Uluwatu, a simply not-to-miss

“Ooo la la, a breathtaking sight to behold”, I exclaim in glee (of course I wasn’t jumping up and down but rather in a quiet manner). My husband was stunned to be perched up on the cliff while being slapped by the breeze on the brink of the azure hued Indian Ocean. A sense of serenity surrounded us for a moment. There was silence followed by a reluctance to leave the place.

This was how I felt when I first got there at Uluwatu temple which is known for its spectacular shrine, amazing beach as surfing site and fabulous scenery of the cliff at the edge directly overlooking into the sea. It was not only a splendor at first glance but with a sacred aura encircling around us, it was totally epic.  Also the panoramic view of the God’s miracles is felt here. I stood in the plateau in sheer silence with my eyes gazing wide into the horizon with shades of turquoise skyline and white clouds floating around while sounds of the whirling waves that slam the rocks entertain my senses from the 250 feet below me. There was a calming effect to see the waves retreating into the ocean by leaving behind the little traces of white bubbles disappearing after awhile. A surge of serenity was felt within me for a moment. I think my husband felt the same as his glance was fixated on the beautiful endless ocean for a long time. Beyond doubt, this place would be every photographer’s desired spot for their portfolios. 

It was a bright sunny day as we made our way to the steep valley on the west of Pecatu village of Kuta district towards the Uluwatu shrine stands majestically at an altitude of 1997 meters above sea level on a stone bridge jutting into the glistening blue sea on the southwestern tip of Bali Island. A spectacular vista in which the temple hangs right over the edge. The sacred abode is made up of black coral and ancient rock formation marvels any tourist at a first glance. The walkway just before we reach the temple is quite scary due to the nuisance of the monkeys along the route. According to our tour guide, the monkeys are attracted to snatch away spectacles or sunglasses, handbags, hats and anything else they can get their hands on. I decided to keep away my sunglass but still cling into my handbag. Ha-ha. It was believed that the monkeys are guarding the temple. I was feeling slightly panicky but with my husband by my side and the Madhey; it was not so bad after all. By the way, the monkeys were huge and quite aggressive looking!

 Soon after, we were welcome by Ganesha statues flanking the arched gateway. Every temple we visited, there was rather unique architecture of the temple structure, the walls, or even the statues. It can be an intricate carving of the building or the art of the Bali’s mythological menageries; it just screams for exclusive work of art that is worth mentioning. On the other hand, I was more fascinated by the ambiance which of my interest. An astounding sunset that one should not miss, the cool breeze, or even the beauty of the natural landscape, it just gets to the bottom of my heart.     

So what’s so special about this temple? I was curious to know. According to Madhey, Uluwatu is one of the oldest shrines in Bali which is deemed to guard Bali from the sea spirits which was found along the coast of Bali. Back in 11^th century, this temple was established as a place of worship by a holy priest named Empu Kuturan who disseminated the teachings of indigenous village with all the rules. The famous Javanese priest Nirartha (the one founded the Tanah Lot temple) who end his journey at Uluwatu for his final days where he attained Moksha (freedom from earthly desires) while meditating. Hence, this place was deemed to be sacred by the kings in the past. The temple's revered custodians, along with hundreds of nobles, devotees, and priests conduct a festival every seven months that celebrates the importance of Uluwatu temple to the whole of Bali with elegant rituals meant to bless all residents of and visitors to Uluwatu temple and town. 

One of the Hindu teachings encompasses the life after death. It is believed that the life after death have diverged into two facet; heaven and hell. Heaven or Sorgham is promise of goodness while on the other hand; hell is a gateway to anguish. One cannot embrace themselves into Sorgham unless they have completed their duties and fulfilled their religious attainments by attaining liberation from earthly desires called Moksha. Moksha is also believed to be body sublimation by disappearing from the world without leaving their physical body. This could possibly explain how Nirartha disappearance episode in Bali could have taken place.  

