Pura Tanah Lot

It is raining Guest posts in my blogspace.  Though i am yet to successfully persuade Jay and Rosy to come up with a post of their choice, I got lucky with Sudha, yet again.  Proximity helps - she sits in the same floor as mine at office, and we tag along.  I had to just hint it  to her and ta-da, she was done with the post.

And hey hold on there.  Just realized this is the 200th post on my blog. Taking a bow to imaginary sounds of trumpets and trombones :-) :-) :-)   Whattay a nice way to celebrate it through Sudha's post.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pura Tanah Lot

Pura Tanah Lot - cliff scenary. This temple is in the sea.

Tanah Lot (Land in the sea), is one of the most photographed temples of Bali. I knew about this place even before we did any internet research. I have seen it on travel shows and magazines, and the name is etched in my mind. It was kind of a personal bucket list tick off. Was so excited that we would finally be able to go there. Was kind of missing my better half, (just 3^rd day of the trip!) as we both wanted to go there. Anyway, no more thoughts about him, it’s after all a girls trip. True to its expectation this place was splendid and even now, when I think of it, brings in images of the rock temple in the ocean. The sun kissed waves sparkle like diamonds and the sapphire blue, deep blue and varying colors of the ocean stretches till your eye can see. The sound of the crashing waves were soothing and the whole experience was mystic.  We went to this temple on our way from Ubud, the town of arts and culture, to Nusa Dua the beach area of high end luxury resorts.

Do you see the Ganesha Mural bang in the middle of a paddie?

The road to the temple was so scenic. Brought back memories of Kerala. Interestingly all babes are natives of ‘Gods own country’. Paddy fields, coconut trees and vistas of clean green rice terraces as they call it. Some of the houses even had wall murals.  Kevin explained that most traditional joint family dwellings, have their family deity as a part of small temple, inside their house compound.

There was a meandering walkway from the parking lot to the seashore, to enter the temple. On the way there were small shops and shacks selling knick-knacks and memorabilia. We were busy either posing or taking pictures, I took advantage of my DSLR lens to zoom in and see the temple that lie far ahead. While we walked we came across a group of visitors posing with a live snake. We have seen this in many touristy areas, and it brought back memories of our earlier trip where Rosy posed with a tiger cub, at Bangkok. Never in my wildest dreams I would have thought of touching and petting a snake. It was yellow in colour, ribbed and spattered with black and white patterns. As I clicked pictures of the snake the babes went out and reached for it. The snake vendor (for want of a better name), happily handed it over to us. I gave my phone to another visitor and Kevin took the camera and we had our videos and photos of carrying the snake. 

The babes with a live python.  Arent they all pretty pretty? ( we were actually terrified :-) )

Selfie with Snake

I was quite apprehensive. Vincy took the lead and was nearest the snake's head. I managed to dodge and carry it only for a brief moment.  We were cooing and hooting and I guess the poor snake must have become used to this from the various visitors who carry her. This was an unplanned, unexpected adventure if I can say. The video lays testimony to the fun we had for a brief moment with her. I even went ahead and clicked a selfie with her. Vincy by the end of it got over the fear and went ahead and laid down near her basket, and I caught it on camera :-).

Vincy posing with our new snakie babe friend

Moving on, we went inside a courtyard, part of the smaller temple, the main temple was even further away and its entry was forbidden to the non-Balinese visitors. It is believed that lots of sacred snakes in the ocean, guard this temple, which was built in the 15^th century.  Pura Segara, translates to "Sea temples", a pura that is located by the sea to appease the sea Gods and deities. The Balinese believe that the shore temples protect the country from the vagaries of the ocean. This temple was overlooking the Indian Ocean. The temples in Bali are built mainly by the volcanic frothy lava rocks that solidified over the years. Mostly black and shades of grey, the temples are not painted and retained the original rustic look.

 

Lava Rocks that we brought back as Souvenirs

Overall, we had no doubts on why this was the most visited and photographed place in Bali. Its best to go during sunset or sunrise, to capture the varying hues of the sky, sun rays and the shadow play, amidst the temple and ocean.  This place is so beautiful and magical, and that’s why comes up as the top attraction when you Google Bali. We posed for the cameras, we had the temple, sky and the ocean in the background and made wonderful memories  to cherish. We collected some lava rocks to bring back as souvenirs. Quenched our thirst with tender coconut and continued our journey towards the beach resort.

 

Babes posing in front of Tanah Lot

When Vincy coaxed me to write about this place, I got reminded of mentioning that there should be a blog about Tanah Lot, in the guest Nyepi blog. Little did I know that, I would get to write it and virtually relive the day. This again is a picture heavy post.

