Tur Budaya 2019: Bali Trip!

Last week, my batch (3'2020) went to Bali. Our trip was a part of Culture Tour (Tur Budaya) program from my school and the students' council in SMAN 3 Bandung. Our trip began on Sunday,17 March 2019. We went to Husein Airport and went to Ngurah Rai Airport by flight. What made us wrought-up was the airport's regulation. The maximum weight of the cabin for each persons' suitcase was 7kg. If we exceeded the limit, we have to buy extra luggage for 300.000 rupiah which was very expensive. I and my friends had to weigh our bags first before joining the check-in queue in case our bags exceed the limit, but the airport officer forbids us to do so. He told us to join the queue instead. Well, some of my friends even move their clothes from their suitcase to their backpack so that their suitcases could fit in the cabin. After we got our boarding pass from the check-in queue, we waited in the waiting room. We were so excited. We can't wait to get into the airplane. 

Husein Airport

Soonly after, we finally arrived at Ngurah Rai Airport in Denpasar, Bali. We went to Tanah Lot shortly after we take our luggage. Tanah Lot means "Land in the Sea" in the Balinese language. Located in Tabanan, about 20 kilometers (12 mi) from Denpasar, the temple sits on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide.

Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 16th-century Dang Hyang Nirartha. During his travels along the south coast, he saw the rock-island's beautiful setting and decided to rest there. Some fishermen saw him and bought him gifts. Nirartha then spent the night on the little island. Later he spoke to the fishermen and told them to build a shrine on the rock, for he felt it be a holy place to worship the Balinese sea gods. The main deity of the temple is Dewa Baruna or Bhatara Segara, who is the sea god or sea power and these days, Nirartha is also worshipped here.

The Tanah Lot temple was built and has been a part of Balinese mythology for centuries. The temple is one of seven sea temples around the Balinese coast. Each of the sea temples was established within eyesight of the next to form a chain along the south-western coast. In addition to Balinese mythology, the temple was significantly influenced by Hinduism.

At the base of the rocky island, venomous sea snakes are believed to guard the temple from evil spirits and intruders. The temple is purportedly protected by a giant snake, which was created from Nirartha's selendang (a type of sash) when he established the island. 

We spent about 1 hour to reach Tanah Lot from the airport. We prayed Dhuhr and Asr when we arrived at Tanah Lot because we found a prayer room there. After we prayed, we enter the Tanah Lot area. We will discover a lot of shops lined up before we reach the temple. I was so excited because we can negotiate with the seller to get a cheaper price. They sold a lot of nice quality goods such as rattan bags, dream catchers, barong shirts, etc. After window shopping :') we went to the Tanah Lot temple which was so unique. There were tons of 'offerings' in front of the temple. Majority of Bali citizen were Hindu, so it's not strange to see them pray with offerings.

Tanah Lot Temple

We went to Jimbaran beach to have dinner. Jimbaran was really beautiful. The way we have candlelight dinner was so cool because we could see the sunset with the beautiful Jimbaran beach view. Unfortunately, the weather didn't support us much. The rain kinda messed up our dinner. All kinds of seafood that the restaurant gave were really delicious though, but sadly some of my friends' food became watery because of the rain lol. 

Candlelight dinner in Jimbaran

a photo of me holding a green turtle

We went to our hotel after dinner. The next day, we went to Benoa Headland. Benoa was actually a place for us to do watersports. We can do parasailing, diving, and fun water games. Honestly, the watersports were too expensive for me:') so I decided to go to Turtle Island by a glass bottom boat. It costs 125.000 rupiahs (the price is excluded from the tour guide cost tho). While on a glass bottom boat, you will be accompanied by the boat driver. From the glass bottom boat, you can enjoy the beautiful underwater scenery without having to join the scuba dive. Coral reefs, a variety of ornamental fish, marine plants and other marine animals. Because of the globalization effects (i guess??) we can feed the fish with bread while on the boat. I was really surprised to see the fishes that actually loves to eat bread. This trip lasts about 15 minutes.

After seeing and feeding the fish, the tour will proceed to turtle island conservation. After arriving on the turtle island, the guide will be happy to invite you to see the green turtles. On the turtle island, you also can see other animals. Such as monkeys, snakes, hawks, parrot, and bats.

Enggang bird, an extinct bird from Dayak tribe

We went to Pandawa Beach. Pandawa Beach was called 'secret beach' because the beach was located behind the hills. Pandawa beach were so tranquil and clean. The sea tides were suitable for us to ride a canoe as well.

After that, we went to Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park. We can see many enormous Hinduism-influenced statues such as Visnu statue, Garuda statue, and the biggest yet phenomenal Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue in Indonesia. because the park was huge and the scenery was beautiful, it was a nice place to take a photo with my batch that consists of about 300 students. We took pictures with our extracurricular friends, and we can also rent a bike to go around GWK park. Designed to be the Indonesia’s tallest statue, Garuda Wisnu Kencana was inspired by Hindu mythology about the search for Amerta (the elixir of life). According to this myth, Garuda agreed to be ridden by Lord Wisnu in return for the right to use the elixir to liberate his enslaved mother.

The idea for the monument was not without controversy, and religious authorities on the island complained that its massive size might disrupt the spiritual balance of the island and that its commercial nature was inappropriate, but some groups agree with the project because it will be a new tourist attraction on barren land. The 75-m tall, 65-m wide GWK statue was designed by Nyoman Nuarta.

We went to Devdan Theatre Nusa Dua later evening. It was the most amazing yet wonderful show I have ever watched. The show was called The Treasure of Archipelago Indonesia if I'm not mistaken. So the story began when two young teenagers were touring Bali Island, but they're bored with the tour, so they went away from their travel group. They decided to climb a cliff near the forests, and they found a treasure chest. It turned out that the treasure chest was filled with unique things from around Indonesia such as Udeng from Bali, Keris from Java, etc. Each item has its power to take them to the beautiful culture show from the land. The traditional dances, the stage effects, and the plot of the 90 minutes show were very engaging and the audiences were delighted. We can learn that Indonesia has various magnificent cultures.