An amazing experience to be had in beautiful Candidasa and the surrounding areas.
My cousin, Trevor, and his wife, Tracey from Birmingham U.K., and friends Derek and Anne from Leeds, also in the U.K (we met at Royal Goan Beach Club, Benaulim, Goa, India in 2013 and have kept in touch ever since) had never been to Bali before so we invited them to join us and help me celebrate my 70th birthday.
We spent our first week in Seminyak Square before heading east to my favourite resort in Bali, Royal Bali Beach Club, Candidasa, located on Balina Beach on the outskirts of Candidasa.
The ambiance of the resort is uniquely Balinese with traditional architecture and stone carvings of ancient Gods, which adorn the surroundings. A combination of beautifully furnished apartments surround lush gardens, the pool and outdoor Jacuzzi leading directly onto the beach.
We believe that Candidasa and the surrounding areas, with verdant green hills, offer so much more than just a holiday. Far away from the hustle and bustle of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak one can experience the real Bali that many tourists never see. There we had the pleasure of showing family and friends around the Bali we love and the Bali that we have come to call our second home over the last twenty five years.
After a couple of days relaxation by the pool we travelled up to Taro and visited the Elephant Safari Park and Lodge. The crew were totally blown away, as well they should have been. The grounds are amazing with a large swimming pool and smaller washing pools for the elephants to enjoy. Nigel Mason has worked tirelessly to rescue elephants, from far and wide, to bring them over the seas to a better life in Taro, near Ubud. His efforts have paid off and several young ones are enjoying a privileged life style that they would not have had in the logging forests of Indonesia.
On Sunday we went to a local village, Tenganan Aga Village, on the outskirts of Candidasa. The village is situated between two hills, one on the east and another on the west. It is believed to be around five hundred years old and little has changed over the years except that the villagers, approximately eight hundred in total, now have running water and each house has a septic system.
The villagers maintain a strict adherence to ancestor worship, cosmology and other animist beliefs, as well as a rigid social organization. Villagers must live inside the village and marry from within. Tenganan is closed to outsiders after dark. The villagers are, however, allowed to study at university and work outside the village. In fact we had the pleasure of meeting the uncle of our guide who is a professor at Denpasar University.
Cock fighting is held regularly on special occasions and gambling is a way of life. (On a previous visit , during a special occasion, we were amazed to see youngsters gambling).
The women are self-sufficient, producing some of the finest woven basket-ware, and a fabled double weave ikat fabric, called Geringsing. These products are sold from their homes in the village to visiting tourists and in the local resorts on the weekends. There is also a coffee and tea plantation adjacent to the village where one can try many varieties before purchasing them including Coffee Luwak.
A local custom that has been become a popular tourist spectacle involves ritual blood sacrifice whereby combatants fight using wickedly torn pandanus leaves. The aim of each participant is to draw blood from their opponent. This ritual combat is known as mekare kare and is scheduled whenever there is an important temple ceremony in Tenganan. (Our guide proudly showed us his many scars on his back).
Next we journeyed through the mountains to Amlapura where we visited the Water Palace with its beautiful gardens, the Royal Pool, where lots of locals were frolicking in the cool blue waters, and finally the King's Pool.
On Tuesday we ventured further afield visiting Pura Besakih, a temple complex in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung. It is the most important, and also the largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion in Bali, and one of a series of Balinese temples.
From there we travelled to Lake Batur and to the volcano, Kintamani. The journey through the mountains was breathtaking and the crew were notably impressed. Kintamani still bears the scars where the lava flowed down its slopes many years ago. Fortunately the villagers in its path were able to escape to safety and no deaths were reported. The terraced rice fields that we passed on the way were spectacular in a lovely deep shade of green.
On Thursday we headed off over the mountains once again stopping off first at Goa Gajah, otherwise known as the Elephant Cave. Shopping here was a great experience with leather bags and wallets being purchased after some good
bartering. Shoppers were happy as were the stall holders since we were their first customers that morning.
From here we travelled into Ubud and first stop was the Monkey Forest, a sanctuary for approximately six hundred macaw monkeys made up of five separate families. I was pleased to see that a lot of work has been done to enhance the forest for visitors with paved walking trails, board walks and bridges since my last visit. The highlight of our time there was watching a group of young monkeys playing tag with one another and jumping or diving into a pond. They would then race up trees, shake the water off, and start all over again. I could have watched them longer but we had a schedule to keep.
From there we drove up to the Lotus Pond Cafe where we enjoyed some cold drinks and a delicious lunch. Once again our friends were impressed with the grounds and the lotus ponds having never seen so many lotus flowers in bloom before.
Shopping for spices and wooden artefacts were a must for our friends in the market before walking back down the Monkey Forest road to find our driver.
On the way home we visited the Tenenungan Waterfall but decided against walking down a multitude of steps to reach the bottom. The thought of having to climb back up again defeated us all and so, instead, we enjoyed the view from the top in a restaurant and had a cold drink apiece.
The day was capped off with an awesome meal and a night of Jazz at Vincent's Restaurant in the Main Street in Candidasa.
Friday was to be the final day for our family and friends before jetting back to the U.K. Relaxing around the pool, deepening the already sun tanned bodies, massages and cocktails were all the order of the day.
A final meal was enjoyed by all in the resort restaurant and promises to meet again in Bali were made all round. All too soon we were saying our final goodbyes and waving their taxi off.
I think that Laurie and I can truly say that we have given the gang a snapshot of Bali in a short space of time and know, without a doubt, that it won't be too long before a return visit is on the cards.
Jennifer Peterson