Around the World with J and J: Week 11 Indonesia- Dragons, Temples, and Religions

On this first adventure to Indonesia, we were amazed by the beauty of the islands and the friendliness of the people. The islands are so green and lush with plants but also with the heat and humidity which are needed to make the islands so green. The art that the islanders create for their religion, their clothing, and their way of living is beyond amazing. The scariest part of being here is their driving. They have no speed limits, there are thousands of motorbikes, thousands of cars, and millions of people wanting to go everywhere seemingly at the same time. Since we were not in any of the truly large cities of the nation, I don’t want to go there. Mass chaos. For the common man there is poverty but it doesn’t stop them from being polite, helpful, caring, and smiling. The people are beautiful.

Our first stop in Indonesia was at the islands where the Komodo Dragons reside. Only 5 islands have these rare creatures and we visited Rinca. The National Park is very well organized and this island has raised walking paths that allow safe passage for visitors. On this island there are 5 villages and most of the residents work at the park. Our guide also acts as the snake catcher/counter and he walks several miles to and from work. The museum is new and the displays are quite interesting. We did not see many animals as we were there mid-afternoon and they were taking their naps to escape the heat. (Lucky them).

The Islands

Entrance from boat dock

Welcome

Water buffalo (dinner for one of dragons)

Hi, I’m hungry

This guy was around 8 feet long

We spent three days in Benoa, Bali, Indonesia. This island has a strong Hindu culture and love all things in nature. Benoa is a market town and has a vast number of stores everywhere. They are very well known for their batiks and their Hindu festivals. On the first day I went on the included excursion which was a drive through the city, a visit to a four story market, a temple, and a museum. What we found out that morning was the city was celebrating two of their three largest religious holidays and that many things were closed and the children were on a two week holiday from school. The festival was huge with a parade of large images carried on bamboo poles and the images represented gods and events associated with Hinduism.

Day 1

Welcome Band

Welcome dancers

Temple by Port

Police waiting for parade to start

Dancers waiting for parade to start

Market food area

View of streets from 4th floor of market

Temple in city center

Offerings for Temple during ceremony

Water fountain as outer limit of city temple

Day 2 This day we visited two very different sites- Uluwatu Temple and Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park. The first was at Uluwatu which looks out over the Indian Ocean. Here the temple is lush landscape and very beautiful except for the massive amount of monkeys. Everyone is warned and they have staff who do nothing but try to get back taken hats, glasses, jewelry, purses, and anything else they can grab. Jeff was resting while I climbed to the top of the temple. When I got back, his glasses were slightly bent as a monkey tried to take the glasses but failed. Next, we went to GWK. This is a fairly new park and it has oversized statuary of Hindu gods, primarily Wisnu (Vishnu). The park holds major events as well as many outdoor dinners for personal events. It is not fully complete. Again, hot and high humidity.

Indian Ocean View

I climbed to the temple at top

Monkeys at temple

Elephant carving at Uluwatu

Fountain

Inner area of temple

GWK

Wisnu

Tall Replica for Wisnu

Close up of monument to Wisnu

Day 3 Temple Wonders included the amazing Taman Ayun Temple and a second temple Garden and Water. Also a stop at a batik demonstration. Taman Ayun is a moat temple and it is where the monarchs are cremated even today. Very holy to Hindus.

One of many temple towers here

Entrance to inner temple

Outer area minor temple

Entrance to first area of temple

Getting my shirt decorated with hot colored wax

Batik factory store Yes I bought fabric

Garden/Water Temple This is the one that is more island than attached land

Small temple at Garden/Water and one of most photographed area in Indonesia

After a day at sea we ended our visit to Indonesia we docked in Semarang, Java, Indonesia. We then were driven 3 hours inland to the “8th Wonder of the Ancient World” Borobudur. This Buddhist Temple was constructed in the 9th Century and was only rediscovered in the late 1800s. The day was hot and humid but I did make it half way up and back down. Very few handrails and uneven steps make the ascent difficult. I was glad I did what I did and it was totally inspirational.