DAY FOUR - A TOUR TO THE EAST SIDE OF THE ISLAND

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On our last full day in Bali we took another day tour with Wayan Juli, this time to the south-eastern part of the island.  We started out at the Goa Gajah temple (the elephant cave temple).  You can see elephants carved into the rock face at the entrance to the cave.

The temple entrance

Entrance to the cave

Inside the cave

Not sure what they were doing here

Not sure if this spider was friendly or not

But we knew what we were doing

We left the temple to visit a silk weaving and batik factory at  Gianyar City.

At the loom

An example of the finished product

These men were preparing the base threads for the loom

The set of threads used to make the base threads

We had a busy schedule with Wayan and we visited the Bale Kertagosa (royal hall of justice) in Klungkung.

A detail of the roof

A table fit for royalty

An artist at work

Some of the finished product

We were interrupted by a passing funeral procession, very noisy

Strolling in the gardens

The main pavilion

A temple in the grounds

Leaving the royal palace we travelled out to the coast to Goa Lawah - the bat cave temple.

The temple entrance

The bat cave is to be found in the grounds of the temple.  The cave is very deep, apparently many kilometres deep and at the entrance is a multitude of fruit bats who, legend has it, provide sustenance for the legendary giant snake, Naga Basuki, which is also believed to live in the cave. This ancient reptile is believed to be the caretaker of the earth's equilibrium, a belief which stems from pre-Hindu animism.

A service in progress

Young clerics in the temple grounds

Scores of offerings

We decided it was time for lunch overlooking the ocean by a black sand beach at Candidasa.

 

As you will have realised we had a busy schedule and our next stop was at Tirta Gangga, which literally means water from the Ganges and it is a site of some reverence for the Hindu Balinese. It is a maze of pools and fountains surrounded by a lush garden and stone carvings and statues.

Yes, there were fish in the pools, many quite large

The most interesting feature was a set of stepping stones in one of the lakes.

One of the many statues

It was a very busy place and deservedly so

We were not finished for the day as we went on to Tenganan Village -  an original Bali village.  The people are called Bali Aga - the original Balinese. There are strict rules as to who is allowed to live in the village. Only those born in the village can stay in the village and become full members of the community.  The buildings in the village are placed on either side of long central area.   

The entrance to the village 

There were a number of village craftsman showing their skills. This fellow had made a whole range of drawings

There were some shops that carried many tourist oriented items.  This one had a series of masks on show

This building housed basket weavers

Right at the top of the village there was a bee keeper. His bee hives were made inside tubes

The bees were happily at home

More goods in the shops

These cockerels, presumably raised for cock fighting, were dyed different colours.

We had a very interesting day and Wayan did an excellent job showing us so many things.  He was a courteous and careful driver in a country where driving can be difficult with large traffic flows and the always present scooters.  Being near the equator, the night comes on quickly and early.  Our day had been long and we were held up by the volume of traffic so as to arrive home after dark.  Rather Wayan than us driving in Bali.

For our last dinner we chose another restaurant that cared for the community. - the Green Leaf.  Their boast is that in addition to serving excellent meals they also provide services that take care of the environment. One program makes donations to orphans, donations for breeding dogs as well as funding for cleft lip surgery.  We felt that any profit that they made was going to be well spent.

All the meals we had were very good and very reasonably priced.  We were happy with our choices in a village with over 500 restaurants.

End of Part 8 of 16

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