Saturday 21 September 2013

Amazing sights V. tourism of the masses

Our journey to Bali is to build and share memories of a lifetime, experience this amazing island and its climate, try and befriend some locals and of course, visit some of the beautiful sights. Making friends with the locals is proving a bit more difficult, due to the language barrier and us, despite our best efforts, moving in touristy areas. Never-the-less, we happened to befriend what turned out to be a local tour guide and have finally had the opportunity to visit Tanah Lot, an important temple for the locals further up the coast, and Uluwatu, another important temple, further down the coast. The temples here are nothing what a European is used to, i.e. huge dome, bell tower or cathedral. The temples here are delicate open structures, with beautiful thatched roofs, the most intricate and colourful wood and stone carvings and rainbows of flags and umbrellas. The whole temple is an open-air setting, with multiple little structures spread over a small or large area. Each little temple is walled in, the entrance guarded by an intricate stone gate that seems to remind the non-faithfuls not to step any further. The temple of Tanah-Lot overlooks a most amazing rocky coastline, and its various temples are spread along the cliffs. Every little temple is simply breathtakingly beautiful! The waves below were huge during our visit, and crashing against the rocks, creating the most unique spectacle, pounding the foundations of each temple. The main temple is sitting on a rock, about 50m out from the mainland and is accessible most times, except when the ocean is going wild, as during our visit. Our guide Katut, indicated the building of a bridge had been attempted over the decades, but the ocean keeps taking it way. The faithfuls believe it is the Gods way to make the journey to the temple more difficult and therefore requesting more faith and conviction. The temple of Uluwatu is just as amazing, sitting high, high up on top of some spectacular cliffs, making it hard to believe how these incredible structures could have been constructed in the 11th century, using all but raw manpower. The view out over the ocean, from this height, is absolutely mind blowing! We imagined going back 100 years, seeing these temples as they were back then and what an amazing aura of spirituality there must have been, with nothing but the lush vegetation and the pounding of the waves. You can still feel there is something special at these locations, but regrettably, we tourists love coming to see sights we do not have at home, and the crowds grow and grow and grow. We were shocked and horrified, and ashamed at what we, Western tourists, have done to these temples. Both temples welcome you with huge parking lots. The compound of the Tanah-Lot temple has shop owners selling anything, and we mean anything, along the picturesque paths, now beautifully brick paved so that, God forbid, our Adidas and Gucci footwear are not harmed in any way… And the crowds arrive by the bus load, stomping along, chatting, laughing, kids going wild, silently fighting for the best spot for a picture with the right background, a quick drink and a toilet visit, and back onto the bus. How many actually stop to admire the temple grounds as a whole? How many walk its path respecting what it represents to the faithfuls? At least at the temple grounds of Uluwatu the visitors are requested to wear a sarong or at least a yellow cloth strapped around their waists (yellow and white being the holy colours) and no shops are to be found within its walls. Sunset are the preferred times to see either temple, with the sun bidding farewell out in the ocean and colouring the temples in a golden yellow, making it an amazing spectacle. We declined to stay for the sunset, knowing it would be sheer madness, as tourists flood each square inch for a picture and trample all over what is an important sacred site for the locals. Shame on us! As we left Uluwatu, about 1 hour before sunset, making the 2-hour journey back home, driving along the tiny road, the busses, mini-busses and taxis created a never ending metal snake of possibly 5 to 8 km length, making its way up the mountain and clogging traffic to a complete standstill, whilst engines are silently pumping out exhaust fumes allowing the occupants to sit in air-con comfort. What is the alternative? Limit development and tourism to certain areas? Have a character screening for tourists and only let in who respects the local culture? Charge higher prices, taking into account the pollution we create? We don’t have the answer, all we can do is try and be respectful of the local culture, customs and habits, and leave as little a footprint of our visit as possible, trying to leave just a faint shadow of our visit, so that others like us can come to enjoy and respect these amazing sights! Thank God there was no bright Coke or McDonald sign on any of the temples!

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