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| Lempuyang Temple (Gates of Heaven), Bali |
When it comes to Bali, there's always something to talk about. Happy hour, sunsets, beaches, exclusive villas, food, cultures, and of course, Balinese temples. That's one of the main attractive icons of the island.
Lucky I had a chance to visit one of the most Instagram-posted places in Bali. It's Lempuyang Temple, the complete name is Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyang. Maybe some of you will ask "which one?". Maybe you once saw some photos of a person/ couple standing or posing yoga and things in front of a Balinese gate with the background of a magnificent mountain. In addition, the mirror-like reflection from the water below them makes it look dramatically beautiful. Even that particular photo spot is called as Gates of Heaven.
The thing is, it's just too good to look real. And yes, in 2019 it was revealed that those pictures taken were faked. Especially, when it comes to mirror-like reflection as there's no water compound whatsoever. It's edited by the photographer using mirror that was put below the camera lense. Apparently, the tourist who was revealed it got disappointed because they felt they got false information.
And then?
That's it. People keep coming anyway, including me. So I took a car from Seminyak that morning in July. The air was hot and humid then. I fetched my friend on the way there. We planned to visit three places in one day, with the first one was Lempuyang Temple, the furthest, then it continued with the second place (Tirta Gangga) and third one (Gua Lawa) on the way back. It took around five hours from Seminyak to Lempuyang Temple. It was so crowded that even the driver could barely find a place to park.
Right after we dropped out of the car, we approached locket to buy the tickets. Just like many other temples in Bali, the visitors were obliged to cover the body with cloth as a respect to the place. It took around 5 minutes from the entrance to the Lempuyang Temple. Once we got there, we were like shocked by the crowd. We finally saw the gate the people were talking about. And we saw visitors posing in front of the gate with a cameraman tapping the screen whatsoever of the camera, while giving instructions to the photo object.
video: people lining up for pictures at the gates
There's a pendopo (gazebo-like building) next to the gate where we could see at least one hundred people lining up in zig-zag "S" flow, queueing for their turn to take pictures at the gate. Not to mention, they had to pay for it. We were like "It's crazy, how long will they get to their turn?" Of course, we didn't want to join them as it's gonna take the whole day for it. Just, nah. I asked one of the visitors since when they've been there and they said it's been two hours already. Well...
Anyway, we decided to hang around the area but not joining the line (for sure!). The was cloud covering half of the mountain, and we didn't see it as worth to wait. We still had two more places to visit anyway. However, there's a spot that was beautiful to take some pictures at. It was behind the pendopo and it has stairs up to the main temple. We decided to just chill over there. We couldn't enter the complex as it's sacred place, but it's okay.
So, is Lempuyang Temple worth to visit? Yes. At least for once in a lifetime. We didn't get disappointed by the fact that the photos tricked or were faked or edited whatsoever. Especially when we know it's posted on Instagram LOL. Maybe some people just want to make some beautiful memories through photographs, and aesthetic is becoming the main elements in most pictures taken nowadays. Just, enjoy it as long as you can.