It was Late December and I'm coming to an end with my 4th semester break and I had decided to take a trip outside of Malaysia. So I thought India would be interesting. Next morning I jumped out of bed to find me heading straight to buy myself Lonely Planet India at RM 126 and did my Visa the next day. 2 weeks passed and I had been delaying purchasing the tix.
It was then too late to go to India and so I opted for the next to near of Hindu culture, Bali. So there I was clicking away on our low cost carrier website and had booked my self to Denpasar. I had a lot of plans with my new rented Suzuki Katana Jeep at USD10 per day. First night was spent in the hectic KUTA area. Too many tourists and magic mushrooms with ear-bursting music. So not my place. The next day I took out my map and headed for the cultural centre, UBUD. There I settled in a homestay and ended up staying 3 nights instead of 1 as I had fell in love with the area, people and the ARTS!
First night in Ubud had brought me to their cultural dance performance. at 85,000 rupiah, I was entertained for a 1.5 hours show that was full of legendary myth of the Barong Dance.
As KINTAMANI was not far from Ubud, I had drove up to the highlands to witness the amazing Volcano and Lake. Mount Batur is located at Kintamani and it has erupted about 24 times since year 1800 and still active up to now. Since the mount's eruption, locals around this area had to remove / relocate altar (Temple), improve / reapair the village and re-arrange the tradition. Lake Batur is the biggest lake in Bali and functioning as irrigation source to all farmers.
Kintamani area has been founded some lodging, hotels and restaurants which are located in Kintamani and Penelokan Village. It is a famous tourist place because Kintamani area owns the beautiful panorama and it is encircled by the cold atmosphere. The Monsoon season during my visit certainly didn't help with my outdoor pictures. Now I know why most people visit in June.
Penelokan Kintamani
Next destination on my list was to visit the TANAH LOT Pura. It was described as one of the Puras that guard each point of the Island to guard their humans from Tsunami, especially. It was a Sunday and as I travelled through the small roads with tons of turning and heavy traffic from Ubud, I finally reached TANAH LOT after a 45 minutes drive.
Being a first-timer in Bali, I just got lucky as I soon found out that today was the last day of their 'Galungan / Kuningan' festival. Although they have festivals almost every other month, I was told by a local that this ritual was only celebrated evry 6 months. They pray / chants to the sea spirit for safety and well-being if i'm not mistaken.
Before I went down to the Pura, I spotted a mother and her son on stand by mode for the ritual.
This is the part where they recite chants to the sea...
There are tons of other pictures and stories of my trip to Bali but I'll save some for next time. Bali for me was a true arts and culture experience. Can't find it anywhere else!
OM SWASTIASTU!
