Saturday, April 17, 2010

It was all about...





Him
and Her

As I mentioned before, I lost my guide during most of this ceremony, so I really don't know what was up with these two....were they local royals? The future king and queen? Two kids representing past royalty? I don't know, but I can say this boy here was all over it-very cool, calm and collected, very comfortable with his apparent status and future life of luxury. This young lady was more.....irritated. At first, she was in a small pavilion where lots of women primped her. She had just had enough, and the show hadn't even started yet.


And then, things did start and they were literally picked up and carried (awkwardly) away.



To a spot where they were apparently blessed (held aloft the entire time).


They appeared reverential when it was time...no more sourpuss (even though she was slipping off her carrier the entire time).


Then whisked away again and hoisted onto the tiniest ledge of an altar where they had an audience with two seriously spiritual looking men-priests/holy men/community leaders?
who each continually chanted their own tunes and did some bell ringing.






What a day, and it's not over yet....

Thursday, April 15, 2010


There was (a lot) more to the procession, actually....so I'll hold off on the stars of this show until tomorrow. Here is a bit more of our walk down the road to a temple set back in the jungle, just above a gorge and swiftly flowing river.

A bit more waiting...





The musicians were young and loud!



Almost there...

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

The Procession....

And they came, out from the first temple, one-by-one, seriously and beautiful...
I was happy for the cloudy, rainy day as all the colors came out so perfectly the way I saw them.










Isn't this boy's face beautiful? (of course it's Jamesy who will always be my favorite boy :)

Tomorrow I will show you what appeared to be the main reason for this ceremony...stay tuned!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

A Ceremony

Bali is full of ceremonies large and small. Last week, I happened upon two on the same day. One large, one small. These pictures are from "the big one". This was a ceremony that happens only every 150 years. I wish I could tell you more about the specifics, because it was quite fascinating, but you see, I lost my "guide" before it even really began. At most ceremonies I have been to, someone-usually a man-will come over and explain what the heck is going on. Balinese are rightly very proud of their culture and spectacular religious ceremonies and art traditions. So, I was being told about some of the preparations of this ceremony (that "only every 150 years" bit stuck in my head) when it was about to begin. We were all inside the main temple in town waiting for a break in the rain to start the procession to another temple down the road a ways. It was suggested that as soon as the rain stopped, I go out to the street to get the best shots (by now the locals know what most of us tourists really want!). So I did, and I didn't see my guide for the rest of the time-several hours of sometimes chaotic, curious and very colorful events.
So, my pictures will have to speak for themselves. As I took an embarrassing amount of photos, I'm going to break it down for you. Today we have: "Girls getting ready".

They were quite serious in preparation.



These girls ran across the street for a pre-ceremony snack. Wish I had, too-it was long!



Waiting. There was a lot of that. They were very patient.

Tomorrow....my favorite boy and the procession! Impressive, trust me.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

At the MotherTemple

I happened to take a tour with some other visitors to Bali up to the "Mother Temple",Pura Besakih. It is up on Mount Agung, where the air was so cool, I wanted to move in. However, several thousand people were making their way in and out of the temple over several days at that time, so it might have been a tad irksome. Yet another of Bali's ceremonies was happening. Couldn't get the specifics on this one, but it seemed pretty major to me. Here are some shots from that rainy day:

Entrance to the main temple, there are many temples within Besakih. Depending on your position, you pray and give offerings at a certain temple (I believe this has to do with the caste sysytem which unfortunately still exists in Balinese culture).




Looking down from the main entrance. If you look over to the right, you see a little patch of white-that is people, coming up the hill from way far away....




I wanted to join this caste, whatever they were, definitely the best looking temple to me. Loved all the red. They were not at the highest level, that would be yellow. I am ok with that.




I loved these tall tall banners that were everywhere, swaying in the breeze....I miss that breeze down here in the lowlands!


We actually went to a few other places on this one day tour-will post about that soon!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Funny Bird

A funny thing happened the other day. I went to the Bali Bird Park and got THE most amazing photos of all kinds of exotic (to me, a new englander) birds. I got back to my little homestay and struggled to find room for these new treasures on my computer already loaded with lots and lots of pictures (a lot of clouds got puffed away...), got them on, and then promptly deleted every last one. This funny bird, however, was on my other, small camera (the one I actually know how to use) and so here is the only visual account of my trip:








An impressive species, to be sure. But I am going back to resurrect the images in my mind!!!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Secret Cool

Next to a waterfall, deep inside a botanical garden jungle, this
secret buddha was
very cool indeed.
(more bali pics here)

Sunday, April 4, 2010

What I have been up to... (mum has been wondering)



Well, let's see...peeking in windows and doorways



Eating fruits that are impossible colors



Making new friends (these guys are much better looking in person)



Stepping around (not over!) special things left in the road



Shopping for a new dress


And taking in the view....


So much more to come,
afraid this will turn into a photoblog...can't find the words these days...sensory overload!
xo
e