Between the relaxing walk above, and savoring the tranquility of the shrine, Uluwatu is a place that encourages relaxation, contemplation, and the enjoyment of life's simple pleasures. Beautiful views and nature's wonders are nowhere more prevalent than here, in enchanting Uluwatu.

Balinese Coffee- A must try for coffee lovers

As I sit here in my cubicle, with the chill atmosphere (it is air-conditioned to the bones), eyes fixated on the laptop screen, mind working out my self-appraisals for year-end performance and I must say I need to sip on mugs of coffee at regular interval to keep me energized the whole day. Out of nowhere, my mind drifted to the thoughts of the famous Balinese coffee that made me long for it suddenly.

During my trip to Bali, I was excited on the sight of coffee farm visit on my travel itinerary. My tourist guide took me to a coffee farm on our way down from Kintamani. Bali has the one of the worlds most expensive and low-production coffee known as the Kopi Luwak or Civet coffee. Yes! The name elucidates that this coffee is made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the civets, then passed through their digestive tract which comes out in their feces. Sounds gross right! That’s how I felt and it was unappetizing to me. 

 The farm had two civets and according to the farm supervisor, the civets are very selective when it comes to picking the coffee beans to be consumed. Usually it only chooses the ripen, red coffee beans for their consumption. I bet they are expert in detecting the ripen coffee beans merely by the color changes of the fruit coat. To my surprise, this Coffee Luwak is pricey due to their low production. It was utter disgust for me when the thought of coffee bean collected from the feces of the civet cats that kept me feeling queasiness. 

 However, I must appreciate the beauty of the natural surroundings. The farm had huge bats, parrots, dogs and also home to various spices. I was enthralled by the fresh breeze coupled with a serenity of the place that captured my attention so much so that I was admiring the vista while enjoying sips of free coffee served at the coffee farm itself. Something I always love doing in the comfort of my home.  A must try for all coffee lovers. The variety of coffee gives us the rhapsody of the senses- Luwak coffee (Oh gross, I refused to taste it), Ginger tea (very rich in taste), chocolate ginger (it wasn’t a good combination to me simply because both chocolate and ginger are overpowering taste by itself), lemon tea (Very uplifting & it was my personal favorite) and Bali coffee (it is very coffeeish and powdery but I liked it anyway). By the end of the coffee tasting session, we end up in their patio-based shop and bought back few packets of Bali coffee as souvenirs.
 

Hate it or love it. Coffee lover never fails to drop by this farm in Bali. Guess what I and my hubby bid adieu to Bali with a cup of Bali coffee in the Ngurah Rai International Airport Café prior to our flight. Till we come back for more!

Barong dance truly an experience

Bali is famous for their exotic art and culture. One of it is definitely none other than the Barong dance. The Barong Dance is a powerful battle of good and evil and most well known in Bali. This dance is the classic example of Balinese way of acting out mythology, resulting in myth and history being blended into one reality.

There is a story line to the Barong dance, but really the dance is entertaining with a touch of sacredness imbued with the soul of Barong. The story is about Rangda battling against the King of Bali, Erlangga in the 10^th century. Erlangga seek the help of Barong to battle with Rangda and her strong black magic troops. Here the Barong battles the evil Rangda. Rangda uses magic spell to force the warriors to turn their knives on themselves. Instead, the warriors turn to Rangda and started attacking. This is when things get interesting. In the end, Barong triumph.

It is hard to tell what is going on during the dance show. To us, the dance is entertaining, mystic and an air of sacredness surrounds the stage. However to the Balinese people, this dance is an opportunity to keep the cosmos in balance. We can see the performers in masks and holding daggers stabbing themselves (for sure not hard) but the Barong’s magic protects the warriors from Rangda’s spell.

The masks of Barong and Rangda are considered sacred items, and before they are brought out, a priest must be present to offer blessings by sprinkling them with holy water taken from Mount Agung, and offerings must be presented. This is one show that is performed at various tourist attraction spots and one should not miss it.

