Bangli
Trip Start
Oct 02, 2008
1
12
16
Trip End
Nov 30, 2008
Bangli, Indonesia
Friday, November 7, 2008
My bungalow here was formerly the palace of the King of Bangli. The architecture was quite beautiful and lavish. The owner had an old B&W picture of the king of Bangli meeting with the kings of seven other provinces: Gianyar, Badung, Tabanan, Nagara, Buleleng, Klungkung and Karagasem. Everybody I talked to in Bangli knew the palace. So quite a historic place. Ironically though, the accommodation was probably the most basic I'd seen: a bed, shower fawcett and manual toilet.
Two locals were friendly enough to invite me to their homes. Though they spoke limited English, both were eager to practice and learn more. Made is retired school teacher. We had tea and snacks in his family's compound. Afterwards, he drove me to Penglipuran for a quick tour. It's a traditional village with bamboo houses. Ari is 20 years old and works in a tile factory. She originally gave me a ride to Pura Kehen temple outside of Bangli. Later she invited me for dinner with her family in a nearby village.
For me, a lot of the appeal of Bangli is the ambience. Just walking around the morning market is fun. One day I hired a moto for a trip to its famous environs. About 20 kilometers north is Mt. Batur, the highest in Bali. It's an active volcano containing hot springs and a large lake. About 15 kilometers northeast is Basakih, the holiest temple in Bali. The weather gods blessed me with a torrent of holy water that morning. So my tour of Besakih was a quick walk through with some amazing photos.
