An Adventure in Beautiful Bali

Sylvain, you are probably correct. And I really don't think it is worth too much extra effort. Ha Ha...here I am imposing my artistic taste on an unsuspecting public. However I am so pleased that you are enjoying the pictures. I've noticed that the "view count" is still going up, so I will post the next batch.

Today we are visiting a quite mysterious place called Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave). After decending hundreds of steep stairs from the parking area we come to this sacred place believed to have been a retreat for eleventh century Hindu priests, while at the same time being an area of devotion for Buddhists.

The entire area surrounding the cave is lush and beautiful. Local men and women pick up the occasional tourist trash, broken branches and any agri-detrius that would mar the aura of the compound. It is so far below street level that most sound is effectively dampened...even tourist chatter is extremely muffled...spooky and spiritual all at the same time.

One of several waterfalls that can be seen on your descent to the compound.

Here is the cave itself, and in front you can see part of the bathing pool whose ancient fountains hint of past elegance and beauty while dominating the courtyard. The gaping mouth of the doorway is said to represent the earth god Bhoma. Early visitors thought it resembled an elephan'ts head, which is how the cave got its modern name.

This message was edited Jun 23, 2009 11:18 AM

Local men and women would have bathed in one of these segregated pools to cleanse themselves before making offerings or prayers. The water still flows, but these pools are now maintained for ornamental purposes only, no bathing.

This monstrous image was two fold in purpose...at least that is what the mythology says. 1) It's ferocious aspect scares away any evil spirits lurking nearby and 2) pilgrims were immediately aware that they were entering a different, holier world. Here Gede and I prepare to enter.

The interior is dark, with only an occasional light crudely hung from the hand carved cave - actually a series of cells placed in a T-shape, probably used as meditation or sleeping quarters for priests or ascetics. Here Gede and I are preparing an offering at a statue of Ganesha.

Offerings in front of three lingga - phallic emblems of the god Siwa.

After leaving the cave, it is pleasant to wander the grounds...they are soothing and beautiful...

and you will see Buddah images carved into huge fragments of rock...waterfalls, and remnants of Hindu statues...an interesting, spiritual place that leaves quite an impression.

Most people live on a lonely island,
Lost in the middle of a foggy sea.
Most people long for another island,
One where they know they will like to be.


Bali Ha'i may call you,
Any night, any day,
In your heart, you'll hear it call you:
"Come away...Come away."


Bali Ha'i will whisper
In the wind of the sea:
"Here am I, your special island!
Come to me, come to me!"


Your own special hopes,
Your own special dreams,
Bloom on the hillside
And shine in the streams.
If you try, you'll find me
Where the sky meets the sea.
"Here am I your special island
Come to me, Come to me."


Bali Ha'i, Bali Ha'i, Bali Ha'i!

Ahhh, my favorite song from the movie that started my love affair with the Pacific Islands. Thank you Christi!

Yokwe,
Shari

Well now...after visiting what people called the "Elephant Cave", what would be more natural than to go visit some living breathing elephants? We knew we were getting close when we came upon this sign:

Here we are at the Elephant Safari Park, home to 19 Sumatran elephants. This park is the result of an idea hatched by the man behind the Bali Adventure Tours company. His plan was to rescue Sumatran elephants that had been trained to work in the logging industry but were then abandoned when the idustry declined. (There are no wild elephants in Bali). The elephants and their pawhan's (mahout's) were brought to Bali and now look healthy and well cared for.

This little guy and another - a girl - were both born in March. Obviously the park is doing something wonderfully right!

There are shows daily during which the elephants paint, play the harmonica and give each other showers, but JB and I just wanted to ride these wonderful creatures. Mine was "Boris", and JB's was "Rhama". The drivers are friendly, very willing to tell all about the lives the elephants have lived, how they came to be in Bali, etc.

First we toured the enclosed part of the Park...a beautifully landscaped area with grassy fields, pools, a restaurant, gift shop, and many beautiful flowers.

