Enjoy the Water Garden of Tirta Gangga, Bali

Tirta Gangga water garden, Bali

After spending at least two hours at Lempuyang Temple, we went to the second place, still in the region of Karangasem, which was basically a water garden. It's Tirta Gangga. It's also one of the most Instagram-posted places in Bali. You know a lady sitting on the stone steps on the pond with fish surrounding her? Yup. That's the place.

On the way there we dropped by for a minute to have a rice-field view from the road. Just so you know, it's a winding road in Karangasem. From the uphill road we could see the view down the hill and feel the breeze through the window. It's way colder here than in Denpasar area, as it's at higher altitude. We reached there after 30-minute drive.  

The name of Tirta Gangga means the water of the Ganges. Maybe because both Bali and India has something in common--Hindu--so it means more like the holy water of Ganges. Tirta Gangga used to be a private water garden belonging to the kingdom of Karangasem. The most recognisable spot of this place is that one pond with a distinct fountain at the center in which the visitors can go across the pond by walking on the stone steps. You have to be patiently waiting tho to take some pictures at this spot. We decided to chill at the other pond, feeding the fish with our feet got soaked in the pond.

Otherwise, you can walk around the area seeing the flowers, feeding the fish, or looking at the view from the compound at the upper level and take some pictures. Is that it? Yes 😄 Maybe some of you who has been there can let me know what else to do. 

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Crazy Line Up at Lempuyang Temple Bali

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. 

Disclaimer: the trip was taken before COVID-19 pandemic.

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Melihat Ular Suci Tanah Lot

Pertama kali menyentuh ular suci Tanah Lot.

Siang itu saya dan kawan saya memutuskan untuk mengunjungi Tanah Lot, Bali. Rencananya, kami mau menyaksikan matahari terbenam di sana. Mobil taksi daring meluncur dari Kerobokan menuju Tanah Lot. Butuh waktu sekitar 30 menit menuju ke sana. 

Sesampainya di sana, kami langsung menuju kawasan pantai yang, sebenarnya tidak berpasir bagus seperti pantai Seminyak atau Kuta. Tanah Lot berpasir hitam dan berbatu. Banyak sisi-sisi bebatuan yang licin sehingga harus ekstra hati-hati. 

Kami mencoba mengunjungi pura yang berada di bukit batu. Bukit ini apabila laut pasang terlihat terpisah dari daratan utama, namun untungnya saat itu sedang surut sehingga memungkinkan untuk berkunjung. Sebelum masuk, kami didoakan di mana penjaganya mengusapkan beras yang bisa nempel seperti stiker kulkas di kening dan dahi. Setelah itu kami naik ke atas pura. Cukup bagus pemandangan dari atas bukit, meskipun jalannya sempit. Sayangnya, kami tidak bisa masuk ke dalam pura untuk menjaga kesucian tempat ibadah itu. Anyway, it was cool enough tho.

Ternyata di pantai dekat bukit batu tadi ada gua di mana kita bisa melihat seorang penjaga dengan ular sucinya. Penasaran, akhirnya saya memutuskan untuk masuk. I thought about ular phyton besar saat mendengar kata-kata ular suci. Namun, di luar dugaan karena ular suci yang dimaksud ternyata ular laut. Yes, it was a sea snake. Banded sea krait. Dengan motif belang-belang hitam putih di tubuhnya dan ekornya yang pipih dan licin seperti ekor ikan, ular suci itu terlihat "tenang" di samping sang "pawang". Ada semacam lubang di samping sang pawang yang merupakan tempat tinggal ular (sepertinya). Menurut cerita, ular suci ini adalah jelmaan selendang Dang Hyang Nirartha, seseorang yang dulunya bertapa di gua ini. Adanya ular ini adalah agar beliau bisa bertapa tanpa adanya gangguan. Namun sekarang, tinggal ular suci ini yang mendiami gua.

Si bapak meyakinkan saya untuk menyentuh si ular. Saya pernah melihat ular laut sebelumnya setidaknya dua kali, saat masih di Papua Barat. Pertama, saat berenang di pantai dan kami semua langsung semburat berenang ke tepi sampai ngos-ngosan saat melihat ular laut naik ke permukaan menuju karang untuk mengambil nafas. Kedua, saat sedang sendiri di tepi pantai dan ular itu tersapu ombak besar sebelum kembali ke laut. Dari informasi baik itu dari buku atau para penyelam, ular laut ini sangat berbisa dan bisa membunuh dalam waktu yang jauh lebih singkat daripada durasi album Chromatica. Jadi, tentu saja, tidak ada niatan untuk mencoba mendekat apalagi menyentuhnya. 

Tapi sore itu berbeda. Dengan sedikit deg-degan, saya mencoba untuk menyentuh ular suci itu. Tentu saja dengan si bapak tetap memegang ular itu, semantara tangan satunya memegang sebat dengan santainya. It's not safe. At all😄 Rasanya? Sama seperti ular kebanyakan, hanya saja ini lebih licin. Di samping itu, ekstra hati-hati juga. Sebenarnya memang harus begitu sih, selalu menganggap semua ular itu berbisa. 

Terlepas dari cerita dan kepercayaan di baliknya, personally saya khawatir dengan si bapak itu. Takut tiba-tiba ada sesuatu yang terjadi. Maksudnya, sejinak-jinaknya ular tetaplah hewan buas / liar. Apalagi itu ular laut. Tapi mungkin juga ada faktor-faktor lainnya yang membuat kemungkinan itu lebih kecil. Seperti fakta bahwa sebenarnya ular laut menghabiskan waktunya di air daripada di darat, mungkin juga ular suci itu jadi tidak semengerikan yang saya bayangkan, setidaknya bagi sang penjaga.

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