Skip to main content

Day 5: Temples, subaks, UNESCO

We went to a couple of temples and the famous UNESCO world heritage site in Jatiluwih. 
Beautiful terraces at Jatiluwih, part of UNESCO World Heritage Site

Wiwik, who was part of getting the rice terraces of Bali to become a world heritage site, and her students, took us through some of the concepts of water temples:
  • The first temple we went to was a disease temple. It was a supporting temple for the main temple. Its purpose is to cleanse people of illnesses.
    • Legend has it that a king who was sick was healed after getting some water from the area. It was then built to help the surrounding communities get healing
    • A priest will take people through the healing process
  • We went to the main water temple built on the base of the mountain to help farmers not have to go up the mountain to perform rituals
    • We washed our hands, spat out water three times, washed face three times, and the head. This is a sign of giving thanks for the life-giving water
    • One of Wiwik's students explained the concept of Tri Hita Karana: man needs to leave well with his God, environment, and fellow man
  • Afterwards we visited the head of a subak's home:
    • The food was amazing: variety and very tasty
    • We saw the dragonfruit tree, and got some dragon fruit, fresh of the tree
    • Wiwik explained to us the issue with the designation of the WHS
      • Brought in more revenues for farmers, encouraging them to leave their farming and pursue tourism
      • The next generation of young people are not interested in picking up farming
      • Farmers are in a cycle of poverty because of low incomes from rice farming
      • Government policy is usually ineffective: national govt. says one thing, but the district does not implement it
      • More of the rice terraces were being bought up and used for hotels and villas
We had dinner at one place close to Permana, and we discussed what we had enjoyed most, and what we looked forward to the most: I enjoyed the statues, and I look forward to the beach.
It turns out that the animal that has been keeping me awake with screeching sounds is a gecko. It sounded like a giant bird. Well, Sunday says it's just a tiny gecko with a big mouth.


Labels:
Location: Jatiluwih, Penebel, Tabanan Regency, Bali, Indonesia

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Opportunities and challenges presented by the AfCFTA

President Kenyatta joined other African heads of state on March 21 in signing the #AfCFTA. What does this mean for Kenya? It means that Kenya's goods and services could have a broader market to sell to. It also means that locally made goods and services will face increased competition from similar products in the African market, especially if other countries have a comparative advantage. What is the projected net effect of these two sides of trade? Well, it's difficult to predict. It depends on which goods are on the schedule of reduction of tariffs both for other countries and Kenya. Pres. Kenyatta signs the AfCFTA Image courtesy of PSCU   Looking at other similar regional pacts such as North America's #NAFTA or the EU, we can see that trade between countries increases many fold. But as in the case of Mexico which saw the bankrupting of peasant farmers due to cheap corn and other agricultural produce from subsidized American farms, the aggregate effect might be po...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 2: To Bali, New Year's Eve

We spent most of new year's eve in transit. We left Ibis Styles Hotel at 10.30am, got to Jakarta international airport, got our tickets to Denpasar (in Bali) and left for Bali about 2.30pm (about 30mins late due to air traffic density at the airport) In transit at Jakarta Airport domestic departures; after check-in on the way to Denpasar Photobombed by Tom Hilde and Tom Jones We arrived in Denpasar around 7pm, where we met with Sunday who had arranged our transportation to Ubud. It took us the next hour and a half weaving through ever narrowing roadways towards Ubud, which is our home for the next six days. The driving in Bali immediately reminded me of Nairobi. Traffic wasn’t too bad, but driving a car involved checking both sides of the mirror because scooters, mopeds and motorbikes weave in and out of lanes at breakneck speed, with little warning or caution. Further, while passing huge vehicles like buses and lorries, our drive honked twice to let the other car know...
Post a Comment
Read more

No one knows what it's all about

We are all in a rat race, whose beginning we do not comprehend, and whose end we cannot fathom. Therefore, in typical human fashion, we have invented systems that keep us sane, as we try to figure out what it's all about. We invented religions, economic systems, socio-cultural systems, political systems and so on, all to make meaning out of our lonely and short existence. But all this has fallen short of fulfilling us. We know we are on a journey, but don't know a journey to where. We do not know how we will know once we get there. Is it possible that the destination is behind us, but we have not recognized it? "Preposterous," we think to ourselves. Aren't we higher beings able to shape our own paths? Would we not know where our paths are headed? History does not agree. Every system that has been built seems to have been the ultimate one. Political & economic systems have struggled to lay claim to the title of the "best" and most "sustainabl...
Post a Comment
Read more