of the complex was the entrance to the meditation cave.  Previously hidden by vegetation and discovered in 1923, the rock façade is carved in bas relief with all manner of menacing figures and demons … the work that must have gone into it was mind boggling to me.  Inside, the cave was rather small, with niches at either end.  In one was a figure of Ganesh, the elephant-headed god … thought by some to be the source of the name of the cave.  In the other niche were three lingams … abstract representations of gods.  Each was covered with a cloth of different color, which Ketut explained as follows: red for fire (Brahma); white for purity (Shiva), and black for water (Vishnu).

The Entrance to Elephant Cave.

From the cave, we meandered through the complex and then went further down into the ravine by way of some steep steps.  This was a lush, highly vegetated area that made us feel like we were in a manicured garden that had run amuck.  As we descended, we saw a lily fountain on one side, but Ketut drew our attention to what looked like moss-clad boulders in front of a small waterfall.  Turns out these were the remnants of what was once a giant Buddha statue.  With Ketut’s encouragement, we stepped down and walked around to the other side of the biggest boulder to see what would have been the face of the statue at one time.  We didn’t dally here as the boulders we were standing on were muddy and slippery, and ants were crawling all over the place … including over our feet.

We eventually wandered up another series of steps and found ourselves in a temple where, for a donation of IDR 10,000 (~ USD .75¢), a priest blessed us with holy water.  I thought it was a Hindu blessing, but later read that we might have been in a Buddhist temple.

The lily pond in the Buddha temple area of Goa Gajah.

Our next stop was a quickie photo op — an unexpected one — at a temple on the side of the road.  It’s name, was Pura [temple] Penataran Sasih and what attracted us to it was that it was being decorated in preparation for upcoming celebrations.  Ketut cautioned us not to go in, but it was OK to take a photo from the entrance.

Speaking of celebrations, Dewa mentioned yesterday that 28 March is considered the Indonesian New Year.  This is a day often referred to as “Silent Day” … essentially because all activities come to a standstill.  Everyone stays home, fasting and dedicating themselves to meditation.  He said that even the airport and other transportation facilities are closed, and electricity is turned off — they are very serious about this day.  If tourists happen to be in Bali, they are basically stuck wherever they are as it is not allowed for them to go wandering around.  There are celebrations the day before and “monsters” are paraded around to scare off evil spirits.  In fact, we saw some of these monsters being built out of papier-mâché in several places throughout the day.

Our second stop was at Pura Tirta Empul [Holy Spring Water Temple] … very often referred to as Tampaksiring for the town in which it is located.  A short drive from the Elephant Cave, this Hindu temple is near the former house — now museum — of Sukarno, Indonesia’s first president.  Admission to the temple was IDR 30,000/person … and both sarongs and sashes were required to go inside.

The temple was crowded with both locals and foreigners who had come to purify themselves by bathing in the holy water.  Special sarongs were required to be worn over one’s own clothes if one chose to bathe … starting at one end of the pool and moving to each consecutive waterspout as ritual dictated.  We didn’t participate, but later, as we wandered around the section of the actual temple that is open to those not of the Hindu faith, we did see the holy spring that is the source of the water that flows out of the spouts and fills the two bathing pools.  Our wanderings gave us an up close look at the many amazing carvings and I wished that I knew more about Hinduism to be able to interpret the symbolism inherent in them.

Locals and foreigners alike come to Tampaksiring to bathe in the water …

… of the holy spring that bubbles up from under the ground.
[The darker areas are where the water comes to the surface.]

A glimpse of the section of the temple that is open only to those who wish to pray.

Next up for us was what I had been anticipating all morning — the famous rice terraces of Bali, the lush green rice plants waving gently in the breeze.  The Tegalalang countryside is filled with rice fields … some of them on incredibly scenic terraces.  To get to them, Ketut took narrow back roads — roads that were barely wide enough to fit one vehicle, let alone two going in opposite directions.  The terrain was hilly and there was no traffic to speak of — which made the experience all the better … until we arrived at the Tegalalang Rice Terraces.

What a zoo the place was.  Traffic was crawling at the pace of a tortoise, with vehicles trying to back into parking spots that made the narrow road even narrower.  On either side were eateries and shops selling gee-gaws.  Tourists were crawling all over the terraces.  Oh no!  Is this what I had been waiting for all morning?  Before I could voice my disappointment, Ketut piped up to say that he would be taking us to a quiet spot where there would be no tourists on the terraces.  We could later return to the “tourist” area if we wanted to go for a wander amongst the rice paddies.  Whew!

We didn’t have to go far to get away from the madding crowd.  Just around a bend in the road, Ketut made a right onto a narrow lane that looked like a goat path.  It quickly opened up into a parking area for Dewi Café.  It was lunchtime by now and Mui was ready for some food, so this spot worked out beautifully.  And best of all, as promised, there was no one wandering around the terraces … and very few of the café's tables were occupied by patrons.

