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The island of Bali, known for its lovely beaches, also has some of the most exquisite
DEspite the troubles of recent years, the magical island of Bali has lost none of its vibrancy. With its lovely beaches, palm trees and warm, blue waters, it delivers on all the tourist expectations of a tropical island. But for me, Bali’s main draw was its exquisite temples. From Hong Kong it is a five-hour journey to Denpasar, Bali’s capital. The road to Ubud from the Denpasar airport is dotted with magnificent spread of rice terraces on both sides, Bali’s beauty mark. Most farmers wear the traditional, woven cone-shaped hat to ward off the sun. Ubud, situated in Bali’s mountainous interior, is a far cry from the hubbub of the island’s coastal resorts, awash with shops and restaurants, touts and tourists. A cool mountain breeze that disappears into deep gorges was rejuvenating, as we feasted our eyes on a gurgling river that flanked our hotel.
Although Indonesia is a Muslim country, people in Bali are principally Hindu. Every sunrise, Balinese women clad in traditional clothes, commence the morning offerings to the gods. This blessing for the day is a must in every home, garden, business or hotel. A tiny basket of rice, fruit and flowers is likely to greet you almost everywhere. As we waited for our guide Made Vijaya, we were intrigued by what Made (pronounced mad-ee) meant. He told us that all first-born Balinese are Wayan. The second-born child is called Made, then Nyoman, then Ketut. And then the naming starts over again, although families tend to be smaller these days. We proceeded to the southern coast, which has some of Bali’s most splendid temples. Although there are some truly magical ones in the mountains, edging picturesque lakes or tripping down the sides of volcanoes, those on the south coast have sensational seaside backdrops. Pura Tanah Lot is perhaps the best known. In the 15th century, a priest spent some time on the rocky outcrop of land that is cut off at high tide. Afterwards, he told the villagers that it was an ideal place for a temple, so they built Pura Tanah Lot. At sunset, it is flooded by sightseers, as the small buildings are silhouetted against a blood red sky.
Next, we took a trip to the crater rim of the live volcano Gunung Batur, which rises nearly 2,000 m above the turquoise Lake Batur. From the viewing point at Penelokan, we went to the ornate temple complex of Pura Ulun Danu Batur, the second most important in Bali, where 45 gods are worshipped. Outside the temple, the hawkers are rather pushy, but useful for hiring the obligatory sarong before entering the temple complex. The next day, we went to the mother of all temples in Bali — Pura Besakih. It is a grand complex of 22 temples spread over one-sq mile on the slopes of Gunung Agung, where the Balinese believe the spirits of their ancestors live. Said to have been founded in the late 8th century by a Javanese sage, most of the temples were destroyed in an earthquake almost 100 years ago. Several major renovations were then carried out later. The most important shrine is Pura Penataran Agung, which rises on seven terraces towards the mountain. The entrance is a superb black, split gateway soaring skywards with the mountain standing proudly behind. This is the holiest temple on the island and, apart from regular festivals, Balinese people are always praying and making offerings. With thousands of visitors arriving daily, the whole place can sometimes seem like a circus, but visit either early morning or late evening to avoid the chaos, or wander among the trees to the further-flung temples and there is a timelessness, a grandeur and a special atmosphere. Our last stop for the day was Pura Tirta Empul, a sacred spring temple near the source of the river Pakrisan. The main feature is a series of courtyards, containing rectangular bathing pools. The temple is thought to date from the 10th century; the present walls are recent. It can get pretty difficult keeping track of all the temples on the island. Every household and village have their own temples, not to mention all others scattered across the island. Whoever originally awarded Bali the epithet ‘Island of the Thousand Temples’ clearly couldn’t count: there must be hundreds of thousands of them, each one more stunning, more beautifully elaborate, than the last.
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