Bali Tour Guide

This trip rather extensive driving but we can cover most visited places in one day.
We start the trip from Sanur at 8.30 AM heading to Elephant Cave temple. By the 9.30 AM, we arrive at this 11-century site. Few people have been arriving earlier then us. I think most tourists still at Barong Dance performance that we skip. However, soon after we arrive a group of local student come to do field study tour. We spent almost 40 minutes here. We enter the cave to see the Ganesh (God, figures as elephant) statue and Lingga Yoni (symbol of fertility). We walk to the Buddhist complex that located further down in the river valley.

Our second destination is Gunung Kawi temple in Tampaksiring. About 150 participants of United Nation Climate Change Conference visit the place. They make the place crowded along with police and security people. However, they let the engine buses that bring them there keep running for almost more then 1 hour, adding more CO2 to the air. Very contradictive to what they trying to solve at the conference. I notice the local shopkeeper look different. They wear Balinese traditional outfit. It must be for this ‘tamu negara’ . Tamu Negara, the nation guest is the address to this participant of UNCCC by he local people. We spent about more the an hour here before continue to our next destination which Kehen Temple in Bangli.

On the way there we pass the bamboo forest outside of Panglipuran village. Kehen Temple is very quite that day. We are the only guest when we there. The quietness make this temple under old banyan tree more special then other two places we visit. We continue our trip to Kintamani. We stop for lunch while enjoying the famous view of Mount and Lake Batur. We select some local dish from the menu instead of having the usual buffet lunch. After lunch we heading north and make another stop at the second important temple of Bali, Batur Temple. We see temple ceremony for new moon. People of the village bring offering to the temple and do the worship. A rather special scarification ceremony held in the front of the temple gate.

By 3 PM be leave Kintamani area to continue our drive to Bedugul area. We drive for two hours passing extensive mandarin orange farm, endless vegetable farm as well as a bit rice field. It was pouring rain on half of the way. It makes this green valley become so misty so lush. We make some stop to record the serenity of the route. We see people walking on the road with their ‘organic’umbrella of banana and yam leaves. We cross the Bali’s tallest bridge of Tukad Bangkung that make this trip possible without driving all the way to Singaraja town to get to Bedugul. At 5 PM, we arrive in Bedugul and make a visit to the famous temple of lake Bratan. After the last Chinese group leaving, the temple becomes so beautiful so quite. One of my clients had her silence mediation here by standing and just watching the fog move slowly on the water surface. The cool fresh breeze after the rain really calms our long day.

We leave Bedugul area heading down to Sanur at 6 PM. We finally arrive back in sanur at 8 PM. A long but very worthy day.