Mar-2013
Pura Uluwatu, Jimbaran & Ubud
Pura Luhur Uluwatu
Pura Luhur Uluwatu is spiritually important to the people of Bali, as it is one of Bali’s sacred directional temples (kayangan jagat) protecting the island from evil spirits in the southwest. It’s this proximity to evil, presumably, that compels the temple’s guardians to require the wearing of special sashes or sarongs, as they are supposed to protect visitors from evil influences. (If you don’t bring your own, don’t worry – these items can be borrowed at the temple gate.)
The temple at Uluwatu was built by the Javanese Hindu guru Empu Kuturan in the 10th century. Seven hundred years later, the guru Niratha added further to the temples on the site. “Ulu” means head, and “Watu” means rock; the temple at “the head of the rock” stands atop a sheer cliff rising two hundred feet above the Indian Ocean. The temple commands a wonderful view of the sea breaking against the base of the cliffs below, and a totally unforgettable sunset.
The most compelling part of the temple complex, however, comes from its nightly kecak and fire dance performances.
“Kecak” is derived from an old Balinese ritual called the sanghyang – a trance dance driven by its participants’ repetitive chanting. In its ancient form, the sanghyang communicated the wishes of the gods or of the ancestors. In the 1930s, a German visitor reformatted the sanghyang into the more familiar kecak performance – doing away with the spiritualistic aspect of the dance and building it around the Hindu Ramayana epic. No musical instruments are used in a kecak performance – instead, you find about thirty bare-chested men sitting in a circle, uttering “chak… chak… chak” rhythmically and repetitively.
Jimbaran & Ubud
Jimbaran has about 50 seafood restaurants along the beach and all have inside and outside dining areas but most tourists go for the outside beachside dining as it is more scenic. along these seafood restaurants is the Melasti Kedonganan Cafe, a seafood restaurant in the middle of Jimbaran, located beside the Blue Marlin Cafe. the Seafood Restaurant offers a large variety of local and international seafood set meals and fresh seafood at the large fish tanks and off course the price of the meal is higher if ordering the live seafood at the fish tanks. the ambiance here is typical simple warung style restaurant.
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