GETTING INTO THE BALINESE CULTURE /// Ceremony. Waterfall. Workshop. Dance.
Finally, we had a chance to attend an event of Balinese culture and along with that, we saw a life of local people.
GALUNGAN CELEBRATION AND KUNINGAN CEREMONY
Galungan is a Balinese holiday celebrating the victory of dharma (good) over adharma (bad) for 10 days. It is the time when the ancestral spirits visit the Earth. The last day of the celebration is Kuningan, when they return.
There are more than 20 000 temples in Bali where the locals can do the ceremony.
We were attending the last Kuningan day and it was our pleasure to be there and to see how it happens.
Firstly, they put offering to Gods, small and big baskets full of goods, like fruits, eggs, nuts. After that they are praying for almost one hour and with prayers they are respecting the spirits.
When it all comes to an end, people take their baskets and leave the temple. As we know, they continue the celebration at home and it’s more important than ceremony.
We got an offer to attend one more ceremony at another temple. When we arrived there, we saw waaay more people in there and it all looked so massive.
We were the only foreigners there and people kind of admired us, that we came to see the ceremony.
It was nice to experience it and one more thing to say, Bali is an island of celebration, almost every day there is a celebration of something and that’s quite surprising. Only there is a bad side for it - banks, ATM’s, immigration centers etc. are not working...so be careful, haha.
NON-TOURISTIC WATERFALL
We arrived to a small village, left our cars and went to see the waterfall. The path to the waterfall is full of extreme, as it’s not touristic yet, the path is not with stairs or something safe, it’s all wild. The feeling was like you are going through the jungle + it’s hot and we couldn’t stop dreaming about having a shower in waterfall.
The whole path took us around 15 minutes and we finally reached our destination. The waterfall was not very big, but still it was nice!
We chilled down for some time and then slowly went back.
WOOD CARVING WORKSHOP
You ask how did we manage to see everything? Well, for a productive day you have to wake up with the sun :)
The next place we visited was wood carving workshop. 2 men were sitting on the floor and they had a door to carve.
They took the tools and started their work. Such a nice atmosphere was there, guys worked in traditional costumes and music playing.
They said for one order they need at least 15-20 days. Oh, I believe how much patience they need. The work they do is incredible and now we can understand why the architecture is so spectacular in Indonesia.
THE BALINESE DANCE
After a workshop the local people invited to see the dance in which the dancers show the battle between the good and the bad.
We were quite excited to see it and when the kids went out, we understood that we will love it. Kids started the dance and the teacher was helping them. It was so cute how they played with their emotions and eyes, the boy was focused the whole dance, he didn’t even change his face expression.
After the kids show, a bit older girls came to show their dance. They could involve everyone who was watching, the movements of hands were so clear and smooth and they even did a ‘dance with eyes’ so they could hypnotize you. It was an incredible experience to see it.
Great photos!! Oh how I love Bali as well, spent about a year there over the past three years. If you haven't gone to Akasha outside Ubud, or Bali Dacha on Wednesdays and Sundays, make a plan to do it!
Thanks a lot for your advice! We will definitely check them out. Luckily, we have loads of time to do it! :) Where do you spend the rest of your time?
Amazing places to eat in Ubud: Clear Cafe, Seeds of Life, Sayuri, Atman Kafe,
Also if you are going to stay in Ubud don't stay downtown but go to Penastanan, you'll need a motorbike (just do it! it's so fun!) to get there, but you'll need one anyway to get to the places I mentioned above. Also drop by Hubud, the first coworking space in Bali (it's in Ubud). Big beautiful bamboo structure with fast internet that saved my digital nomad lifestyle from extinction three years ago when the then-awful internet on the island nearly ruined my ability to present online and therefore nearly ruined my ability to work remotely! It's a cool space, and now there are other sweet ones like Outpost a little south of town (eat at Sage across the street there too, really great), and Roam in Penastanan (eat at Alchemy next to that too!) Hope that helps, I'm kind of new to Steem and really excited about it so I'm going to follow you and hopefully we'll be able to share travel experiences and tips in the future!
Impressive material! Seems that we were in Ubud at the very same time..:-)
Do you do the photography on your own? Which type of camera do you use if I may ask? Looks really professional!
I'm glad you stopped by in my blog - I'm following yours now :-)
an exciting travel activity and spend some time to enjoy the natural atmosphere and customs that are still friendly to the environment. this may be a beautiful moment if we feel it ourselves. in terms of the photo above has been pictured the pleasure of a beautiful moment.@extremeromance
What a trip! I enjoyed it. A few questions: are these photos post-processed? Also, what camera do you use to shoot? I love the toned down colors and brightness levels! Please share guys :D Thank you.
Yeas, these are edited in Lightroom, that's my little playground :D We us Sony Alpha 7RII.
Thank you for the lovely feedback and we are glad you liked the photos <3
I bet you are having the best time in Bali.
I see your interest in the culture of Bali and all, seems you enjoy staying in Bali.
Amazing pictures and beautiful sceneries too.
Thank you! The culture here is very rich with celebrations, traditions, colors, dances and music. We will continue exploring and sharing.
(1) Bali is an island of celebration. Your blog is also like a celebration.
(2) It seems like nature is preserved so naturally in Bali.
(3) It also seems like your eyes and attention was amazed by the Balinese Dance.
(4) Just a question. Which camera and lens did you use to take all these photos. The article is having so many professional photos and i love them all.
That looks amazing! Of course, I find the architecture fascinating, with all those fine details and the incredible amount of work that had to have gone into its design and construction. The colors are very nice, too!
The festivities look like a blast. It must be a lot of fun to be there to see and participate in that. great job with the photography, too!
It is extraordinary to learn the culture, excellent photos that will remain etched in my mind
Thank you! We're very glad that you like them!
Bali looks awesome, so much more than just beaches
Ohh beaches are just a little part of Bali, there's so much to explore and enjoy here.
Beautiful Photos .... And Specially On Day Of Yoga... Happy Word Yoga Day ...