Tanah Amppo, Bali, Indonesia - Nov 04/11

Bali is an Indonesian island located at the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. This is home to the vast majority of Indonesia’s small Hindu minority.The Balinese people have always presumed their island to be a silver of heaven that rests upon the back of a sea turtle swimming beneath a perfumed sky. The scent of spice does fill the air, and the tiny island off Java’s southeastern tip is steeped in tradition and history. Uniquely Balinese Hindu-animist faith is evident everywhere you look, and the sheer abundance of temples reflects devotion to deities. But Bali has a dual nature. In the south - especially around the areas of Kuta Beach and Nusa Dua - visitors relax in the other Bali, a land of decadent five-star resorts.

Our short time here in Bali was not in the five start resort area but in the traditional Balinese cultural centers which is in the area around the volcanic peak of Mount Batur. After the traditional welcome dance greeting we boarded our private VW safari vehicle with driver (Gusti) and guide (Stephanus) - a great way to see the island as many of the big tour buses cannot drive into many of the area due to narrow road passings. 

 Visiting the I Wayan Mustika Gong Smith Shop, amazing how these gongs are hand made.

Some sites of the island including the beautiful Mt. Batur area for our early lunch. Early as our tour began at 6:30am - a very early day...

 Visiting the traditional village of Penglipuran. Life here is quite simple with very strong religious beliefs. There are more temples in Bali than houses with the reason being that each house has a temple (located on the North East part of the property, and there are three temples in each village, one on the North side, One in the Middle and one on the South side of the Village.

A brief commentary on Hinduism - Bali style.  The basis of island belief is Hinduism, and temples are usually dedicated to the Hindu Trimurti: Brahma (Creator of the Universe), Vishnu (The Preserver), and Shiva (The Destroyer). Balinese Hinduism differs from the Indian version. In addition to the Hindu Gods, the Balinese people have a set of deities all their own. Good spirits inhabit the mountains; evil spirits lurk in the forest and the lonely beaches. The sea is crawling with demons whose sole purpose is to lure human beings to their death, but sea fiends can be frightened away. Fierce figures painted on the fronts of the Balinese fishing boats are charged with that purpose. Balinese temples face toward the mountains and away from the sea. Waterfront property is not desirable or very valuable to the Balinese people, mountainside on the other hand facing the mountain carries a much higher value, and not just financially.

 Coffee, Balinese style.

 Our driver Gusti.

 Goodbye to Bali and Indonesia and now on our way to Australia ...

 Tip or Comment of the Day. Patience and understanding of a way of life here is to be heard and accepted and not questioned too too much. Biting one’s tongue is sometimes necessary. The class system is very much alive a well here in traditional Bali, there are four classes, in short, the religious leaders at the top, followed by the protectors (police etc), then the business or white collar workers and lastly the workers (farmers, factory workers etc). You are born into your class and this is where you stay, period, no amount of education can change this. Our guide although a very smart man who speaks at least 3 languages is happily telling us that he is of the lowest class and must speak a higher language when talking to our driver as our driver is from the next class up, conversely the driver is to speak down to the guide with a lower class language. They pray up to five times a day which helps them to be very thankful for where they are and that there maybe a possibility to be at a higher level in the next life. In each house the temple (which by the way takes up more land on the property than the house does), contains several different alters, one for the ancestors, along with several others for the various Hindu gods. So we take it all in and kind of get it as it is told to us from our great guide, Stephanus and also understand the pray part as in the movie ‘Eat, Pray and Love’, but although a great place to visit am not sure I would queue up for the cheap waterfront property.