Hello! I hope all is well and jolly for Day 10 of our trip in Bali! Instead of having rehearsal today, we went on a tour to participate in a holy cleansing/purification at Menganing, an exploration of Lake and Temple Batur (the second largest temple on the island of Bali!), rice field viewing, and a visit to a woodwork shop.
We started by driving to Menganing, and, along the way, Ketut Sareng, our tour guide, gave us a (very specific) overview of Bali, its meaning, and the significance of offerings within Balinese culture, tying it into our first stop, where we would be participating in a holy cleansing and prayer. While this experience was different for everyone, I found it very relaxing and an opportunity to reflect on the trip thus far. Again, the Balinese were very welcome to guests.
Afterward, we started heading toward Lake and Temple Batur. At the temple, Ketut went over the significance of very specific detailing within the temple, such as fabric colors (gold, black, red, white) and the signifiance of odd numbers. The view to and from the temple were beautiful, as you were able to see the mountain and the lake from the road we were on.
Image: part of Temple Batur
We ate at a buffet that had an outside portion where you could see the view (definitely a much more tourist-oriented site).
Image: view from restaurant Mount Batur
We then started heading toward some rice fields, which ended up being gorgeous, but a few of us got a little tired on the car ride there…
Image: Swarthmore group in travel bus – all of us asleep except Professor Jon and Erin
At the rice fields, Ketut went over the different types of rice and other crops that are grown there and the process of watering, cycling, and growing various crops and rice. Again, the view was gorgeous, and the rice fields were a lot larger than I thought they were going to be – definitely one of my favorite views from the trip!
Image: rice fields
After a vote between a plantation and a woodshop, we then headed to Yuyu Wood Carving, which was only about 15 minutes from the hotel. We were able to get a tour of the shop from the owner and explored the woodshop, which consisted of (surprise!) numerous wood carvings and some other assorted glass work and fabrics. The owner said that a lot of tourists end up going to his shop because they never end up knowing how authentic the prices at the Ubud Art Market are and how much to bargain, and he thought it would be convenient to sell goods at the most logical price. I think the most surprising thing about Yuyu’s market is that they export internationally, and in a garage portion of the shop were thousands of totems going out to Florida! Turns out, a lot of shops on this street do online bulk orders, and some don’t even sell retail!
Image: wooden sculptures of “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil” monkeys and various elephants
We concluded the tour after more than an hour of exploring the shop, and a few of us prepared to go watch the Barong dance at ARMA (Agung Rai Museum of Art), a traditional style of Balinese dance in which mythical creatures are depicted. We then headed to Omiiku, the restaurant we ate on the first night in Bali, for some dinner 🙂
Image: four Swarthmore students posing with performers from ARMA’s Barong performance
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