We spent another day on the road Friday for some planned and unplanned stops.

Cremation:

First, we pulled over when we saw that villagers had gathered for a cremation.  We were planning on going to one on Saturday, but we had a hard time figuring out where it was, even if it was going to be a big tourist draw. Only certain drivers are privy to knowing the location and they keep it a secret until the last minute to keep dibs on driving visitors there. Or so one of our group told us. Anyhow, this one had no tourists at all when we arrived. 

We all hesitated as our van came to a stop.  It felt like we were crashing a funeral.  Our driver told us not to worry about it and that we were welcome. This is another example of the differences when it comes to privacy.  He said we didn’t even need the usual sarong, sash, and covered shoulders as it wasn’t at a temple. So we walked up the little hill and observed as the bodies were being torched, along with offerings that kept being added to the pile.  One of the Balinese came over to us and explained what was happening.

According to the Balinese calendar, this weekend is very auspicious for cremations – they’re happening all over.  Sometimes, bodies are unearthed years later when the family can afford to cremate the remains.  Actually, I’m not 100% sure it’s only for financial reasons.  Don’t take my word for it.  You can read more about it here.

For me, it was very special being a part of this as my uncle has just been or soon will be cremated before his funeral next week.  It helped me feel even more connected.  The non-stop spiritual rituals, offerings, and ceremonies here do that daily.  There’s no getting away from the reminders of how sacred life is and how we’re all part of one big human family.  It’s a truly beautiful part of Bali.

Two bodies were being cremated at this ceremony.  As per their culture, there were no tears or signs of strong emotion.  That would hold the spirits back. Instead, it’s a time of celebration to ensure an easier release into the cycle of rebirth – into the same family. Sometimes it takes generations and once, Nicole told us, a friend’s relative died and was reincarnated months later because one of the women was pregnant at the time of his passing.  The priest lets the family know which spirit has come back.

This cremation was for a 17-year-old boy who died in a motorbike accident the previous day.  The other was for a young father of 2 who fell from a tree soon after Nyepi (New Year’s Eve 3 week ago). He was hospitalized and then died several days ago.  As the men were from different families, the bodies were not burned in the same fire.  There’s another one behind the one you see here in my photos.

Bathroom Break:

Even bathroom breaks can be worthy of a few photos – 

Jatiluwah Rice Terraces

These organic rice terraces are a UNESCO world heritage site – I felt so elated as we drove in.  There’s something simply romantic about rice terraces. Of course, I’m not the one bent over all day planting.  I’ve simply always been in awe of great photos from such places – especially when they’re flooded and the rice is being planted.  All the heart chakra green had quite an impact too though.

As mentioned in another post, most of Bali now grows genetically modified rice that was introduced in the 70s.  This “miracle rice” yields 3 crops a year, but has led to serious health consequences, including death in childbirth due to the fact that blood won’t clot as much anymore.  Scary stuff!  One thing I noticed here versus the rice fields around the ashram was the number of dragon flies – bright reds, oranges, and yellow.  A good sign indeed.

We walked around taking pictures with Paul as our guide.  Nicole had really sore knees and opted to wait for us back at the restaurant.  We saw plenty of rice, beautiful cows (Hindus love their field working cows and keep them well washed – strung through the nose, but well washed), cacao, coffee beans, lemon grass, etc.  One poor woman reacted strongly when I raised my camera and I brought it straight back down and placed my hand on my heart in apology.  It must be hard for her to work there with all the tourists coming through. Another man, however, came soliciting photos and at the end asked for money to buy ice (10,000 Rupiahs = $1).  Paul, who speaks Indonesian, acted as our interpreter.

By the end of the walk, I knew I had to take care of myself. I was dangerously close to heat stroke.  I was beet red and burning up.  I knew what to do, however.  As soon as I dropped off my stuff at our table at Billy’s Terrace Café, I went to the washroom and did what I was taught to do at temples – just less ceremoniously.  I poured water over my head at least 3 times and all over my face and back.  I came out a bit soaked – strange at a fancy restaurant, but hey – it’s Bali and it felt great.  I came out and immediately joined the buffet line for a great feast.  I especially liked the coconut chicken on a stick with satay sauce.  I’m assuming that all the choices were organic, but I didn’t ask.

Pura Luhur Batukaru

From there, we headed up the narrow and severely potholed road up Bali’s second biggest volcanic mountain to the Pura Luhur Batukaru temple (not sure why the spelling on the sign is different, but I’m told it’s the same place).  If I thought taking photos from the open window in the back seat of our passenger van was challenging at high speed, it was even more so as I was tossed up and down and all around, albeit at a much slower speed.  The advantage though was that there were no tour buses up there. That’s partly why Nicole chose to bring us there.  Perfect.

As for our previous visit to a sacred site, the sky simply poured on us (as it has just started doing here an hour after I cam back from lunch in the hot sun).  Luckily, we were able to borrow umbrellas from the temple staff.  They were huge as well as colourful – 2 bonuses for photographers.

This is one of the directional temples in Bali.  Every Hindu in Bali must visit these temples once every 7 months (Balinese calendar). You’d think with the majority of the island traveling here once a year that they would fix the roads, but that’s besides the point.

When a Hindu sage came here from India at the time of Christ, he established the first temple site here.  Now, however, the oldest structure, the pointy one on the right in this photo, dates back to the 1300s.

We walked around in the rain, observing a few families fulfilling their religious duty and putting water over our heads as we were taught to do.

More Drive-by Shooting (the good kind):

Within minutes of leaving the temple, the rain stopped, so I continued taking pictures from the window. Great fun!  I always take hundreds of photos that I don’t bother sharing on these road trips – I still have plenty to share though. I simply enjoy seeing the world go by through my lens.  I see lots of fun details that I wouldn’t otherwise if I weren’t so focused.

Someone else spotted this pig at the back of a motorbike coming from the opposite side, however, and I had to swing the camera out the window and back to shoot it without seeing what I was doing. It was very far and small in my photo, but I blew it up in Photoshop … (the photo, not the pig). This may have been the village male who makes his rounds to all the female pigs upon request.

• In the rain:

At one point, the sky came falling down again and so I kept the windows closed and had a bit of fun with more abstract photography. I love some of these!

We got home at about 6pm and once again, I was too tired and still full, so while the others went out for dinner, I got ready for bed.  Lots of sun and food today.  When I go to a buffet, I tend to overdo it…

Thanks Nicole and Paul for another great day!