Pura Besakih

All temples in Bali are Unique and Pura Besakih is different because of its sheer size, area and number of temple structures within its complex.

Kevin, our guide, did mention there are around 23 temples within its complex and each of these temples are for different castes and they have their own festivals, culminating to more than 70 festivals a year.  This is an ancient temple, built a millennium ago, and is open to all castes in Bali, which is rare.

Pura Besakih is also the largest, most Holy Hindu Balinese temple and is referred as "Mother temple of Bali". It gets its name from the village it is located in and is in the slope of Mount Agung, which is an active volcano with its last eruption in November 2017.  It has also wrecked havoc in this area earlier, when it started spewing lava and only Pura Besakih was spared, with the lava coming close to a few meters of the temple.  The Balinese consider this a miracle and attribute it to the power of their deities.

The village road leading to Pura Besakih

We stopped at a tiny town shopping place and Kevin got us to walk into a street that led to Pura Besakih. At one the official looking buildings, ostenbily belonging to the temple, we were given bright silk Sarongs ( we picked blue) and long vibrant umbrellas.  By  then it was beginning to drizzle a bit and we had a cloudy sky threatening to open up anytime. The street itself was scenic with paddies, Mount Agung in the background and lots of greenery.  We loved those typical Balinese village houses on the street.

Babes ( with the bikes we traveled in the background)

That's when Kevin told us something interesting.  Since it is an uphill climb to the temple which is on the slope of a Agung, and large vehicles are not allowed on the street leading to the temple complex, each of will be ferried on a motorcycle to the temple, including Kevin.  As he finished saying this, a group of 5 musketeers on bikes came vrooming in front of us, excitement writ large on their broad smiles, and we rode pillion with those guys up to the temple.

It was fun to wave at one another on those bikes, while those men tried to overtaking  each other (probably to impress us) and we felt literally like school girls as we traveled a short distance to the temple.  And you know what, this whole thing was part of the package. In all that excitement of getting on a bike, we missed taking pictures.  * Sigh*

Babes wrapped in Sarongs with the Pura Besakih in the background

Child hawkers

This is also one place we met few hawkers and sadly all of them were children. As mothers we really felt sad for them. We also had to go with a new guide from the village as external guides like Kevin were not allowed. The new guide was quite reluctant and we couldn't decipher what he was speaking either.

The Candi Bentar of this temple had the largest flight of stairs among all the temples that we visited and we did a lot of stair climbing within the temple complex, although we weren't allowed into the sanctum to offer prayers.  Though Jay wasn't worried, Sudha still reminds me how she asked some people in the temple about she being a Hindu devotee and why she was not allowed in.  We were told that "foreigners are not allowed for worship".

The babes on the largest flight of stairs with the Candi Bentar in the background

Babes and Dwarapalakas draped in Sarongs.  The next day was Nyepi day and the temple gets a festive look

One of the many Meru's at Pura Besakih

The main highlight here for us were the stepped terraces and flights of stairs which ascend to a number of courtyards and brick gateways that in turn lead up to the main spire or Meru structure. There are so many of them made of special grass like material and some of these spires had moss grown extensively on it which made them look even more beautiful.  The multi tiered thatched roofs are the most recognizable feature of the Meru Towers.  The number of roofs is always odd and reflects the status of the deity to whom the shrine is dedicated.  The lowest Meru contains three tiers, while the most prestigious one contains upto 11 tiers.  Pura Besakih is the only temple where we noticed this many Meru towers signifying the importance of the temple.

Look at the number of Meru's at Pura Besakih

Heart warming Love

We all have little stories and anecdotes that fill up our days and lives – big, small, silly, significant, humorous, insightful, inspiring and probably some stories that we may not want to tell anyone. The list is endless.  Here's a little heart-warming one, I have got to tell you.

BTW,  Conveying anything comprehensively is a big challenge for me, anyways, I will give it a try.

Alma, J’s niece is in my life for the last 23 years.  We share a special bond, which has grown stronger over a period of time.  Anshu is Alma’s baby girl, an American Citizen, new to India, but pretty soon have got very fond of all of us.

I am in the process of making sure the new set of babies in our family call us by the traditional names rather than an insignificant Uncle and Aunty, meaningless references to relationships that we have lapped up from our erstwhile colonial era.  Quite successful with Anshu, she actually calls me Vincy Ammama – which literally means Vincy Granny.  I love the way she calls me Ammama, and also the way some eyebrows go up, as many in our clan do not want to be called a granny, especially women, when they are supposedly young.

