Karangasem Castle Park Bali

The eastern district of Bali is Karangasem, which is dominated by the mighty Gunung Agung.









The east has many places of interest and some great beaches. Bali's highest mountain is Gunung Agung (3142 meters), towering majestically over eastern and northern Karangasem.









The most disastrous volcanic eruption took place on 17th March 1963 when Agung laterally blew its top. Streams of lava and hot volcanic mud poured down to the sea in the southeast of the island, covering roads and isolating the eastern end of the island.










The whole island was covered in ash and crops were wiped out. It obliterated many villages and temples, and killed thousands of people. Most of those killed were either burned to death or suffocated by the searing clouds of hot gas rushing down the volcanic slopes.









It wiped out the entire villages of Sorga and Lebih high on the slopes of Agung. Surprisingly, Besakih, just six kilometers from the crater, suffered little damage.









These days Mount Agung is quiet and the mother temple Pura Besakih perched 1000 metres up the slope attracts a steady stream of devotees and tourists. Pura Besakih is Bali's most important and probably best-kept temple, comprising about 30 separate temples in seven terraces going up the hill. Every district in Bali has its own shrine or temple at Besakih and just about every Balinese god is honored.

Canggu Surfing Beach Bali

Canggu is a place that most surfers will know about, with its larger than Kuta swells, sandy beach and not much else.









Canggu however is becoming better known in tourist and expat circles and living in Seminyak I can feel the way things are moving.









Located 20 minutes north of Seminyak along the coast Canggu has rice fields that come right down to the beach.













One of the special sights I like watching the water trickle down from the last paddy wall onto the beach, completing its long journey from the mountains to the sea. It's quite unique.









What is the attraction of Canggu? Well apart from the surfing, its quiet, it was cheap, very local and offers lovely views of rice fields as opposed to cement in Seminyak.









Holiday villas and long term rentals have sprung up as the market has moved away from hotels. People want to rent a luxury villa in the rice fields and be close to the beach, rather than rent a box in a 4-storey hotel.

Seminyak Beach Bali Scene

Seminyak is actually a favorite with the local "ex-pat" community, due to the large number of highly rated restaurants in this area (e.g. The Living Room, KuDeTa, Made's Warung, Gado Gado, La Lucciola & Warisan).










The shopping in Seminyak is also much better then Legian, etc. for crafts, hand made and fashionable items.









Seminyak beach uses a local road system well off of the main road. There are therefore less traffic associated problems.









Walking along Seminyak beach the other day my Aussie hat caught a breeze, flew off and became a cartwheel, me hopping after it to prevent it entering the surf. Its windy at the beach, but that doesn’t stop the people congregating at Blue Ocean beach in Legian/ Seminyak.









A week ago the popular Zanzibar was closed and its neighbor, Lanai was partially damaged due to fire.

Tampaksiring Tirta Empul Temple

The hallowed spring of Tirta Empul in Tampaksiring dates from legendary times.









In popular folklore, it was made by lndra when he pierced the earth to create a spring of amerta, the elixir of immortality, with which he revived his forces who were poisoned by Mayadanawa.









The waters are believed to have magic curative powers. Every year people journey from all over Bali to purify themselves in the clear pools.









After leaving a small offering to the deity of the spring, men and women go either side to bathe.









On the full moon of the fourth month each year, the villagers from nearby Manukaya take a sacred stone to be cleansed at Tirta Empul.









When the weathered inscription found qp the stone was deciphered, it gave the bate of Tirta Empul's foundation as A.D. 962 and described the cleansing ceremony.









For a. thousand years these villagers had been abiding,. by this tradition without having been aware of the meaning incised on the stone! In 1969 the temple at Tampaksiring was completely renovated. Many of the shrines were built anew and painted in bright colors. Outside the temple are rows of sales stands where you may buy souvenirs-the bargain being carved bone jewelry.

Besakih Mother Temple Hinduism Bali

The world is lucky to have Besakih. In 1963 Mount Agung, a volcano, erupted and destroyed several nearby villages. Besakih was untouched.









The temple is generally agreed to date back to prehistoric times in Bali. It is named for Naga Besukian -- the dragon-god thought by pre-Hindu Balinese to inhabit this,









the highest mountain in Bali. But at the beginning of the 11th Century Besakih became the state temple at a time when Bali was no mean kingdom. It has remained the state temple in some form or another ever since and is state supported today.









Like most Balinese temples, Besakih is not a closed building but a mostly open-air affair. It is made up of courtyards with altars and shrines devoted to a number of gods.









And those gods have better things to do than just hang around a temple; the Balinese believe that the gods visit a temple on particular dates -- and on those dates the Balinese hold festivals to honor (or placate) the gods. Of all the temples on Bali six are "supremely holy".









Pura Besakih, Pura Lempuyang Luhur, Pura Gua Lawah, Pura Batukaru, Pura Pusering Jagat, and Pura Uluwatu. Of these, Besakih stands higher than the others -- not because it sits some 3000 or so feet above the ocean on the mountain's side, but because it is more sacred to the Balinese. It is said to be the only classless, casteless temple on the island where any Balinese Hindu can come to worship.