November 3rd, 2013

We spent a few days in Sayan.  We learned that Cindy Crawford, John Travolta and Julia Roberts all supposedly stayed in our Villa.  But, we figure they may tell that to everyone.  Our stay in Sayan (just outside Ubud) was different than our stay in Jimbaran as the resort was very tropical and jungle like.  There was no water surrounding us, no beaches, just beautiful lush grounds with coconut trees, gardens and flowers galore!  Very peaceful and tranquil.

 Yesterday we visited Pura Ulun Danu.  The second most important temple in Bali even though it was only constructed in 1926.  It is located in Lake Bratan.  It is dedicated to Dewi Danu the goddess of lakes and rivers.  The temple has 11 tiers which is the most a temple may have.  The number of tiers indicates the importance of the temple in Hindu worship.  The tiers are made of black palm fiber and no other roof in Bali may use black palm fiber for a roof except a temple.

 After visiting the temple, we went to see the terraced rice paddies of Jatiluwih.  While beautiful to see, it was unfortunate that the rice season was such that the rice was not in standing water which makes them even more beautiful because the water reflects the colors of the plants and sky.

During our journey, we learned a lot from our driver about Hindu culture and life.  For example, the average hotel worker in Bali makes $35 a month.  All marriages are arranged by families.  After marriage, the bride moves into the groom’s home with his grandparents, parents, and brothers and their wives and children. (Our driver had 14 people living in his house.) The family lives in a compound with 4 distinct and separate areas.  One area is for the temple.  One area is to greet guests and communal activities.  Another area is devoted to cooking.   The final area is the private area where the family sleeps.  The land for a home is very expensive.  It costs $24000 for 100 square meters.  The cost to build the compound is relatively inexpensive.  It only costs $12000. The compound is built in 2 months.  As noted above, each house has a temple.  And, every day, when you leave for work and when you come home, you are supposed to make an offering of food to the gods, which is left on the temple and another offering of food or flowers for the spirits are left on the ground.  The temples are draped in colors such as white, red and yellow, which represent purity.  Sometimes the temples are draped in black and white checked cloth to show that good and evil are in balance. It is wonderful to watch the Balinese practice their Hindu religion on a daily basis. 

 We saw some interesting Bali workers along our way to visit these sites. We have posted some pictures of those on the “Photo” page. 

 Love and miss you all ! Norm and Rita 

 

Our second stop in Bali, Sayan, which is just outside of Ubud was so nice also!

Now lets just take a walk through the place.

Here are some pictures of the Pura Ulun Danu Temple.

Here are some of the “Interesting things” we saw along our way to the temple and rice patties.

And the rice patties were also pretty.

One night we had a Babi Guling festive dinner night.

And just a few more random pictures of our walk through Ubud.