I get to see Anshu rarely as she lives in Bangalore. Alma’s mom, describes how Anshu asks for me quite often, and recognises me from the pictures in their mobiles. Doesn’t it feel nice to be remembered by a tiny-tot?

She is a June born too and we celebrated her 2^nd birthday recently and is just about beginning to make sentences and speak.  Last week, Chechi, Alma's mom,  tells me that Anshu has been taught a prayer which she recites everyday – it’s a simple, God bless Nanna ( her father) and Mamma and she lists all her father’s side people and Alma’s side people. Apparently during a recent  prayer, after she lists all the people that she has been taught to include, little Anshu says, God bless Vincy ammama, a name that she has included on her own.

I heard that and felt as if I melted into a mass of Jelly and plopped down like a large blob. You know what, I am still wobbling from all that unadulterated and immaculate love from a two year old toddler.

Pura Tirta Empul

Look at the astonishing ornate stone work - Babes in the front yard of Tirta Empul

Our next stop in  Bali on the second day of setting foot in the beautiful land of Gods was yet another Hindu Balinese temple which is known as Holy spring water Temple aka Pura Tirta Empul.

Rich in its heritage this temple also had opulent stone artwork reminding us of the culture, practices and the age-old Balinese kingdoms that ruled Bali.  

This temple was built around 960 AD and is a national cultural heritage site.  And there was so much water and water sources in this temple that, unequivocally did justice to the name of the temple.

Like every other temple in Bali, Pura Tirta Empul, also had a Split Gateway also called as the Candi Bentar.  This is a classical Balinese Gateway, split perfectly into two, symmetrically,  creating a passage for people to walk through.  We must have seen hundreds of these split Gateways all through our travel in Bali and we have taken so many pictures in front of them.  The Candi Bentar is usually in an elevated place with a flight of stairs taking the people to it and acts as an boundary between the outer world and the inner realm of an Hindu temple.

The four of us with Tirta Empul's Candi Bentar in the background

This temple had stricter dress codes for both men and women, and we were instructed to tie our hair, ( we were strictly not allowed to open out our hair, however short it was and they provided us with bands that helped us tie our hair)  and we had to wear a traditional wrap, as you see in the pictures,  around our lower body,  which all of us liked so much, and it was called “Karmen”.  Just like a Sarong, this one is more ornate. Women during their periods are not allowed into the temple and they can only be in the outer perimeter of the temples.

The four of us again - Zig Zag posing ( notice all of us adhering to the dress codes of the temple?)

The sculpted water spouts used for purification

After adorning ourselves with the Karmen and tying up our hair, We walked through lush gardens with tropical plants, to the entrance and passed through the Candi Bentar. 

As is common with Balinese temples, Pura Tirta Empul had three complexes, the front courtyard, the central and the inner courtyard.  The front courtyard is a vast walled one, welcoming us to the bathing pools.  The central courtyard has a rectangular purification bath, with 13 elaborately sculpted spouts, that line the edge of the wall.  We saw numerous  foreigners who had their hands pressed together solemnly offering prayers and bowing under the gushing water spouts starting from 1 to 11.  The last two are meant for purification purposes in funerary rites. ( Thanks to our Guide Kevin, we would get these inputs intermittently).

The water was crystal clear and the ground of the tank was layered with pebbles and it was such a pleasant sight. It was a hot day and though we were tempted to get down into the water, in the purifying tank, we held our horses, as we didn’t have much time to change and we had a long day ahead and a lot more places to cover.

Sudha during  her purification process

This is where Sudha started chanting mantras and she purified herself by sprinkling some water on her head, while we all watched the foreigners (mostly westerners) in awe at their sincerity in prayers. There were groups of them who had a Hindu priest (obviously!) with them and were chanting prayers religiously. Oh not just that – we also clicked some pictures of some westerners who had elaborate colourful tattoos on their entire upper bodies.

Look at that elaborate and artistic Tattooed body!

Curative  holy water spring!

The water here is supposedly curative and  purifying and we also went to the inner courtyard that also has a ground water spring which kept spewing water gently and deliberately that it created nice water ripples that we could watch. This bubbling spring was totally walled and we had to see from a distance, but the view was worth it. Never seen an active underwater spring before.

Falling in love with the Gargoyles of Bali.

Pura Tirta Empul also has a Presidential palace to its right and somehow the modern concrete structure, albeit its beauty, didn’t sync with the traditional ambiance and  architecture of the temple.  Thankfully the presidential palace was on the right side, on a higher plane and was unobtrusive to the temple view from wherever we were.

I realised, every temple visit in Bali, expanded my perspective of religion, and helped me broaden my horizons about the oneness of the concept of God.