The Eastern Bali Mystic

Another early morning. We went for breakfast at the hotel and quickly went to our tour. We were accompanied with the same couple from South Africa, a couple from Denmark and a woman from Toronto. Our tour guides name was Dika. He was more soft spoken than Witana.
We started off by travelling to Batu Bulan and learned how the local people make and design their cloth by using the Batik process. The women make designs on the cloth with wax and when the material is dyed, the wax resists it, creating the design. They were also weaving cloth as well. We continued to Penglipuran to visit the traditional Balinese village. All houses have a gate to the entrance and on the east or north east side of the property is a temple with shrines. This is where families will give their offerings. Many houses include a separate building for a kitchen. They are full of sut and very dark to be in as they don't use power, but fire to cook. Many kitchens also include a bed for the women to sleep on. The bed is a hard board woven with bamboo. Generations of families all live together on the same property. In this village in particular, since it is a tourist attraction, everh house includes a shop where they sell a lot of trinkets, sarongs, purses, etc.
After the stop there, we continued near the base of Mt Agung to visit the Besikah Temple also known as the Mother Temple. This is the biggest temple in Bali. This year, in April, the temple will have a big 10 year celebration. Every Hindu Balinese person is required to visit the temple on this day. With 4 million Balinese people and 80% being Hindu, that is a lot of people!
As many students dont have school in the afternoon, the temple was filled with young kids trying to sell post cards. They guilt you by saying things like 'open your heart and open your wallet' and although it's hard for us Canadians, all we can do is ignore them until they walk away, or else they will not stop.
We then continued on a lot of winding roads that took us for lunch near the base of Mt. Agung. This is the largest volcano in Bali. It reaches over 3000m above sea level. We travelled on a lot of switch backs through the mountainous parts of Bali. Driving on these roads was not easy as it was only wide enough for 1 car (and maybe a scooter) to maneuver on a switchback.
When we finished lunch we went to our next stop. This was in Klungkung to see the Kerta Gosa (or the Hall of Justice) which is the court system used during the Dutch colonization. This site included a large bale used for events and ceremonies. A bale (pronounced like Bali) is an open air hut. Usually consists of 4 or 6 poles, a roof and a low floor or plinth. The other building in Kerta Gosa was used during the actual court. The chairs with Dragons were used for the judges and the chairs with cattle were for the lawyers and suspect. Both building ceilings were painted with designs. The one used for court had pictures of punishments that would be dealt in the after life for certain crimes - so basically, Karma.
While visiting this site, we were approached by s group of students looking for some pictures including tourists. Luckily they wanted me to do it. I got to make trinkets out of clay and try the traditional Barong dance. I was not any good at it, but they were very kind about it. The student go to school 6 days a week with Sunday off. They attend primary, junior high and senior high. After this stop we continued back to our hotel. We had Japanese for supper at the hotel and opted for Tapenyaki. It wasnt as showboaty as what we were expecting. He basically cooked our food for use and we ate. However, even though it wasnt very exciting, the food was very good.Читать далее