Bowled over by Bali

Travel tales

One always dreams of a peaceful haven without the honking of cars, where there is lush greenery, where people are polite and spirituality is a way of life rather than raucous cacophony. Well, I found that dreamland when I visited Bali this time as part of the tour organised by the Bunts’ Sangha Ladies Wing.

Our group of eight ladies from the Ladies Wing, along with 14 others, reached Bali via Kula Lumpur in October  this year. Our first pleasant surprise was that our visa-on-arrival was free though we had been told by our tour operators (Chariot Travels) that we would have to pay $35.

We were accorded a traditional welcome at the airport itself with garlands of ‘frangipani’ (Champa) by a local girl all dressed up in her traditional costume. Our tour guide, Made, then ushered us into our coach which took us for lunch at an Indian restaurant. We then proceeded to this quaint hotel called ‘Bali Rani’ which has a beautiful lotus pool along with lot of greenery and open spaces apart from  other amenities. Our first day in Bali was just a rest day.

In Bali, one doesn’t hear any vehicle honking though we did encounter traffic jams.

The Champa flower as we know it or the ‘Frangipani’, is their symbol and it is peripatetic with all houses, shops, hotels, temples or any other establishments having at least one or more of these fragrant trees adorning their courtyards.

Sculptures that depict scenes from the ‘Ramayana’ and ‘Mahabharata present awesome visuals at junctions. It is also quite difficult to distinguish between residences and temples as each house has a place of worship for the deity. Every house or commercial establishment also has the traditional offering kept reverentially outside. The offerings range from fruits, flowers, confectionery, eggs and other assorted items.  
One also sees the persistent hawkers ever ready to sell you something or the other and with whom one must know the art of real bargaining.

We made quick visits to a ‘Batik’ emporium and a silverware emporium and admired the intricate weaves and designs respectively. We had a look at the volcano – Mt Batur — which had last erupted in 1996 and then visited the Holy Spring Water Temple which was really beautiful.  One had to wear sarongs to enter the temple. It has a natural spring from where water flows through various spouts into pools where people have a bath, pray and even fill the holy water into bottles. We also partook of the water. While coming out, we saw huge tanks with hundreds of multi-coloured fish. We then visited the Goa Gajali or the Elephant cave. We had to climb down a flight of steps where we came upon a huge tank and a cave nearby with a Shiva ‘linga’ and other deities inside. Our guide told us that the Balinese considered the Mountain and Water as holy and the Sky was considered as Father while the Earth was looked upon as Mother. Most temples in Bali have no idols as it is believed that God has no form or shape. But all temples and houses are guarded by the spirits, he said.

The next day began with a visit to the Royal Temple which had a huge courtyard depicting models of a traditional cock fight and a bull race which reminded us of the cock fights and the ‘Kambala’ in Mangalore. Inside, we saw picturesque black thatched ‘pagodas’ which are always in odd numbers. Our next visit was to a Balinese farmhouse with landscaped gardens, a swimming pool and large courtyards with decorative doors and panels. After wandering around for some time, we had a taste of Balinese food at a local hotel near Lake Batang. Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice) Tofu Soup, Corn Cutlets, Spring Rolls, Banana Fritters and Black Rice Pudding with Coconut Milk were some of the delicacies savoured by us. We then stopped for some time at the Monkey Forest.

At the Temple Ulan Butan, we were fortunate to see some traditional dance performances by children. Our last activity for the day was watching the  sunset near the Tanhalot and Batubolong Temples. The following day we visited the Kuta beach where some of the more enterprising members of the group ventured to participate in water sports. All of us, barring two members, went on the banana boat ride which was thrilling enough for us.
Our last visit was to a local cultural place where we had the privilege of watching the Kechak dance depicting the ‘Ramayana’, then the Angel dance, concluding with the Fire dance. The speciality of the ‘Kechak’ dance is that the dance is accompanied not by any orchestra or music but to the sounds of almost 50-60 men clicking their tongues and singing. It was quite an experience and a fitting finale to our tour.

(The author can be reached at [e-mail])

How to get there
We took the Malaysian Airlines from Bengaluru to Bali with a one-hour stopover at Kuala Lumpur. In Bali, we stayed in Bali Rani Hotel.