I was actually slightly in a bundle of nerves when my husband urged me to go and take a snap with the dancers. Having a close-up shot with them was truly an experience. But the dancers look very bloodcurdling with their ruffian look masks, make-up and costumes that tickled my feelings for awhile. It is a great show, though...

Tanah Lot: A paradise on earth

One of the places most visited in Bali is none other than Pura (Hindu temple) Tanah Lot which swept me off my feet when I first caught a glimpse of the breathtaking panorama. It was such a beautiful sight to behold. Tanah Lot is one of the best attractions in Bali till today. This Balinese Hindu temple stands majestically in the middle of the sea and constantly hit by gushing waves from the Indian Ocean. It’s located in Tabanan, about 20km from Denpasar. Pura Tanah Lot is famous for not only the sea shrine which is guardian gods of the sea but also the sacred snake said to be guarding the temple in a cave on the mainland. This temple has been part of Balinese mythology for centuries.

It was believed that Pura Tanah Lot was built in the 15th century by a priest named Nirartha. The priest was travelling along the south coast of the Indian Ocean when he caught a glimpse of the rock-island’s beautiful surroundings and decided to rest there. Some fishermen saw him, and brought him gifts that persuaded him to spend the night on the lovely island. Before he left the next day, he told the fishermen to build a shrine on the rock because he felt it to be a holy place to worship Balinese sea gods. Till today there is holy spring water that arises beneath the rocks which is deem to be sacred and guarded by priests. I and Raj got our blessings from the priest there sprinkling the holy water, some rice grains (Bija) pressed onto our foreheads with some Frangipani flowers.

The uniqueness of this temple compared to the rest is, the entire temple is surrounded by seawater during high tide. But on days of low tide, you can easily walk to temple. A giant snake purportedly protects the temple, which was created from Nirartha scarf when he established the island. The legacy of Tanah Lot believes that the snakes protect the temple from evil spirits. Therefore local people pay a great respect to the snakes. Even though this place has already been heavily flocked with tourists and shops, but its true beauty never ceases to amaze people from those who merely seek for pleasure to the ones who are searching for profound meaning of this very place.

We were told by our tourist guide that one of the best moments to go to Tanah Lot is during sunset. However that day we had plans to watch sunset at Jimbaran Bay with delicious seafood, so we did not stay longer. There were many stalls along the way from the entrance till the exit of the temple. Varieties of souvenirs, wood sculptures, stone art, batik attires, and food stalls were tempting as you know being a woman, it’s my natural flair to love to shop around but I had not much time for this and not much of a choice to overspent my cash. On the whole, I felt like I was in a paradise on earth.

Kintamani, A place to remember

Kintamani is the most favorite tourist destinations in Bali with the active volcano of mount Batur and beautiful lake. We were told by our tourist guide Madhey that Kintamani which was famous for its captivating atmosphere were surrounded with six ancient villages around cauldron of Batur Lake. The local people hailing from these Bali Age villages preserves the unique culture and life style of Bali till today. The Balinese heritage is something to be admired and treasured. A beautiful culture that keeps me and my hubby, Raj fascinated to listen more about the distinct cultural practices that our tourist guide narrates from time to time.

Kintamani is located at the north of the Bali Island. Madhey drove us up all the way to view the volcano Mount Batur while relishing our lunch treat in one of the restaurant named 'Grand Puncak Sari'.

The Grand Puncak Sari Restaurant is located about 700 meters from the entrance of Kintamani. The beauty of the restaurant lies in the dining concept which offers open air atmosphere as well as closed ambiance sitting. The lunch was a buffet style whereby I and Raj enjoyed it while admiring the panorama of Mount Batur volcano. We didn’t get the open air sitting facing the landscape so we decided to battle with fork and spoons inside the restaurant. However, we grabbed a cup of freshly brewed Balinese coffee and dash out to the open area to catch a glimpse of the scenic. Indeed it has magnificent view of Mount Batur undeniably. Awesome!

