DownUnder
awol (temporarily I hope)
I've not posted many of my photos here, and it's time I spiffed up my act a bit.
For those few who may not know, Bali is an island in eastern Indonesia. It's very much an Aussie playground and millions of them holiday there every year. Oddly many seem to believe it's part of Australia. Which causes all sorts of complications, mostly legal.
Recently I was there to attend a seminar on colonial architecture, as a guest as I'm now retired from the profession but I've been photographing old European buildings in Asia for many decades. Being me I cherish my slow lifestyle and quiet pace, so I stay well out of the Kuta-Legian-Seminyak-Canggu tourist playground area, and opt for the peace and quiet of Sanur, which altho' it has greatly changed over the decades and especially so post-Covid, still affords to relaxed lifestyle I enjoy.
While there I did a day trip to Bedugul, a small town located in the central-south part of north Bali (I hope this makes sense). It's not far to travel, being an easy to drive 48 kilometers/30 miles from Denpasar city to the south or a mere hop 12 miles/20 kilometers from Singaraja in the north. It has megaheaps of pleasant and cool, and three quite splendid lakes to see and walk around and enjoy, notably Danau Beratan (in English, Bratan Lake), the largest of the trio, which offers some easy walks along the shores but above all the legendary and very famous Pura Ulun Danu Bratan water temple, one of the most visited religious places on the island of what must be thousands of such Hindu holy sites.
Pura Ulun Danu Bratan can get crowded so it's best to go early in the day. To get there I contacted a reputable travel agent in Denpasar - from (far too) many bad experiences with the breed I would NEVER go with any tout or street agent who hails you as you walk past with a "special offer for you, mate" as these genial shysters happily overcharge the gullible foreigners for such things as car rentals or make up entirely false costs (inflated parking, entrance fees). The agency quoted me a reasonable price of Rp600,000 (+/-AUD $60) for eight hours, an air-conditioned car and the a guide who knew the area and wouldn't try to fob me off with "that's a temple" or "that's a lake" as we raced past a site or worse for me, use a pretext to take me to tourist souvenir shops flogging crap gewgaws at inflated prices. So the deal was done, and the next day at 7.45 AM car and driver were at my hotel for an 8.00 departure. The driver was the agency owner's son with an economics degree, so right away we had interesting things to chat about as we drove up a winding and hilly country road to our destination.
At Bedugul by 9.30 - and six tour buses already in the temple parking lot. Undismayed by the prospect of mobs, I soldiered on, after my driver kindly got my entry pass (at a reasonable cost). He then took my mobile phone number and said when I was ready to go, to phone him and he would be waiting at the main gate. To me, this is Service with a humongous S.
Once inside I was relieved to see today's crowd was reasonable. Not at all overcrowded. There were two sorts of tourists, Japanese (distant but well-behaved) and mainland Chinese (loud and at times pushy as they seem to move about in groups of 20-50, but usually quite well-mannered), and Indonesian tourists who are always friendly, keen to chat to foreign visitors, and supremely polite. The mix was about 50-50 with the first lot moving about in groups, let by their guides, while the Indonesians tended to wander about, enjoy the views, and of course take millions of selfies, often as not with the tourist invited to be included in the photo session. I did wonder how many Facebook or Instagram blogs I eventually ended up being part of, but it was all fun and I was happy to go along with the game.
There is no denying that Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is one of the truly beautiful places in Bali. I've been photographing it since 1972, and while the temple itself has little changed, the area around it has been extensively modernised, in mostly tasteful planting and statuary. Lovely gardens and ancient banyan trees are everywhere. There is also, curiously, a small Buddhist temple adjacent to the (Hindu) main temple complex, which is to the left as you walk into the complex from the main entrance.
I went through (and happily outgrew) my pretty postcard images phase long ago. On this trip I wanted to make images more of the people there on that day, than the temple itself, as (a) I've taken hundreds of color and digital photos of Bali's holy sites, and (b) nothing much had changed since my last visit to Bedugul in 2020. I did take a few dozen fast snaps of the temple complex on its small island just offshore from the main area, but this time I went hunting for people. Many of these photos are taken near the temple which you can see in the not too distant background. The others are in the adjacent park and gardens.
My photos now.
How this image came out as B&W is a mystery. There must be a color version. If/when I find it I will repost.
This is a different one from the monochrome version.
Spot the mainland Chinese (it's all in how they dress, or undress as in one individual above) from the Indonesians in this one. The sturdy stone gentleman at left is a temple guardian, Bali abounds in such interesting statues. The equally sturdy young gentleman at right is definitely Indonesian.
Indonesian whimsy. A frog in desperate need of an Ibuprofen.
Two of my favorites. These show the island temple without being too 'postcardy'.
I like this one. Indonesians enjoying a day outing, which makes for interesting candid images.
Near the town is the Bali Botanic Garden, dating to 1960, established by then President Sukarno. The largest in Indonesia and different (also better) than the Bogor Botanic Gardens or Bogor Kebun Raya as the latter is known, which is far older (from the early Dutch colonial era) but not quite as tropical-lavish as Bedugul. Well worth a visit, usually rarely crowded but with luck you may spot a wedding party doing post-ceremony shoots under an old banyan tree. I had two hours there and took 100-150 images of the nearby green hills, manicured lawns, lovely flowers and stately trees - I will spare you those.
Across the road from the temple complex are several restaurants with all you can eat lunches, not expensive, food quality nothing like Kuta-Legian-Canggu-Sanur but mostly passable. For me the best lunch place is a cafe a few kilometers out of town on the Denpasar road. Any driver will know it. It has the best food and if it isn't cloudy or foggy (which adds a special charm all its own) the views of the hills, gardens and rice fields will renew your faith in the beauty of nature in Bali.
