Our day 3 continues (from Part 1) ..

Our next destination was a pura (temple). Before we could enter the pura, we are required to cover our body especially from the waist downward. According to Putu, body parts below the waist are considered impure hence before you could serve the gods it must be covered. The sarong or the clothes is tied on the waistline. This symbolizes any impurities will not ascend to the upper body to defile the mind and the heart.

The beautiful architecture of the pura amazed me. Man worked together to build the altar and huge offerings. The woman would bring personal offerings from their homes. Putu went on to explain that a pura starts from home in the form of family altar, to community temple and the biggest temple in Bali called Pura Agung where annual events are being held attracting Hindus from all parts of the world.

Lunch was at Kintamani, a town perched on the edge of a volcano’s rim offering panoramic views of a still active volcano. Its chill temperature, lush green and its old town somehow reminds me of Cameron Highlands. The locals are very smooth when it comes to selling their products. A piece of advice, if you’re not interested politely decline with a “terima kasih”. Do not fall prey into their two cents sad faces.

After the buffet lunch at Kintamani, Putu invited us to taste Bali’s home brewed coffee. The coffee making process is similar to what my late simuk (grandma) used to do. Coffee cherries are hand picked, dried on slow fire and then pounded into powder form.

I really admire the way the Balinese people doing business. They are very enterprising and have a unique way treating their customers which in the process, they get to market their products successfully. Almost every corner of a village would sell something. This coffee orchard for instance, offers free sampling of their coffee to their customers. Besides their signature thick Balinese coffee, homemade cocoa, ginger tea and lemon grass tea are also being offered. This is typical scenario in most places. A customer comes in, they offer drinks or water, attentively entertain the customer and advise them with product information. If a customer likes the product, they buy it. If they don’t, customer can politely turn it down. The traders are not offended. Try doing that in Petaling Street and see what will happen …

Our next destination was the rice terrace. Sadly, harvest season had just passed hence the terrace was not as green as I would have expected. The old men we spoke to explained that he receives incentives from the government for his paddy fields. Paddy is harvested three times a year in Bali. In a couple of weeks time, the old men will start planting his paddy again.

We concluded our day three exploration at Jimbaran, watching the sun sets. This once quiet fishing village lies on the southern peninsular of Bali and its beach is popular for stretches of restaurants offering fresh seafood.

As soon as it gets dark, we proceed to order our fresh seafood. For grilled lobster, prawns, snapper and veges it cost us only Rp825.700 (~RM300).

On the last night, we had to move hotel because Hard Rock was full. We stayed at AirAsia’s recommended hotel, 3-star Balisani Padma Hotel at Jln Legian Utara. It’s not a great hotel and I’d personally rate it a 2-star. The door has wooden door with a sling lock from the inside and a padlock from the outside. If a terrorist is to raid the room, they can do it with one kick only. Peeping tom can actually snoop through the door and this is the kind of hotel that would produce another Dr. Chua DVD.

Our Bali trip posting ends here. I will write two more postings related to Bali but that is more of a food review. Bali indeed is a lovely destination for holidaymakers especially for honeymooning. It certainly will not be our last visit to the island.

 Email This Post . This entry was posted on Friday, January 4th, 2008 at 12:24 am and is filed under Photography, Travel & Adventure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.