Savoring the magnificent view while having your lunch

It was one of the little blessings that I experienced together with my love of life. Hot and rich aroma of coffee ignites my senses and tantalizes my feelings of serenity for a moment. I must say the Balinese Coffee gets thumbs up for its exotic taste. The weather at Kintamani is cool with temperature about 23°C. The chilly breeze gave a refreshed spirit for us both to embark on our next journey. Indeed I could barely walk away from that place. It took my breath away.

Source: BayBali.com

 I can imagine how nice if we put a night at the hotel here. Besides savoring in the cool atmosphere at night, there must be other exciting activity to look out for. I and Raj captured few shots of the gorgeous Mount Batur and Lake Batur while still fixated with lingering thoughts and view of the volcano. We were still eager to find better view of the volcano and Madhey took us to another point to get few snapshots of it. This time, we were close to the lake somehow and we could see villages bordered the area.We both told ourselves that we should return to this place someday. A beautiful magnum opus of God.

Euphoric Moments

Isn’t it a boon for us if we could celebrate birthday of our loved ones together? It was the best birthday gift I can ask for. My hubby and myself are born just 2 days apart (year of birth is different of course). What? Many of my friends and even family are surprised to know the fact we are both February babies and celebrating our birthdays one after another. Raj’s birthday falls on the 7th whilst mine is on the 9th of February. This year, both our birthdays was extra special because we both just tied our knots and were on honeymoon.

The travel agency that we booked for our honeymoon in Bali made a sweet surprise by treating us with a beautiful sunset view for our eyes and tantalizing our taste buds with delicious seafood at Jimbaran Bay. It was the best birthday celebration I’ve ever had. Sunset is the one of the most magnificent panorama of God’s creation, which we tend to take for granted.

I and Raj loves the beauty of nature. Raj has stunned me with his fascination towards love of nature once when he actually brought me to gaze the full moon and its shadow over the ocean in Penang. That was when I realized we both share the similar passion.

It was a memorable moment to capture the splendor of nature as the Sun began it’s descend across the beautiful ocean watched by hundreds of onlookers sitting comfortably along the shores while savoring on the welcome drinks offered by the restaurant. The magical moments was more precious with the presence of local Balinese bands singing away famous melodious English songs to entertain the sunset spectators from all walks of life. Everyone was there for a simple reason; to admire the brilliant sunset.

I don’t know about the rest, but for me it was a euphoric moment for me to be holding hands with the man I love so much and watching the performance of nature. It was spectacular in sight to see the bright hues of sun gradually vanishing into the twilight of darkness.
It was so surreal. And I am still dreaming. I and Raj planned for a comeback to this place for more romantic getaways. I know the best is yet to come.

Remembering my honeymoon trip to Bali

I remembered about my honeymoon trip to Bali, after our wedding reception on 4th February 2012. It was a trip I will never forget. It was the only trip so far for me (Raj has travelled on business trip to US and China several times before), where I forgot about everything, and immersed myself in a holiday with my husband. I just kicked off every detail from my mind momentarily and made a vow to savor in the celebration of my wedding (even though it was still worrying me at the back of my mind).

I have to admit, it is the only holiday I keep thinking about, as it was my first overseas holiday. It was the most anticipated trip that I have longed for with my husband. And it was indeed a memorable one.

I gave the privilege to select and book the honeymoon package to my husband since I know he makes brilliant choices when it comes to romantic getaway and gifts for me (from the early of our relationship). He told me he engaged Hasani Travel Agency for the honeymoon package which had Goodway Hotel & Resort in Bali as our home stay, the resort accommodations & facilities are superbly suitable for newly-wedded couples. It was quiet, away from hustle & bustle of the cities, remote, absolutely beautiful, and was oozing with Balinese architecture. Words cannot describe the unique & tranquil experience I had there. The remoteness is perfect for people who want to forget everything, and enjoy ourselves. I & Raj were pampered in a luxurious setting which was awesome. Ooo la la............ A heavenly feeling to be in a romantic getaway with my darling too.