For those few who may not know, Bali is an island in eastern Indonesia. It's very much an Aussie playground and millions of them holiday there every year. Oddly many seem to believe it's part of Australia. Which causes all sorts of complications, mostly legal.
Recently I was there to attend a seminar on colonial architecture, as a guest as I'm now retired from the profession but I've been photographing old European buildings in Asia for many decades. Being me I cherish my slow lifestyle and quiet pace, so I stay well out of the Kuta-Legian-Seminyak-Canggu tourist playground area, and opt for the peace and quiet of Sanur, which altho' it has greatly changed over the decades and especially so post-Covid, still affords to relaxed lifestyle I enjoy.
While there I did a day trip to Bedugul, a small town located in the central-south part of north Bali (I hope this makes sense). It's not far to travel, being an easy to drive 48 kilometers/30 miles from Denpasar city to the south or a mere hop 12 miles/20 kilometers from Singaraja in the north. It has megaheaps of pleasant and cool, and three quite splendid lakes to see and walk around and enjoy, notably Danau Beratan (in English, Bratan Lake), the largest of the trio, which offers some easy walks along the shores but above all the legendary and very famous Pura Ulun Danu Bratan water temple, one of the most visited religious places on the island of what must be thousands of such Hindu holy sites.
Pura Ulun Danu Bratan can get crowded so it's best to go early in the day. To get there I contacted a reputable travel agent in Denpasar - from (far too) many bad experiences with the breed I would NEVER go with any tout or street agent who hails you as you walk past with a "special offer for you, mate" as these genial shysters happily overcharge the gullible foreigners for such things as car rentals or make up entirely false costs (inflated parking, entrance fees). The agency quoted me a reasonable price of Rp600,000 (+/-AUD $60) for eight hours, an air-conditioned car and the a guide who knew the area and wouldn't try to fob me off with "that's a temple" or "that's a lake" as we raced past a site or worse for me, use a pretext to take me to tourist souvenir shops flogging crap gewgaws at inflated prices. So the deal was done, and the next day at 7.45 AM car and driver were at my hotel for an 8.00 departure. The driver was the agency owner's son with an economics degree, so right away we had interesting things to chat about as we drove up a winding and hilly country road to our destination.
At Bedugul by 9.30 - and six tour buses already in the temple parking lot. Undismayed by the prospect of mobs, I soldiered on, after my driver kindly got my entry pass (at a reasonable cost). He then took my mobile phone number and said when I was ready to go, to phone him and he would be waiting at the main gate. To me, this is Service with a humongous S.
Once inside I was relieved to see today's crowd was reasonable. Not at all overcrowded. There were two sorts of tourists, Japanese (distant but well-behaved) and mainland Chinese (loud and at times pushy as they seem to move about in groups of 20-50, but usually quite well-mannered), and Indonesian tourists who are always friendly, keen to chat to foreign visitors, and supremely polite. The mix was about 50-50 with the first lot moving about in groups, let by their guides, while the Indonesians tended to wander about, enjoy the views, and of course take millions of selfies, often as not with the tourist invited to be included in the photo session. I did wonder how many Facebook or Instagram blogs I eventually ended up being part of, but it was all fun and I was happy to go along with the game.
There is no denying that Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is one of the truly beautiful places in Bali. I've been photographing it since 1972, and while the temple itself has little changed, the area around it has been extensively modernised, in mostly tasteful planting and statuary. Lovely gardens and ancient banyan trees are everywhere. There is also, curiously, a small Buddhist temple adjacent to the (Hindu) main temple complex, which is to the left as you walk into the complex from the main entrance.
I went through (and happily outgrew) my pretty postcard images phase long ago. On this trip I wanted to make images more of the people there on that day, than the temple itself, as (a) I've taken hundreds of color and digital photos of Bali's holy sites, and (b) nothing much had changed since my last visit to Bedugul in 2020. I did take a few dozen fast snaps of the temple complex on its small island just offshore from the main area, but this time I went hunting for people. Many of these photos are taken near the temple which you can see in the not too distant background. The others are in the adjacent park and gardens.
My photos now.
How this image came out as B&W is a mystery. There must be a color version. If/when I find it I will repost.
This is a different one from the monochrome version.
Spot the mainland Chinese (it's all in how they dress, or undress as in one individual above) from the Indonesians in this one. The sturdy stone gentleman at left is a temple guardian, Bali abounds in such interesting statues. The equally sturdy young gentleman at right is definitely Indonesian.
Indonesian whimsy. A frog in desperate need of an Ibuprofen.
Two of my favorites. These show the island temple without being too 'postcardy'.
I like this one. Indonesians enjoying a day outing, which makes for interesting candid images.
Near the town is the Bali Botanic Garden, dating to 1960, established by then President Sukarno. The largest in Indonesia and different (also better) than the Bogor Botanic Gardens or Bogor Kebun Raya as the latter is known, which is far older (from the early Dutch colonial era) but not quite as tropical-lavish as Bedugul. Well worth a visit, usually rarely crowded but with luck you may spot a wedding party doing post-ceremony shoots under an old banyan tree. I had two hours there and took 100-150 images of the nearby green hills, manicured lawns, lovely flowers and stately trees - I will spare you those.
Across the road from the temple complex are several restaurants with all you can eat lunches, not expensive, food quality nothing like Kuta-Legian-Canggu-Sanur but mostly passable. For me the best lunch place is a cafe a few kilometers out of town on the Denpasar road. Any driver will know it. It has the best food and if it isn't cloudy or foggy (which adds a special charm all its own) the views of the hills, gardens and rice fields will renew your faith in the beauty of nature in Bali.
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