Fai Quan
formerly known as "Prosaic Traveller"
Bali – The People
I found the Balinese people to have gentle personalities. This quiet persona was heartwarming to me.
Hawkers providing fresh fruit at the Tampak Siring Temple.
Hawkers providing snacks at the Besakih Temple.
We found all the construction work was very manual. Breaking up an old sidewalk was handled with old tools.
Garbage collection is hands on. No automated trucks here.
Digging for crabs. (I think)
Selling fresh fruit to passengers in cars waiting at a red light.
Ketut – our first Tour Guide. We thought he looked like Barack Obama.
Wayan – our second tour guide. He liked smoking clove cigarettes and shared a liqueur with Rod at the Spice Farm.
A priest at the Besakih Temple.
Musicians checking out a cell phone during the performance of the Barong and Kris Dance
Balinese heading to the Temple with their offerings. They follow their beliefs to the core.
School children on an outing
Penglipuran village children having fun
Fishing by the Bali Sea
A youngster mesmerized by the Barong and Kris Dance.
Two little girls practicing carrying things on their heads. The smaller one had a couple of upsets but in the end, she accomplished her goal.
Mother and chlld at Tampaksiring, “The Fountain of Youth” and Holy Spring
Sanur Beach
A man and his bike on the breakwater
Waiting for the sunset
As we waited for the sunset, a group of children invaded our area looking for crabs amongst the rocks. I found the children in Bali to be fearless. The idea of anything bad happening to them was foreign.
Teenage boys watching the sunset.
Bali – Barong and Kris Dance
Barong is a lion-like creature and character in the mythology of Bali, Indonesia. He is the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good, and enemy of Rangda, the demon queen and mother of all spirit guarders in the mythological traditions of Bali. The battle between Barong and Rangda is featured in Barong dance to represent the eternal battle between good and evil
Bali – Keeping the Evil Spirits Away
On one of our day tours, the bus carrying the load of passengers encountered a roadblock. The Balinese people felt the presence of an evil spirit so they lined the road with offerings hoping to keep the spirit away.
The detour the bus took led us to another blockade with the same goal. The passengers had to disembark and walk the kilometer to our destination.
Our first roadblock
Our first roadblock
Our second roadblock
Children giving us a friendly wave as walked to our destination.
Bali – Let’s eat
The freshest and most inexpensive food I ever had.
Mochachino coffee
Sanur Beach Hotel
Start of an excellent Italian meal
A typical meal consists of rice and small portions of meat and vegetables for about $5.
This became one of my favourites. Satay chicken with peanut sauce.
For $20, this meal for two included beer and wine.
Bali – Besakih Temple
The Besakih Temple is the biggest Hindu temple in Bali. It is located in southwest side bevel of mount Agung, the biggest mountains in Bali.
This Mother Temple is actually a complex made up of twenty-two temples that sit on parallel ridges. It has 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. All this is aligned along a single axis and designed to lead the spiritual person upward and closer to the mountain which is considered sacred.
A series of eruptions of Mount Agung in 1963, which killed approximately 1,700 people also threatened the temple. The lava flows missed the temple complex by mere meters. The saving of the temple is regarded by the Balinese people as miraculous, and a signal from the gods that they wished to demonstrate their power but not destroy the monument the Balinese faithful had erected.
Bali – A Popular Mode of Transportation
4 million people and 2.3 million motorbikes.
A typical scene on the streets of Bali. Motorbikes zip between cars at different rates of high speed. We never saw anything close to an accident. There is a general understanding amongst motorists. If someone appears to be cutting someone off, they just shrug it off and continue.
The home may not be in tip top shape, but as long as the motorbike is looking new, they are content.
The is a common sight. Families clinging to each other.
A street vendor moving his wares.
The average price of a motorbike is around $4500 CAD.
Bali – Sunrise, Sunset
I use to think that prairie sunrises and sunsets were the best in the world until I met Bali.
The sun will rise around 7:00 AM and the sun will set around 7:00 PM every day, 365 days of the year. The discovery of the sunrises were really by accident. Because our clocks were out of sync by about 12 hours, the first couple of days we were rising around 5:00 AM. Since our hotel was located right next to the beach, we wandered towards the sound of the ocean waves. We can see shadowy movements amongst the reclining beach chairs along the way. This was a morning ritual for these shadowy figures. They would come to the beach to watch the sunrise and now I know why.
Bali Sea
Our first morning sunrise
Calm waters
Low tide
Buoys
The sunset was just as beautiful. The locals would get together for a social swim and take in the moment. Not only watching the sunset making magic but observing the people spending this daily time together was memorable.
Sunset
Bali – Gerta Gosa
Gerta Gosa is also known as the Justice Hall of Bali.
Bali – Woodcarving
A woodcarver
Incredible detailed work
Women polishing the creation
A final result
Bali – Tampak Siring, The Fountain of Youth
Tampak Siring Temple is a holy spring water temple located in Tampak Siring Village, Gianyar regency and it is about 39 km eastwards from Denpasar town.
The wellspring emerges from the land is believed that it is the infinite creation.
Drenching yourself in this fountain would be a cleansing experience. Many would line up to the spout and after their dose, would get back into the line again.
Rows of lineups
Getting their dose
A priest preparing for a ceremony
Offerings
Temple building
Fai Quan 