Below is a chronology of the trip:

6th/Feb/2012
- Landed in Ngurah Rai Bali airport- Departed (driver pickup) to Malioboro in Denpasar to have our lunch
– The tourist guide brought us to our Goodway Hotel & Resort for check-in and refreshment– Visited to Garuda Wishnu Kenchana Cultural Park (GWK). Here we were entertained by the famous Tarian Kecak and tour around the Wishnu huge statue- Had our dinner at the restaurant at GWK and entertained by their musicians with variety of melodious beats
– Back to our hotel suite and relaxed

7th/Feb/2012
- Wake up (Had a sound and heavenly sleep since my wedding)– Had our breakfast at our hotel – Departed to TohPati Village home to Bali Batik Industry to see the batik making and also the gallery showcasing various Batik products and souvenirs – Arrived at Celuk Village to observe silversmith, making fine silver jewelry (in Balinese style). Ubud art village also houses the famous fine wood carving industry
– Visited the temple in Batuan and was impressed by their religious belief and ancient statue from B.C era– Headed towards Kintamani for our lunch. Kintamani is located in the hill which picturizes the splendor of the famous Volcanic Mountain Batur and the lake Batur. We can see beautiful panorama from Kintamani to overview the active volcano of Batur Mount and wide Lake of Batur in a valley. It is situated in the plateau area with cool weather surround it. When we stand up at Kintamani, we will be able to see the rural area which is close to the lake. This place is very femous and visited by many tourists every day. We get to sit and enjoy our food while savoring the beauty of it. One of my favorite spot. J
– Visited Agro Spice Garden to experience the traditional Bali coffee processing and delight a sip of variety of coffee in their lush green sanctuary. We get to see the civet cat which is famous for fermented Kopi Luwak.
– Our next visit was to an old temple in
– Enjoyed the picturesque rice terrace in Tegalalang Village for few moments before making way to our activity.
– Our tourist guide, Madhey brought us to Arum Spa & Aromatic for our Balinese aromatherapy massage in Seminyak, Denpasar region
After that we headed for a delicious Chinese food at Golden Palace Restaurant. By the time we reach our hotel room, it was already 9pm and all we could do was to relax and have a beer before we retire to bed

8th/Feb/2012
- departed from Goodway Hotel & Resort after our breakfast, to NusaDua beach. The breeze, bright sky and blue ocean made us excited. The NusaDua surrounded by several 5-star hotels and Mat Salleh’s surfing activity name Nusa Dua is derived from the two small islands to the east and about 20 minutes from the international airport, Ngurah Rai. It’s the most developed area in Bali.
-Today our travel agency arranged a typical Balinese food at Budesa restaurant near Kuta.
-Went on shopping in bustling Hawaii Bali around Nusa Dua area; it is a shopping mall where you can get tempted to get some souvenirs, batik cloth, and other stuffs to bring back home- Our next visit was to TanahLot Temple. The temple is built on the rock with 3 acre size and reachable in a few minute by walk, because it is just 20 meters from the coastal lip. This temple is very famous among tourist destinations in Bali with spectacular view of sunset. At some nooks of coral reef around Tanah Lot Temple there are holy tame snake in black and white color where according to the local society believe that it as a deity property and as the guard of the temple from the bad influence.- Upon walking down the temple, we headed to Jimbaran Bay to enjoy romantic seafood dinner on white sandy beach accompanied by local musicians singing away for us. We managed to catch a glimpse of the beautiful sunset.

9th/Feb/2012
- We had our lunch at fastfood outlet
- Visited Uluwatu temple - departed from Ngurah Rai Bali airport to KLIA at 7.45pm flight

It was such a memorable moment since it was our very first holiday together. I and my hubby await for another trip to Bali sometime later ......... :-)