BALI ⸨A Travelogue⸩ ~ limwhow & SereneXMM

[limwhow]

BALI
A . T R A V E L O G U E
by limwhow & SereneXMM


9 - 13 Sep 2010
A trip taken with 6 good friends
organised by SgTrekker

[limwhow]

It has been a long while since we have last travelled to Bali.
And this chance we have this time round came when we found slots available organised by Adrian of SgTrekker.
Meaningfully, this trip was taken together with a group of enthusiastic photographers and myself and my wife SereneXMM would like to seize this opportunity to simply document our travel in the form of this travelogue.
It is by no means comprehensive nor is it to promote any tour company.
But simply to place in a tangible form, our memories of this wonderful trip.

Our trip was shared among the local photography scene elsewhere.
But in this thread we will be posting just our own photos - SereneXMM and myself.
There will also be many photos that are only seen in this thread and not in another place, for this thread is ours.

We have also posted a thread for the IR photos on this Bali trip.
It can be found here:
Bali in Infrared

[limwhow]

T R A V E L O G U E

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Bali.
The mention of the name conjures an image of serenity.
An island of unique charm and of friendly people.
A land of beautiful Balinese architecture, permeated with the ever-present wisps of incense smoke.
An air of equanimity characterised by an atmosphere made so much more calming by the tune of Balinese music.
A tourist destination, no doubt.
But with many a part that remains untouched by tourists.
It is with this aim of travelling to the popular spots, as well as exploring some less-travelled parts, that SgTrekker brought us on this trek.

Day 1: From Airport to Puri Maharani Hotel, Sanur

limwhow #01a
So excited about finally flying to Bali!


limwhow #01b
I have always wanted to take pictures of the transit area of the airport.
But strangely enough, despite flying my fair share of destination, I have not really done that.
Here is my dream.


limwhow #01c
Viewers would be laughing at me by now for showing all these Changi Airport photos.
But heck, as I said, it is solely for memory sake. Thus allow me the luxury of living my dream. Haha...


limwhow #01d
Ok, last general shot of the airport.


limwhow #01e
Here is SereneXMM and mine favourite pastime before flying - having a cuppa!


limwhow #01f
Here we were, awaiting boarding.
Not knowing exactly what to expect... well, not to as full an extent as Adrian the man himself...


limwhow #2
Here these fellows were sooooooo relaxed sitting down and talking.
And inside me I was so kan cheong, and I kept asking Adrian when we could board,
only to be met with reassurance after reassurance that "the plane will never fly off without us."
Whew.. this guy is a cool dude.


limwhow #3
So finally we found ourselves on board...

[limwhow]

limwhow #04


limwhow #04a
Historically, on my trips past and present with SgTrekker, the God of Rain has been smiling on us.
But of course, as in Chinese saying, that means "have water 有水 (money)" which is not a bad thing at all, because that will in turn mean that the God of Fortune does tend to smile on us quite a bit after our trip...
Here our relation with the Balinese God of Rain started almost immediately upon arrival...


limwhow #04b
One of my favourite shots whenever we travel is to take a shot of my SereneXMM while she walks on the walkway from the plane.


limwhow #05
But certainly the welcome was warm.

[limwhow]

limwhow #06
I dug out an old map of Bali, with all the folded lines etched deeply in it.
And I will, with my inexperienced attempt to illustrate, show our routes on this trip.
Here our guide and driver drove us from Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar to Sanur where we will be based for the next few days.

[limwhow]

limwhow #07
Arriving at the hotel, our first thoughts were to make a beeline for shelter...


limwhow #07b
I like this view. Not that it is a good photo. But in actual fact it is a terrible photo.
Just that it shows the front porch of the hotel with wet ground.
And importantly it showed the hotel porter carrying our big tua-leng-gong luggage!
A good memory to keep.

[limwhow]

limwhow #08
We found nice bright coloured umbrellas over our heads on route to our rooms.

[limwhow]

limwhow #09
And right from the very beginning of our trip, the Balinese God of Fortune has already bestowed upon us the formula for success.

[limwhow]

T R A V E L O G U E

Day 1: Sanur to Uluwatu Temple

Classic SgTrekker style:

❝Ladies and Gentlemen, please dump your luggage in your rooms, grab your weapons (cameras),
load up your dry rations (Snicker bars) and water, top up your ammunition (memory cards),
check your explosives (batteries), and draw your maps.❞
❝Fall in at 1500Hrs sharp at the lobby in SBO~Helmet~Rifles..
limwhow and SereneXMM - both of you make sure you are on time.
You both are ALWAYS the last to hit the parade square!❞ barked General Adrian.

limwhow #10
Stealthily we embarked on our first mission to the mysterious Uluwatu Temple, also known as the 'Monkey Temple', right at the southern tip of Bali.
Our well-used ancient map has the path of attack drawn clearly

[limwhow]

limwhow #11
As with all Balinese temples, the basic requirements for visitors were no revealing clothings, and decent attires.
Most temples will provide sarongs to be worn prior to entry.
Interestingly enough, these sarongs come in all colours and designs.
Some were, ahem... symbolic to the extent of being simply a little yellow ribbon tied around the waist just to convey a sense of decency.

