p/s: As wifey and me went to a few places for sight-seeing, I am not able to recollect the sequences of the visiting. thus, whatever described below will not be in sequence but will try my very best to mentioned it accordingly.
Our first stop is to somewhere nearby (I don't know the actual name of the road or place) to watch the BARONG & KRIS DANCE. This is a dance to tell a story of an eternal fight between good and evil spirit. Barong (a mythological animal) represents a good spirit and Rangda (a mythological monster) represents an evil one.
Upon entering the place, everyone was been given a small little flower and the person giving out the flower will personally put it behind one of our ears for us. We also took a picture together and the picture was later being printed out and paste on a plate with stand for us to purchase as a souvenir. It was a nice gift to buy and keep for remembrance. Alright, time to get ourselves a seat and watch the dance.
The whole dance-story was divided into five different acts. The Barong looks very similar to our Chinese Lion-Dance animal except that it seems to be a combination of a few different animals... something like cross-breeds of animals. The whole dance was accompanied by great live sound effects by the musicians (left side of picture on top). Wifey was very attentive throughout the whole performance but some part of the story bored me as there were plenty of dialogues with no subtitles or translations available. Overall, the dance is great and special and both of us had enjoyed the moment together watching it.
Another place that we pay a short visit to is the batik factory. Batik has been both an art and a craft for centuries. In Indonesia, batik is part of an ancient tradition, and some of the finest batik cloth in the world is still made there. The batik factory we visited showcase many different items made from batik and also the myriad qualities of batik to suit different people. Wifey were looking through and choosing a suitable piece for my Mother-In-Law but were unable to locate a nice and affordable piece. So we left the place empty-handed without any purchases. But we did managed to see how batik was made and the skills of the ladies who drew the designs with their steady hands. It was indeed an eye-opening trip for a “mountain-tortoise” like me.
One of the places we visited today was the Bali Zoo. Although it sounds weird for us to visit the zoo considered that we have not visited our own Singapore Zoo for ages, it was one of the recommedation by our friendly chauffer. So here we go!!
One thing about Bali Zoo, it is very systematic. Guess that's why the entry price of the ticket is also systematic and high; USD$20.00 per person!! It's more expensive than our Singapore Zoo ticket!! Hope the price is worth it. From the brochure, there are lots of activties inside Bali Zoo, ranging from feeding the camels, riding the pony(for kids), cuddling the animals and feeding them. However, wifey and me are not going to participate in any of those as we do not wish to get furry and stinky, god knows how often these animals took their showers hahaa.
Once inside the zoo, wifey and me followed the only path there and started our journey. About 10 minutes later, I am pretty impressed with the layout of the zoo. It was not a bit like the zoo in Singapore I visited decades ago. In Bali, the zoo only has one path and this path will lead any tourists to see ALL the animals the zoo has. Unlike most tourist attractions, this is a really systematic path. Most places I've been to will be just an enclosed area for you to roam. Sometimes, a person has to enjoy an activity or show at one end and rush to the other end for the next performance, that is so chaotic and can be discouraging when the weather is hot. However, this zoo is so not like others and I do enjoy walking the path and seeing the animals though some really stink!!
One of the most memorable time in the zoo was when me and wifey were alone along the path. Wifey had pull me towards him and hold his camera high up and signal me to kiss him. We did a quick pose of us kissing mouth ot mouth and gosh... it was one of the sweetest moments I experienced in Bali. This is very touching for me as I know wifey had always been shy about public actions and for him to do this with me, it really melts me to the core. Muacks, love you my wifey.
One strange thing which I noticed and do not understand, there are lots of statues around places of interest in Bali that always show penis. Yes, the man's proud organ on his body, the penis! And all are erected, and hard, and definitely huge!! My cam-whoring wifey would not give up this chance to pose a picture with it. Damn, wish he is holding mine with that kind of happiness at night hahaha.
The zoo tour ended pretty fast, guess it's around 45 minutes and all the animals there were displayed. We enjoyed this tour in the zoo a lot. Maybe because we are walking together as a couple and there is a sense of belonging to someone, each other. Time to head for lunch at a speical place.
Right after the trip to see the animals, wifey and me headed to a nearby tourist attraction known as The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. The forest is really huge and there are more than just monkeys around here.
The forest is basically divided into 4 different areas where tourists can visit, namely the Bathing temple, Cremation Temple, Main Temple and a Deer Enclosure. Well, why is the forest not called either of the above but instead Monkey Forest?? Honestly, I do not know. Guess Monkey Forest came about as there are really lots and lots of wild monkeys all around the forest and if one has got food in their bags, the monkeys are bound to follow. They got really sharp noses.
Along the way, we can see many tourists having a good time with those monkeys, feeding them food and allowing the monkeys to climb all over their body for the food while they shoot pictures away. Well, that’s not what me and wifey had in mind as the monkeys do have a stench on them and we wouldn’t want to getting scratched by a monkey claw!!
