Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Reliable driver

5 of 5 starsReviewed July 29, 2014NEW

As any prudent 1st time tourist will do, I scanned the Trip Advisor looking for reliable and proven driver/guide to drive my family around Bali during our week long vacation in June 14. The myraid of choices were indeed mind boggling! After reading through pages after pages of reviews, I finally selected Mr Gede as my driver/guide. And I think that was one of the best decision I made for the trip! The price charged by Mr Gede might not be the cheapest nor the most expensive, they were reasonable and worth every cent!

I booked 3 full days tour (up to 10 hours per day) with Mr Gede and he kindly threw in a free airport to hotel transfer. How nice! On arrival at the Bali airport, Mr Gede stood among hundreds of other drivers who held up name cards at the arrival meeters hall, and the experience was quite overwhelming as we need to look for our name on a tiny A4 size paper! It could be Mr Gede's experience, he quickly identified my family and ushered us to his brand new Suzuki APV. During the short 5 mins drive from the airport to my hotel at Kuta, I felt more assured of my choice as through our conversation, I could tell that Mr Gede is really a typical down to earth and friendly Balinese family man!

During the 3 days tour, Mr Gede was always punctual, friendly, and along with his keen sense of direction (as if he had swallowed a mobile GPS), he traversed the narrow roads in Bali like a pro! When asked how can he drive in such a chaotic environment, he told us in a very 'Zen' like manner 'to drive in Bali, you must flow with the traffic like water flowing in a river' Wow!

During one of the days, my daughter ran a high fever and we have no choice but to call Mr Gede to cancel our day tour. As we were only an hour from the pick up time, he could have charged me for the day's fare or maybe half instead he did none of that and expressed his concern for my daughter. My wife and I were really touched by Mr Gede's kindness!

In short, Mr Gede showed us the true meaning of Balinese style hospitality and I have no qualms recommending him to any 1st time tourists or returning tourists to Bali and did I also said that he is also very good with young children! 

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Sanur



Despite being Bali's oldest beachside town, Sanur remains an upmarket area with an abundance of holiday resorts and restaurants. Sanur features a wide range of natural, cultural and historical attractions while still offering the fantastic shopping opportunities and stunning beaches that Bali is renowned for. The laidback atmosphere of this region has made it one of Bali's popular holiday destinations for visitors wanting to get away from the bustling party atmosphere of central Bali.

The attractions of Sanur are centred around rich experiences and the vibrant culture. The Le Mayeur Museum is dedicated to the life works of famous Belgian impressionist Adrian Jean Le Mayeur who used to call Sanur home. The area is also known for the colourful giant kites that decorate the skies and are celebrated each July at the Annual International Kite Festival. Traditional Balinese kites of up to 10 metres long are handmade and flown in the competition by teams from local villages. If you aren't visiting during July you can still see the teams practicing flying their kites throughout the year.

The Pura Blanjong (Blanjong Temple) is one of Sanur's most sacred temples and is a must see on any Bali holiday. Home to the stone pillar bearing the Prasati Blanjong historical inscription by a 10th century Javanese king, who is said to have ordained the first formal government in Bali. This is Bali's oldest known artifact and is particularly significant to the local people, hence the temple's grand scale.

For exploring the local area, the cycle path along the paved beachfront is ideal both on a bicycle or on foot. A 5 kilometre stretch of scenic pathway, the trail extends from Jalan Hangtuan's main beach in the north to Jalan Mertasari in the south. Offering excellent photo opportunities as well as a great range of shopping and dining, the path is particularly popular in the mornings. Sanur's local night markets are a fantastic way to wind up your day while sampling some of the region's best local produce.

The weather here is relatively warm year in and year out with daytime average temperatures ranging from 20°C to 33°C (68°F to 93°F). December to March experiences a more humid climate that is characterised by heavy showers from the west monsoon although most days remain sunny with heavy but brief showers later in the day. June to September has less humidity and temperatures tend to fall, particularly at night.

Navigating the streets of Sanur is made simple by the myriad of bicycle, motorbike and car rental facilities available. Metered taxis also frequent the streets so you will never get caught short. For a more authentic experience you can try your luck with a local bemo (bus) but these services are infrequent making them difficult to rely on. Walking is an excellent way to explore Sanur as nothing is ever too far away, the streets are fairly safe and the paved walkways make discovering the island easy.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Kehen Temple



Kehen Temple is a beautiful Hindu temple located in foothills, south part of Bangli Regency and it is about 45 Km from Denpasar town. Inside of this temple are, there is Panyimpenan Temple building keep 3 inscriptions which is relating to its contents and temple existence. It is strategically located in the high land, so we can see the beautiful view. It is a famous temple in Bali and many visitors from foreign country has visited it.

The existence of the inscription at Kehen Temple can be explained as follows:

Kehen Temple Inscription ‘A' is mentioning the existence of 3 sanctums those are Hyang Api, Hyang Tanda, and Hyang Karimama
Kehen Temple Inscription ‘B' from 11 century is mentioning the empire functionary that is the Senapati Kuturan pu Kandara and it elaborate with the anathema words in oath
The Inscription from 13 century (year 1204 M) is mentioning Hyang Kehen and Hyang Wukir. At the moment Hyang Kehen is equal to Kehen Temple and Hyang Wukir is Puncak Bukit Bangli Temple.
It is one of Monarchic Temple, The temple under the aegis of king while ceremony execution and construction is delivered to local countryside custom
As a sanctum which is used as a altar (oath) for empire functionary who disloyal to his obligation will incur the Sapata or very horrible anathema. The function of Kehen Temple as sanctum in execution of oath ceremony is supported by the existence of a circumlocutory canister by 4 dragon tails which is called canister Sarpantaka. Nowadays, the canister is placed in a building in form of Gedong
Worshiping supremacy Siwa God in the form of Eka Dasa Rudra utilizes to request the godsend to the good human life and universe for blessing of fertile life, secure, prosperous and peaceful.
The structure of Kehen Temple yard is arranged to have a terrace and it shows the existence of tradition megalithic which is continued as a symbol from the existence of mount that is one of the fertility sources. The temple festival can be divided into 2 types those are Piodalan Ceremony which is executed every 6 month, that is on Wednesday Keliwon Sinta (Balinese Calendar) and Ngusaba Ceremony which is executed every 5 years.(BTN/Ibp)

Padang Bai Port