[limwhow]

limwhow #12
Through the Split Gate of the Temple we walked.
The Balinese term for the Split Gate is called Candi Bentar.
And Candi Bentar can be seen all over the island of Bali.
From what Agung our Guide explained, walking through the Candi Bentar symbolises
"splitting and leaving behind worldly attachments, and entering the sacred sanctum of the temple."... cheeeem ah...!

[limwhow]

limwhow #13
We have heard so much about the mischievous little cousins of ours at Uluwatu.
These apes have a knack for leaping down from behind and snatching away unsuspecting visitors' glasses.
Only 'bribery' with special bananas from certain privileged individuals within the temple compounds would ensure speedy return of the abducted items.
Of course, this comes at a price.

[limwhow]

limwhow #13a
Here is a ultra-wide angle view of Uluwatu, the majestic temple in the distance over-looking the cliff.
I can really imagine if I were a Hindu priest of old and were to be there meditating day and night, I would most likely be in oneness with my karmic forces.

[limwhow]

Here I looked westwards towards the other side of the cliff where we are standing on.
This view I actually liked better for it is more serene.

[limwhow]

For the fun of it, my SereneXMM loved to shoot Infrared (IR) photos.
And this is an IR rendition of this beautiful place.

[limwhow]

And for comparison, it is obvious there is vast difference between the normal colour photo and an IR photo of this famous Temple on a cliff.


A tele-zoomed view of Uluwatu with here 50D on the 70-300mm.

[limwhow]

Actually, half the fun of going for a photo-trip with these enthusiastic photographers is seeing everyone in action.
And my SereneXMM and I love most to shoot others shooting! Hahaha...



And here is Miss Eng Sok Peng going at Uluwatu from where we were, the West of Uluwatu Temple.

[limwhow]

We both like this view very much as it shows exactly how the other photographers and ourselves shot from the edge of the cliff.
Colin the Scotsman seemed a little uncomfortable in his Sarong. Hahaha...

[limwhow]

SereneXMM was quite one of a kind.
Even Indian Nationals having fun she also shoots. Kekeke...

[limwhow]

Because of the rain, the ground has become muddied and wet.
And as we walked back, we saw a group of tourists who have (unwisely) climbed up upon the wall.
In our opinion, it was a little risky as a wrong step will send them falling down hundred of feet below!

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It was so muddied that all our sandals and crocs were filled with mud and sand...
Luckily Agung found a tap for us to wash our feet!

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I quite like this view.
Took it from high up the cliff looking down at the people on the beach below.

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And of course, the flower of Uluwatu, and this is my take!

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Plus the monkey of Uluwatu.
This one is really really mischievous!

[limwhow]

T R A V E L O G U E


RELIGONS OF BALI

Bali is not only unique in its landscape and Balinese/Javanese architecture, it is also different from the rest of Indonesia in its religion makeup.
More than 90% of its population are Hindus, practising a form of Javanese Hinduism that has its root way back from India.
The remaining of the population are Buddhists, Muslims and a small proportion, Christians and Catholics.

The powerful Majapahit Empire of Java in the 14th century was the last Javanese Hindu kingdom.
During the peak of its power, its control spanned the whole Indonesia from Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sulawesi,
the Riao-Lingga archepilago (current Batam & Bintan) and all the way up north to Temasek (Singapore) and the Malayan peninsula.

As Indonesia became Islamised subsequently, the remaining Javanese Hindus of the Majapahit migrated to Bali.
Thus Bali became the last stronghold of the Hindus in this part of the world, a state that remains till today.

PURA LUHUR ULUWATU


[I made use of SereneXMM's photo here for the sake of illustration]

Uluwatu is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Bali.
Its full official name is Pura Luhur Uluwatu.
Pura Luhur means 'High Temple' and Uluwatu means 'the rock at the end of the land'.
Indeed its location is right at the tip of the island, overlooking a spectacular cliff.
An ideal place for meditation for the priests and a popular destination for annual massive pilgrimage by the Hindus.
Uluwatu was founded in the 10th century by Empu Kuturan, a Javanese Hindu priest who built the tiered meru.
Over the centuries, it will further built upon by a succession of high priests,
includingDang Hyang Nirartha, the famous Hindu priest from Java, who gave the Temple its final look.

limwhow #15
I know I should have waited for the people in between the split gate to move out before i press the shutter.
But there were stream of people and we couldn't wait.

[limwhow]

T R A V E L O G U E

Day 1 Evening: Uluwatu Temple to Kedonganan Beach

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to gently nudge forward to Kedonganan first, and after we arrived, we'll take a breather.

