The alarm woke us up around 7 am and while we still felt drowsy, we got
up and freshened up. We went for breakfast around 8.15 am and there was a good
spread of English and continental stuffs. Before we finished breakfast, our
driver called to inform that he had reached. It’s Putra again, as was promised
by Panji earlier. We discussed the option of going to Besakih temple with him
and he also advised against it. Finally, we decided to give that a miss and not
try our luck even with multiple warnings. He took us first to the Uma Devi
temple to see the Barong dance. The drive was for an hour. Though Ari took a
short nap, I kept my eyes open to savor the view of the city. Barong dance
starts around 9.30 am, however, we reached 15 min late. Luckily for us, the
performance had just started and we didn’t miss much. Barong is a traditional
Balinese dance symbolizing the good over evil. The performance was for an hour
with multiple acts. The dialogues were in Balinese, however, we did enjoy the
show irrespective of the language barrier.
Post the show, we went to the
Batique factory where they showed us how batique clothes are prepared. It was
nice to see artisans at work preparing beautiful clothes. However, the showroom
was a disappointment as I didn’t find anything nice, fitting my size to buy.
Our next stop was the Goa Gajah temple. On the way, we passed Celuk village
(silver and gold jewellery) and Mas village (wood carving) and also Batulan
Temple. Goa Gajah (elephant cave) as the name suggests is a temple dedicated to
the elephant god, Ganesha and his father Shiva. Putra took us on a guided tour
of the temple and we really enjoyed the area. Goa Gajah’s name is slightly misleading, lending the impression that it’s a gigantic dwelling full of elephants. Nevertheless, Goa Gajah ‘Elephant Cave’ is an archaeological site of significant historical value that makes it a special place to visit. Located on the cool western edge of Bedulu Village, six kilometres out of central Ubud, you do not need more than an hour to descend to its relic-filled courtyard and view the rock-wall carvings, a central meditational cave, bathing pools and fountains. The main grounds are down a flight of steps from the roadside and parking area, which is lined with various art and souvenir shops and refreshment kiosks. The cave’s entrance shows a menacing giant face with its wide open mouth as the door. Various motifs depicting the forest and animals are carved out of the outer rock face. The giant face was considered to be that of an elephant’s. The cave is shallow; inside are three stone idols each wrapped in red, yellow and black cloths. Black soot lines the cave’s walls as result from the current-day incense burning. Moreover, around the cave, there is holy water figure with male and female fairies holding holy water. Some the statue as a symbol of seven rivers in India, the place where Hindu religion originated.
From Goa Gajah, we visited the
Pura Tirta Empul temple (Holy Spring temple). The entrance is marked by two wing-shaped pillars, a traditional split gate. Once inside there are several shrines. The temple is famous for its holy
spring water bathing structure where Balinese Hindus (and tourists as well) go
for ritual purification.The area is fed by 30 water fountains. The sacred spring has, according to the Balinese, healing powers. Thus The Balinese people go once every year to Tirta Empul here to bathe. According to legend the source is created by the god Indra. When his forces were poisoned by Mayadanawa he drilled a hole in the ground to make, which then would arouse his forces. This hole with water is the fountain of "immortality" with healing powers.We didn’t take
bath, but did splash water on our face and head. Though in other temples, we
had been exempted from wearing a Sarong as both of us wear ankle length
clothes, in this temple we had to wear a sarong. An interesting part of the
bathing area is that the water is crystal clear and we could see the feet of
those who were standing in the water as if looking through a glass bed.
Another spectacular pond is a carved stone basin with crystal clear water, where koi fish swim. There were several large koi fish and in
different colors.
Post our visit, I started feeling hungry and hence decided to
head to Kintamani for lunch. Kintamani is famous for the dormant volcanic peak,
Mount Batur and a lake with the same name. From the restaurant, we had a panoramic view of the 3 peaks (Batur I, II & III) as well as the lake. Lunch was buffet and sumptuous.
Post
Kintamani, we went to see the coffee plantation where we were given a short
demo on the preparation of different kinds of coffee (arabiatta, Balinese and
Luwak). Luwak is the most interesting as it is made from the droppings of the
Luwak (animal). Kopi luwak is the world’s most expensive coffee. The Luwak eats the coffee pods which gets digested in its
stomach before coming out as droppings. These droppings are collected,
processed, and roasted before turning them into coffee powder). I tasted a cup
of Luwak coffee (it is strong, but nice. I didn’t purchase it with the fear of
getting used to some taste which I won’t get later) while Ari was given the
option of 15 different flavours of tea and coffee.
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| Luwak - The animal whose excretes are converted to coffee |
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| A cup of Kopi Luwak |
Then we went to the Tegallalang
Rice Terrace which offer a perfect Bali photo opportunity with its dramatic views. The vista sprawls down and away to the rice terraces on the slopes across the valley. This ancient valley has a timeless quality whether there are tourists there or not.
Our last stop for the day was Ubud Palace
and Market. Though it is called a palace, it is a small place and had nothing
much to see.
The disappointment for us was the market, as it was almost closing by the time we reached and we didn’t find anything worthwhile to shop. Finally,
we had beer at a roadside café before heading back to the hotel. On reaching
the hotel, we freshened up and ended the day with a dinner at the Chinese
Restaurant (chopstick) with fried rice, grilled pork and squid fry.
