One day with Balinese around the Gunung Batur (Bali Tour 1)

Route:
Ubud – Kintamani – Batur – Danau Batur (Batur Lake) – Toya Bungkah – Songan – Bangli – Ubud

Following the street from Ubud to the north, I reached Kintamani and Batur above the Danau Batur (Batur Lake). The Danau Batur is a Vulcan lake and the biggest lake on Bali. The water of this lake is important for the agriculture, especially for the rice plantations, in a wide area around the lake.

The lake is part of the Gunung Batur Vulcan. It is still active and the last eruption was in 1994.

The region around the Gunung Batur

Bali has a countless number of temples and in Batur is one of the most important temples of Bali: The Pura Penataran Agung Batur. The relevance is based on the importance of the water of the Danau Batur for the people on Bali and the religion legend about the origin of the Vulcan (it has been created by the god Shiva).

Pura Ulum Danu

After taking lunch in Batur in a local restaurant (fresh and tasty fish from the Danau Batur), I continued the tour and drove down to the Danau Batur and along it.

Landscape around the Danau Batur

The landscape near the lake is shaped by the eruptions of the Gunung Batur.

Landscape around the Danau Batur

Landscape around the Gunung Batur

Landscape around the Danau Batur

In Toya Bungkah, a small village at the Danau Batur, is a hot spring (Air Panas), which is used by the local people for bathing.

At the end of the lake I reached the small village Songan.

Landscape around the Danau Batur

I made a break at a shop beside the temple Pura Ulun Danu. It doesn’t need much time on Bali to get in contact with local people – especially in regions with less tourism. So I got know a local priest, a teacher of the local school and other people from the village. They invited me to stay the night in Songan and to join a ceremony in the temple at the following day (on the way to Songan I met already people, which prepared things for the ceremony).

At this evening I talked with some local people, took a bath in the hot springs and saw a music performance with Rindik instruments (a Balinese traditional instrument).

Balinese playing Rindik

I stayed the night at the house of the teacher. Early in the morning (6 am) of the following day I went with the cousin of the teacher to a hill of the Gunung Batur to see the sunrise.

Landscape around the Danau Batur in the morning

On the way to a hill near Songan

During this season the day starts typically with fog and therefore the sunrise wasn’t visible properly. Nevertheless, I had a wonderful panorama view with the Danau Batur on the one side and the Gunung Batur on the other side before the fog came up.

Landscape around the Danau Batur

Landscape around the Danau Batur.

Landscape around the Batur lake.

After enjoying a Balinese coffee at a shop on the hill, we went down to the valley.

A small shop in the hills of Gunung Batur

From Songan we drove with the motorbike to Bangli with amazing views on the landscape in the morning sun.

Bangli is a bigger town next to the Batur area. At this morning there started a cock fighting event. In Bali most of the activities have a religion background too. The same applies to the cock fighting: It is a social and a gambler event and has a religion background (it is scheduled at the day before a holy temple ceremony).
Cock fighting is the gamblers paradise, but a very cruel event. The cocks get a knife at the paw and at least one cock dies during one fight between two cocks. After presenting the two rivals and before starting the fight, the audience bet loud crying on the one or the other cock.

Cock fighting event in Bangli

Gambler at a cock fighting event

Gambler in Bangli

During my guide enjoyed the gamble, I used the time outside the arena and looked around the market there. I was there the only foreigner under hundreds of Balinese.

I used the opportunity of the marked and bought traditional Balinese wear for me.

Me and some Balinese in traditional wear

The traditional Balinese wear suddenly changed my status: I wasn’t the tourist anymore, but a Balinese. I visited the Pura Kehen in Bangli afterward and was respected as Balinese from the local people there.

Pura Kehen

After the cock fighting my guide went back to Songan and me to Ubud. I haven’t joined the ceremony. But there are a lot of ceremonies in March and I will have the opportunity to join one at another places.

I had two very interesting days behind me with a lot of impressions and joined one day of the life of the Balinese.

written by

Voyager on March 3, 2009 from Baturaja, Indonesia

from the travel blog: Asia 2008 / 2009

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