Winter 2019 - 32. Uluwatu Temple

32.  Uluwatu Temple

The Temple Sits on the Very Point of the Cliff

Uluwatu is an ancient Balinese temple that has stood at the edge of the Island for hundreds of years according to local records. This temple is dedicated to the highest deity in Bali, Sanghyang Widi Wasa.

Despite the many tourists here, it is one of the 6 holiest temples in the religion of Bali.

Emperors on Bali had the good fortune to attain Moksha here. 

The area is beautiful, the sunsets are very special and colorful, despite the many tourists.

Yes, it is overrun by tourists and in some spots by monkeys who steal anything you have on you, even if you have it in your pocket. So be aware of the thieving macaque creatures.

We never saw the monkeys everybody complained about, but that was good, right?

The temple is a must see, but you need to know what to expect. We did not know what would hit us when we arrived, but Agung was good, he gave us room to explore, gave us our time to just poke around and watch others.

Uluwatu Temple

If I ever come back to Bali, I will come back to this spot (despite the many tourists) because there is a lot to see. We did not have enough time for this unique location, for this spread out place, to really get a sense of what was there. We were too focused on the sunset, we waited with the crowd to be there when the sun went down and it was beautiful but it took too much time away from exploring more of this Temple.

Getting to the Temple - Far Left of Picture

And we never had the time to see another Kecak performance, the Ramayana dance that is performed here every day after sunset. A pity we could not immerse ourselves more into the local way of celebrating this holy site; in just letting go of time and being on Bali time.

Bali has a unique way of telling time by the way… it’s called “rubber time”. It embraces the concept that it takes time to harvest from a rubber tree and that time can stretch like rubber. No, time is NOT money in Indonesia.   “Time is money” is an American concept.

The Only Monkey We Saw Was This Statue

Another God

Owner of the Moped Has Tied an Offering to the Wheel

 Interesting 5 minute video below…

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=puja+tri+sandhya%e2%80%99&refig=eacd604ac5104bf58d4e1f52ed02614e&ru=%2fsearch%3fq%3dpuja%2btri%2bsandhya%25E2%2580%2599%26refig%3deacd604ac5104bf58d4e1f52ed02614e%26FORM%3dVDVVXX&view=detail&mmscn=vwrc&mid=6DBD3549C18FB2B355236DBD3549C18FB2B35523&FORM=WRVORC

Winter 2019 - 31. Lunch at the Coast

31.  Lunch at the Coast

Agung took us to the beach. We visited the Sanur Beach and if I were still a hippy, this would be the place to be. There are still some ‘older’ hippies around, hanging out at the local restaurants. But you need to be a beach bunny; this town is all about the beach.

Sanur Beach

No, it’s not posh, No, it’s not too clean, No it’s not the Cote Azure in France, but Sanur has character. Sanur is quirky, the atmosphere is relaxed and no hurry is the motto of the locals. There are ‘art’ shows around, sign posts tell you were to go, but all is a bit home made. 

We went there during the day, of course, its lunch time, but it is evident that the night life is a bit more rambunctious. Naturally we had some fish and the food, like everywhere in Bali, is very good. The

Note the Sign, Bottom Right

service, always with a smile, was a bit homemade too. You know, plastic cups and the floor we sat on was the actual sandy beach. They just plopped some plastic tables and chairs on the sand, and voila, a restaurant. A whole slew of restaurants were lined up, we took the one that ‘looked’ the best. Prices were all very similar anyhow. 

Agung told me he takes his family here for the weekend when the kids want to play in the water. Sanur is a mix of local, European and even some American tourists. 

Entrance to Segara Restaurant Where We Had Lunch

Parking was a bit of an issue, there just is not enough room in this smallish fishing village for everybody. But, Agung managed just fine.

Some art project was being worked on right at the beach. A large fish was being constructed, made out of wood (bamboo?) which looked like a net or very open basket weave. Statues abounded, of course, some fierce looking and scary. Homemade merchandise was for sale in many shops. It was touristy, but not to the point of pure tourism. Regular life happened all around us, too.

Bamboo Fish Construction

It was a quick stop, a lunch stop… we are off to the Uluwatu Temple now.

Bamboo Weaving

More Art Work