Temples of Ubud

The temples of Ubud and of Bali are a fascinating topic. Shall have to read more about it after we get home. All houses have mini-temples built on premises - and often the mini-temple is not only the first to be built but also the finest part of the house! In addition to the plethora of personal family mini-temples, there are village temples as can be seen here.

The village temples are amazingly ornate spaces, a bit cluttered with shrines all over the place. They all open with gorgeous Balinese gateways protected by a pair of not necessarily matching mythical creature statues. Sometimes the gate protectors would be dressed in sarongs.

Some other common features that we observed:

* Steps leading up to the gateways

* Floral motif tile pattern just outside the gateways

* Barongs everywhere, along with intricate leafy, swirly patterns

* Amazing, detailed stonework - apparently largely done by handRead more