Lush green and serene … just as I envisioned Bali’s rice terraces.

I wasn't very hungry, so I just took a couple of bites of Mui’s chicken satay and nasi goreng [fried rice] … a typical Indonesian dish.  It was quite good and, at our request, was prepared without all the “hot” spices.  I washed down my few bites with the local beer — Bintang — and took advantage of the fast wi-fi to share a couple of photos with family and friends.  Then off I went to take photos of the terraces.  What little drizzle we encountered when we first arrived was over, but the sun was shy about breaking through the clouds.  Nonetheless, the scenery was spectacular and quite serene.  This was the Bali I had envisioned.

Later, we also stopped at the “tourist” terraces.  By this time, most of the crowds had dissipated, so the experience was a little better.  We took a few photos, but decided against wandering around the terraces as time was getting short and we still had places to see.  My only regret — not seeing the ready-to-harvest fields … and I neglected to take a photograph of the rice seeds on the mature plants when we stopped at a roadside paddy for a different perspective.

Surrounded by palm trees, the rice terraces make for a scenic setting.

In my day’s plan I had included the Monkey Temple in the Ubud Monkey Forest, but since we saw the macaques yesterday, we made a last minute change and went coffee tasting instead.  Ketut took us to the Merta Harum Agroo Plantation in Ubud as it was on the route back to the ship.

We were greeted by a young man who welcomed us by sounding the Balinese drum and then took us around the plantation.  He explained that they grow two types of coffee — Arabica, which has smaller leaves, and Robusto, which has larger leaves.  He also pointed out the fruits and spices they grow … all used in the flavored coffees and teas they sell.  Then he introduced us to the Asian palm civets that are responsible for the famous — and very expensive — luwak coffee produced in Indonesia.

Luwak coffee is essentially poop coffee.  No, that’s not a typo … I did mean to write poop.  The saying goes that instead of a cappuccino, with this coffee you make “catpuccino.”  Heh, heh, heh!  The way it works is that these animals — paradoxurus is their scientific name — love to eat the ripe coffee cherries … bean and all, although it’s the sweet red meat around the bean that they are after.  The beans are fermented in the stomach before continuing through the digestive track to come out as poop.  Dried and washed with hot water, and then shelled, the coffee bean is extracted, roasted, and then pounded into a fine powder.  And that’s how poop coffee is made.

Our tasting included eight varieties of tea and eight varieties of coffee … the last one being luwak coffee … the only one for which there was a small charge that came out to about USD $3.80.  The coffee tastes smoother in comparison to other coffees and has less caffeine.  Some say it has a fruity taste … I did not sense that.  Mui and I both liked the coffee — and even bought some to take home with us!  But my favorites were the mangosteen and rosela teas.

Tasting coffee and tea … and especially luwak coffee (photo on the right).

Since we had an hour to spare before we had to begin the 1½-hour drive back to the ship, we made one last temple stop.  Named Pura Puseh Batuan [Batuan Temple], the sign indicated that it dated back to 944.  Located on the road between Ubud and Denpasar, it is a popular, easily-accessed village temple.  And as such — it was crowded.  That it was being decorated for the upcoming Indonesian New Year celebrations attracted even more tourists than usual.

Paying IDR 15,000/person (~ USD $1.15), we donned our sarongs and sashes and went inside to explore.  Like the others, this temple also had three sections … Nista Mandala [outer area], Madya Mandala [middle area], and Utama Mandala [main temple area].  Because it was so crowded, I focused on photographing the small details.  My favorite area was a pond, in the center of which was a pedestal that looked like a turtle carrying a temple on its back.  Surprisingly few people were in this area and it was actually quite serene.

Dressed in sarongs and sashes, we explore Batuan Temple.

Amazing details are carved into the stones used to build the temple.

My favorite area at Batuan Temple is this pond.

Rush hour was in full swing by the time we got in the car for the drive to the Benoa Cruise Terminal.  But we had plenty of time to get back to the ship and Ketut had taken the extra traffic into consideration in his planning of our itinerary.  The ship wasn’t scheduled to sail until 6:00p, but we wanted to be back by 4:30p since there was a 5:15p muster drill — our seventh since departing Miami.  We arrived at Insignia with time to spare, so no remedial drill for us ;-) 

We were on our veranda for the sailaway.  We watched as Insignia threaded its way out of port, following a narrow channel of deep water with sandbars on either side.  The sail out was made easier by the fact that the small boats were land-locked due to the receding tide.  In the distance, the setting sun added color to the end of our day in Bali.

Tomorrow is a day at sea.  I know I sound like a broken record, but after two very draining days in the heat and humidity of Bali, I am really looking forward it.

For more photos from our second day in Bali, click here.

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