So, with the exhilarating view of Uluwatu deeply carved into our minds, we moved on to Kedonganan.
The plan was to hit Kedonganan beach, with all its sampan, known as Jukung in the local language, around Golden Hour so as to shoot sunset.

[limwhow]

5:53pm. Arrived at Kedonganan and alighted our minivan promptly in fear of missing the Golden Hour.
But somehow, the rain-clouds were too overwhelming.
There was sea, there was sand, there were the junkungs that came free with the fishermen and fisherwomen.
But there was no sun.


... and as usual, SereneXMM KB-KB-ing...

[limwhow]

When we arrived at Kedonganan it was 6pm.
Actually it was not sunset yet but because it was raining the sky was dark.
So there was no sun. Here is a photo by my SereneXMM showing the dark clouds.

[limwhow]

When SereneXMM shot this boat it was still quite bright because we just arrived. But the sky darkened quite quickly.

[limwhow]

When the time comes to shoot this picture, the sky was quite dark already.
The thing about Kedonganan was, the darkening was made so much more rapid as the rain clouds were fast approaching.
So at the end of the day we all were pressed for time and had little light left.

[limwhow]

Actually very soon everything was dark already.
We had to bump up our ISO to very high level and to keep an eye on the shutter speed.
But it was interesting to see many fishermen and fisherwomen still at work.

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Another view making use of her UWA.
SereneXMM shot from an angle.
The lighting was already very dim.

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Aside from the pervasive stench of rancid fishes as we walked by nettings, the whole place does reek of a junkyard for these Jukungs.
I tried as best as I could to shoot from such an angle that reduces the junkyard-like appearance of the beach.
I was fortunate enough to have caught that rain-cloud fast approaching from the distance.

[limwhow]

Finally I gave up.
Everyone was up at the beach.
I just opened up my tripod and walked right onto the waters.
Stupidly, although I had all the umbrella plastic bags strapped onto the legs of my tripod, I didn't have the time nor the presence of mind to water-proof them.
Here is a shot of the waves. Kept it under-exposed to convey the feeling of darkness on that dark dark evening.

[limwhow]

Here is my share of the Jukung in IR.

[limwhow]

T R A V E L O G U E

Kedonganan

Kedonganan is just a stone throw away from its slightly more famous neighbour, the Jimbaran Beach.
Here, what gives Kedonganan its flavour is that it is still a very active fishing village.
Every morning, the fishermen will take their small boat, called the Jukung and go right out to sea to haul their catch.
Rows after rows of Jukungs make this stretch a dreamland for photographers in capturing the beautiful sea with the often colourful jukung as foreground.


The young fisherman in action, carrying bins of seawater to wash his catch of fishes.

[limwhow]

Haha.... and our Ang Moh friend Colin the Scotsman going all out with his GF-1 to catch a shot of the fisherman in the last light...

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... and as it finally got dark, we walked slowly towards the restaurant - The Ocean.
We came upon this corn seller.
In capturing this scene, SereneXMM used very high ISO on her 5DMkII to show up the corn...

[limwhow]

And here is my rendition of the same scene in IR.
I find the way the photo appears in IR to be very interesting.
IR rays are found from the light from the lamp as well as the fire on the stove.

[limwhow]

LOL... SereneXMM has a few record shots to share. These are really lousy out of focus pictures but for record purpose I think can still make it la.
Adrian said let's try to have a romantic dinner out on the sand. But who knows very soon the rain came and we all ran right into the restaurant to continue our dinner.

[limwhow]

In the comfort of the shelter, we had a nice seafood dinner. It was great company and great beer and food.
The food was really nice.
Only thing was the fish was full of bones and Adrian even had to warn us to be careful eating it! Hahaha....

[limwhow]

And finally, dinner just at the sea side, to soothe hungry stomachs, and to quell surging gastric acids.
Of course, not to mention, rehydrate thirsty throats with emergency beer, to use our good Scotsman's very own words!

[limwhow]

If any single one of us were to say, at the end of Day 1, that he or she is not tired,then he or she would certainly get a good whack,
from nobody other than our good SereneXMM, who has by now KBKB-ed her nth times already.
Look at General Adrian's face, and also our good strong Scotsman's slouching shoulders... and anyone can tell that these fellows had a tough day.
Even Lara Croft the Tomb Raider (also known as SereneXMM) with her SBO of three full-sized camera bodies fully loaded, is almost dying.
Miss ESP on the lower left hand corner seems to be the only one still alive.
Understandably so... a marathon runner she is.

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Here, a last photo of the rain drops on the window of our minivan as we made our way back to the hotel, doggedly tired.
Yupe. It rained unrelentlessly, even during the last hours of the day.
But the rain soon became oblivious to our drained bodies and minds.
And soon, we were all in dreamland...

[limwhow]

And dreamland for SereneXMM and I was in Room 106 of Puri Maharani Hotel.
Honestly this hotel is really not bad, not bad at all.
The room size was big and there was WiFi!