A jaunt out of the mundane schedule of a software engineer always finds its stance high on cards and this trip wasn't an exception !!! We sisters had planned a trip to propose a toast for our parent's successful completion of 27 fruitful years in amalgamation. Excitement knew no bounds and the destination was BALI!!!!
No history..No geography..!! This is a repertoire on my personal experiences at the Island of Gods.
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| Lake Batur |
I had done my surfing of the net to grasp in as much as I can about Bali. Thanks to wikitravel, for aggrandizing my imaginations about landscape and picturesque of Bali, the most famous destinations in South-East Asia.
Hopping out of the JetStar airbus, we were greeted by a spurt of sea breeze , gently playing to the tunes of the mighty Indian ocean on one hand and on the other , the vociferous babbles from co-visitors across the globe. A stamp in my passport was all needed to set my foot on this mass of land.
Wading through the roads of Bali I found it to be urbanely rustic , spicing up its painted backdrop. Bali is a complete composite package consisting of jagged coastal lines , lush green rice fields ( Fields on small hills - that's right Terrace Farming) , voluptuous volcanoes and towering mountain ranges.
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| Mt Batur - Active Volcano |
Believe me you can spot a temple at every corner of the street as you would in Chennai. They are the most ubiquitous architecture in Bali owing to the presence of dominant Hindu culture from as early as 100 BC. Unlike the Indonesian archipelago, where Islam is the dominant religion, Bali remains a devout Hindu state. Every day is greeted with offerings in house, workplace, hotels , streets etc.These offerings consist of a small leaf tray containing flowers, rice , incandescent sticks. Religion is fused with every aspect of life in Bali. There are mass processions, similar to those seen in the Indian culture , happening every alternative day.
The main deity is carried around on a palanquin accompanied by a band playing music. Men get to do this while the women dressed in their traditional attire carry the offerings required for performing the prayers.Every body in the temple perform the ritual in unison.Balinese Hinduism is derived from the traditional Hindu values.
They worship Brahma ( The Creator) , Vishnu (The Preserver) and Shiva (The destroyer) represented by Red , White and Black colors respectively.I just forgot to elaborate on the traditional attire - it is called Sarong and Kain. And even the foreigners have to follow this custom when entering the temples. Yeah .. you got it right.. we did wear those attires!!And we were lucky to witness such a procession at Pura Kehan Temple ,the second largest temple and be a part of it.
Celebrations have always been a part of Balinese culture. They celebrate death with as much fervor as they welcome birth. This is a cemetery at Monkey forest, a reserve for more than 350 primates ( Well... in simple words --monkeys ).
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| Pura Kehen Temple |
Now talking about monkeys, I have had close life threatening encounters ( an extra dose of exaggeration ) which made my dear family members go in splits in the Uluwatu Temple( Temple on the coral reef). One tried to pounce on me while another tried to snatch my bag. Well I did make a ruckus which was quite a fun to witness.(Found it from laughing faces around...!!!)
Leaving aside the surprise onset from monkeys, the sunset at the temple was a spectacular sight to witness. The furiously thrashing waves against the reef visually enamored the scene.
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| Uluwatu Temple |
Trips are bound to be full of experiences and so was this. I have always been fond of waters and beaches lure me. But word's fail me. Myself and my sister were eager to try our hands in " Scuba Diving". The idea seemed pretty cool when we started off. So off we went in a ferry to embark on an expedition ( that's a little fill of fabrication.. too much of Bollywood's influence i must admit ...;)!!). The trainer was giving out instructions on the sign language and using the buoyancy control device. During all of this, my mom was very anxious and was cautioning me
( Not my sister who had snorkeling experience to her credits!!) which was of-course futile. Then came the moment ... I was asked to take a plunge into the otherwise calm Indian ocean.
I did but only after a little hesitation and was asked to fit the breathing apparatus. Here I fumbled to breathe through my mouth when inside the water and was gasping for air. That moment I knew what suffocation was!!! My trainer asked me to try it out once again , but I still couldn't manage to breathe through my mouth.. After my repeated failure, I gave up!! Fear gripped me and I didn't want to do it anymore...( my fondness for water didn't diminish by a speck..). My mom was most relieved when I went on-board and my dad was happily mimicking my gestures in water ( I must admit it was funny to look at .. ). Hmmm,.. my sister went on to complete her mission successfully and even brought a star fish as a token of her voyage. We took a snap and let the sea star back to her domicile. I vowed to come back sometime soon and accomplish this unfinished task of mine :) and I will..
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| Terrace farms |
The Barong is the almost synonymous to Bali ( Not in literal sense though!!) Anybody visiting Bali will definitely know what Barong is.. It is a mythical creature representing the good spirit. The Barong dance is the most famous of all dances.And as a remembrance , we had Barong drawn on our T-shirt - the Bathik art , which is very famous. Hot wax is used for this purpose. Silver smiths are also very famous here.These 2 art forms widely flourish in Bali.
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| Barong Dance |
Bali thrives on its agriculture and tourism.Majority of the population is involved in the cultivation. The staple food of Bali is rice and you can see rice fields grown on slopes of hills. Terrace farming is much prevalent here. Apart from rice, Bali chilies are very famous for their hot and spicy characteristics.People in Bali are strictly include meat(any kind..) in their diet. We being purely vegetarians found it a little tough to get food that had no meat. Our driver told us that they eat a diet like ours only when they are sick ( Huh!! couldn't complain though..).
Life style is very simple is Bali , people use 2 wheeler (scooters) as their main means of transport.There is no public means of transport.Their is always an air of tranquility surrounded in their way of living. Fast paced and night life is unknown to this part of Indonesia except for the commercialized tourist spots and it was indeed refreshing.People retire for the day by sunset and wake up by sunrise. A laid back life devoid of computers , hi-tech gadgets etc. etc. I must say that Bali is still immune to the virus of ultra - modernization.
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| The Barong Batik |
Truly Bali is one of the best holiday destinations to relish and the enjoyment knew no bounds!!!!!
They worship Brahma ( The Creator) , Vishnu (The Preserver) and Shiva (The destroyer) represented by Red , White and Black colors respectively.I just forgot to elaborate on the traditional attire - it is called Sarong and Kain. And even the foreigners have to follow this custom when entering the temples. Yeah .. you got it right.. we did wear those attires!!And we were lucky to witness such a procession at Pura Kehan Temple ,the second largest temple and be a part of it.