As mentioned, the forest is huge and there is no proper signage to guide you where to go. It’s unlike the Bali Zoo earlier where there is only one path to lead you to see every single attractions within this forest. Me and wifey did not managed to get close to any deer enclosure after about an hour in the forest. Not that it will bother us though as we have seen our share in the zoo earlier. We did not visit some of the temples as it requires steps climbing.
However, one thing really worth commenting is the scenery at some parts of the forest. It is so nice that we just have to stopped and admire it and feel ourselves bonding with nature. It’s really amazing how the combination of different greens that are unattended for many many years can be so capturing and beautiful. Another amazing thing I noticed is statues. There are many statues, nice statues of course, mainly of monkeys, and a few of lizards. What puzzled me greatly is the showing off of penis of these monkey statues. Penis seems to be of great significance and importance (to men of cause) whenever it comes to making a statue in Bali. Even the zoo has a statue showing off a hard, erected, big size dick penis. And now even monkey statues show off huge, erected penis as well. Men must really be worshipped a lot here, especially those with big penis!!
Well, time for lunch and our tummies are grumbling already. The chauffeur had given us a good recommendation for lunch place. However, the trip to our lunch location took about 45 minutes to 60 minutes drive. Well, lots of time together holding hands and fondling each other in the car, not really a bad thing. Of course, we doze off after some time until we reached the place, Batur Sari Restaurant.
Batur Sari Restaurant is located at the top of Mount Batur. The restaurant has an open eating area which offers a good view of a volcano in Bali. The scenery of this volcano from the restaurant area is awesome, really awesome. Apart of the scenery, the air is terrific. It’s refreshing, better than waking up early morning. Best of all, it’s freaking cooling up there. Almost like staying in a hotel room blasted with 18 degrees Celsius air-con. If fact, me and wifey were both feeling chilly since we’re dressed in our cotton-on t-shirt, which is relatively thin. But, we were both happily laughing and smiling away having our lunch up there. It is almost paradise to us already with the fresh, cooling air, awesome scenery and delicious food the restaurant served.
After food, it’s another long way back down hill. This time, our chauffeur brought us to a market area (I forgot the name of the place) which resembles our Singapore Chinatown. It’s a place where different souvenirs and local products are sold for tourists to bring back to their hometown as memorial gifts. We started to walk around the place in search of possible gifts for our family and friends, and also for ourselves. After about an hour of searching, we managed to get some gifts for my Mother-In-Law, and also for wifey’s classmate Nad. Now to head for wifey’s very anticipated programme for the trip: Kecak Dance at Uluwatu Temple.
Uluwatu Temple is one of the many tourist attractions in Bali which one should not miss. The temple offer a performance dance known as Kecak Dance which involves a combination of ancient ritual, dance, and drama during sunset setting on a cliff. This dance is accompanied by a choir of chanting and singing men, making it one of the most spectacular dance performances imaginable.
Upon entering the temple, both of us had to rent a piece of cloth to tie around us from waist down. This is the minimum that all tourists had to do showing the temple their respect. It’s kind of fun actually as it’s like wearing a sarong and that’s the first time I wore something like that. Feels kind of funny but cool.
The scenery along the way leading to the “stage” is fantastic. We can see the sunset just at the back of us and also see the waves hitting against the foot of the temple. Everything just feels so calm and soothing at the sight of the scene. There is a sudden urge to hug my wifey as what can be more romantic and loving than a warm, passionate hug with the person I love most with the sunset behind us. Too bad we are inside the temple and doing such an act for two guys will get us banished from the temple. There is a dance waiting for us to see so have to endure till we’re back in hotel.
The Kecak Dance started before the sun totally set and carries on till it’s dark at night with the moon up high and the starts sparkling, trying to outshine each other’s brightness. The Kecak Dance tells of a story which is pretty complicated to me. As usual, there are some conversations during the dance but it is in a language out of my league. The story involves lovers, some magical creatures and battles between good and evil. The ending of cause will end with good triumphs over evils and lovers reunited. The performances also did a little audience interaction. A fire was started in the centre of the stage when the story was closed to end which was later been put out barefooted by one of the magical creature. Overall, we both enjoyed the dance very much and we had a very happy night together.
It was getting late by the time we left the temple. However, the chauffeur was indeed a very nice guy as he knew we were out the whole day without much shopping. He offered to drop us at the Billabong Factory Outlet that is along the way back to the hotel. We spent less than 30 minutes in the Factory Outlet as we do not wish to take up too much of the chauffeur’s time. Also there isn’t much things that attract us to buy as we are both not a Billabong fan. The day ended around 9.45pm at night and we are very grateful to have a friendly and resourceful chauffeur with us for the whole day. We returned back to our room and rest for the night after a few drinks.p/s: below is the information of the chauffuer we hired. Thanks to him, our trip for today is made possible and wonderful.Transport Service
AGUNG - Mobile 081 558 335 042
Stand By: Samsara Hotel, Dewa Bharata, Puri Dewi Sri
Address: Br. Kupang Penebel Tabanan - Bali