Then we entered the forest area, of course Rhama opened the gate since he was in front, and then Boris closed it behind us.

This coffee plant is just one of many in this forest, there were also lots of little farms, mostly chickens and pigs, but JB had the camera most of the time, so we got more pics like these next couple.

This spider was huge! As big as your hand! And naturally Boris decided he had to stop for a snack right under it! I think it was a plot...JB was in front, he had raved about this "cool thing" I had to see, and when we got there and Boris heard me "oh, yuck, gross, get me outta here"ing, he figured that meant "stop for a rest".

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this is what we were walking through. Rhama would pull down a branch of something and tear it up to munch. Then Boris would come along and munch on whatever Rhama had left.

Ooops! the spider pic didn't show...I'll try again.

Again...a huge spider. Can you tell that JB likes spidery critters? NOT ME! I was ducking and swearving and my driver was having a great time laughing at me!

Evenually...after about 45 minutes, we came out of the jungle and the elephants headed straight to this pool where their buddies were hanging out. It was pretty neat, when we first got in we were right in the middle of all these other elephant bodies and could pet them, and they were checking us out with their trunks for any goodies...

Just in case you couldn't tell by the look on my face...I was having a blast!!!

Then we went over to play with the babies some more...Mom's were very protective, but the pawhan's would push them out of the way so the babies could come over by us.

Before we left the park, we just wandered around and admired all the beautiful trees and flowers...

And on this note, I will leave you for the day. Enjoy the tour, and I'll see you tomorrow!

Yokwe,
Shari

Salamat siang! Today we are visiting a few different places. The first is an area of Kusamba where we learn how salt is reclaimed from the sea. This is one of the most back-breaking occupations on the islands, and not many people still do it, but this gentleman and his family graciously showed us the process. The body of water in this photo is the Indian Ocean, and this clear patch of black sand is where vast quantities of water are hauled in from the ocean in buckets and dumped to begin the evaporation process.

When the water has evaporated, the salty, sandy residue is placed in hollowed out palm tree trunks and mixed with more sea water. There were a series of these trunks, each with a filter on the end leading to the next one. The water becomes saturated with salt and a very thick brine is poured off.

This shot is of some of the tools "of the trade"...buckets, hollowed out palm trunk basins...doesn't look easy, does it?

After the brine has been filtered down, it is carried to these troughs made again of hollowed out palm trees. Here it sits until the water evaporates again and the salt crystals can be scooped up, bagged and carried to market. The restaurants and hotels use more modernly processed salt, but you can still find bags of salt, processed just like this in the street markets around Bali.

This family using the troughs you see here, produces approx. 25 kg a day. Of course rain and high tides can halt the production, and cloudy days definately slow things down, so this is not an industry that will make anyone wealthy.

But these children didn't know they weren't wealthy. We shared a bag of mangosteens with these adorable kids,(they acted like we were giving them treasures!), played a little catch, and sat in the shade with Mom for about an hour before we went on our way.

The next stop on our Bali tour is the temple at Goa Lawah or The Bat Cave. No superheros here, but please note the golden bat at the top of the center pillar.

I think the bat is clearer on this one. No one seems to be quite sure, but it is estimated that this temple was founded somewhere around 1007. It is very small, by Balinese standards, but also much beloved by the Balinese people, being one of the nine directional temples. This one is dedicated to the southeast, and you can see people stopping their cars throughout the day to leave offerings at the streetside shrines.

The grounds are once again, beautifully maintained. Clean and lovingly landscaped, it is a pleasant walk to the temple and cave areas.

Here you can see the usual 9 or 11 tiered columns, and the bell tower to call people to prayer.

Even the trees are given their lovingly maintained "dressing" of the black and white sarongs...symbalizing balance - ying and yang - good and evil.

In this shot of one of the smaller structures within the temple area, you can see just how thickly the palm bark thatch is applied. The paint on these structures is restored every ten or so years, but the thatch won't have to be replace for 50 or 60 years!