Bali - Amed

Day 1 - RELAX & SUNSETPOINT

After a sleepless night, I got up to have breakfast. I could enjoy breakfast with a view of the ocean. The sound of the sea is so soothing 🌊.

I didn't do much during the day. I mainly walked along the beach. Amed has a very unique black sand beach with quite a few stones. This is due to Mount Agung, the volcano, which can be seen from some places in Amed. I also explored the town and took the opportunity to get some money and water supplies.

In the afternoon, I met the second guest at the hostel, an older gentleman from England. We talked a bit and he mentioned that Sunset Point was nearby. Of course, I had already heard of the famous Sunset Point in Amed. In the early evening, I started walking and I was there within 10 minutes. What a view. Mount Agung rose on the left, below was the beach, and to the right, you could see the open sea. Magnificent! It was especially beautiful when the sun set. Unfortunately, it was quite cloudy, so the sunset didn't come through as well as it normally does 🌋.

Day 2 - LEMPUYANG TEMPLE & TIRTA GANGGA

Today, I really wanted to visit some temples. But unfortunately, there were no buses going there because the route is too steep. So once again, I relied on a driver. Negotiating, negotiating, negotiating (I'll get better at this😄).

First, I went to the Pura Lempuyang Temple. This has been on my bucket list for a while. The entrance to this gate is also lovingly called Heaven's Gate. And it truly is. A magnificent temple with a great view. However, it's better to be there very early in the morning (10 am was too late😅), because only then do you have the chance to see Mount Agung behind this Heaven's Gate. Unfortunately, it was covered in lots of clouds when I was there.

Actually, I hadn't planned on visiting the other temples that belonged to the Lempuyang Temples. They were supposed to be not as beautiful and also involved a long walk. However, I spontaneously decided to hike up the mountain. It was just a pity that there was no breeze at all in the 30-degree heat 🌞. Just before the road ended and it went into the jungle, I met two Texan women, Lori and Trish. Thank goodness I met them because we had to deal with aggressive monkeys in the jungle. Normally, there is a long path where you can see 2 more temples, or a shorter path where you only see the top temple. Because of the many monkeys (which we kept at bay with sticks and back to back), we decided to take the shorter path. Even though we didn't have any food, the monkeys followed us, baring their teeth and getting very close. At times, we were so scared that we turned back or waited for 10 minutes until the monkeys were gone. Despite everything, we had a lot of fun, talked a lot during the over 2 hours and 3,000 steps, and the encounters with the monkeys brought us closer together. Finally, when we reached the top, the temple and the view were unfortunately not as beautiful as they should have been after such a long journey. And then the 2 monkeys at the temple, whom we tried to ignore, even tried to steal our backpacks. The descent was much easier. Laughing and sweaty, we arrived back at the bottom. What an experience. But please, no more monkeys 😂🐒.

After my driver had waited for me for 4 hours (no problem), he took me to the next temple. The Tirta Gangga Temple. This means holy Indian water. It was a rather small but beautiful water temple. With the help of stone slabs, you could walk past these holy waters and wonderful statues. Unfortunately, there were quite a few tourists here in the afternoon. So, once again, early is always better! 😊

In the evening, I once again enjoyed the view of Mount Agung from Sunset Point. You just can't get enough of this place. 🌄

Day 3 - CEREMONIES & OGOH-OGOH

Today, the day before Nyepi (Balinese New Year's Day), many ceremonies and processions took place, so I wanted to get up early to experience the ceremonies with the owners of the hostel. Of course, I had to put on temple clothes first, otherwise, I wouldn't be allowed into the temples.

In total, I participated in 4 ceremonies. The first 3 ceremonies were all quite similar and took place in smaller temples. First, the offerings brought (mainly food) were placed in the small temples. Then everyone sat down cross-legged and talked a lot. Now a man came around with holy water and cleansed everyone (this was quite a wet affair). After the cleansing, prayers were said. For the prayer, flower petals and an incense stick were placed in front of oneself. Then, a gong sounded every few seconds. During this time, you took a few flower petals, held them briefly in the smoke of the incense stick, and then held them between your two middle fingers (palms together). With your thumb, you touched the forehead between the eyes. Now you had time to pray until the gong sounded rapid-fire. Then you put the flower petals in your hair or behind your ears. Then you took new flower petals and started over. This process was repeated 3-5 times. After praying, you were blessed. First, the holy water was poured over the head again. Then it was drunk, for which you extended both hands, with the right hand on top, and then some water was poured into it, which you then brought to your mouth (this was done a total of 3 times). Then, holy water was given again into the right hand, and this time it was either brought to the forehead or the head, and this was repeated (I always did it once to the forehead, twice to the head). As you can imagine, you were quite wet afterwards, which was quite pleasant in this heat. After this blessing, you received rice grains, which you stuck on your wet forehead. The offered food, which was also blessed, was taken back and eaten. I ate many unusual and delicious fruits that I had never seen before.

The 4th ceremony was a bit different. This time, it was much bigger and didn't take place in a temple but on the street. After about an hour (only one person prayed and blessed the food for everyone, while there was a lot of talking and laughing around), it started pouring rain, so I sought shelter and unfortunately didn't witness the end.

The ceremonies were truly a great experience. I was the only European at each of them. Of course, I was observed a lot, especially by the children, but often rewarded with a smile or kind words. The people were simply very curious about what I, as a Christian, was doing at this Hindu ceremony, but they were visibly pleased that I appreciated their religion.

In the evening, the real fun of the day started. These parades served to drive away the evil spirits and demons from the island. Children and teenagers, who had built the huge Ogoh-Ogoh statues days before, now carried them through the streets amidst loud music and shouting. The statues symbolize the evil spirits and demons, so they are treated very roughly. They are jumped on, run around with, and the direction is abruptly changed to break these Ogoh-Ogohs as well as possible. What a spectacle. Truly amazing.

Day 4 - NYEPI

The Day of Nyepi had arrived. This is the day of the Balinese New Year and is also called the Day of Silence. Internet, light, and music are not used on this day, and the streets are also not visited. So, you spend the whole day at home or, in my case, in the hostel (by the pool or in the garden reading). This silence, and especially the darkness, is meant to show the evil spirits and demons that the island is uninhabited (in case any of them were not driven away by the noise from the previous day).

Especially from 7 pm (7 p.m.) on, this was quite a change. Outside, it was pitch black, and I moved around with a flashlight through the facility. Since it was still early, I decided to go to the beach. I had never seen so many stars in one night before. The longer I sat there on the veranda with the sound of the sea in my ears, the more stars became visible. This was one of the most beautiful and, above all, quietest moments of my life.

• The day after, I continued to Padang Bai.

• These days were probably the most amazing and beautiful cultural experiences I have ever had.

#Bali #Amed #blacksandbeach #Sunsetpoint #PuraLempuyangLuhur #TirtaGangga #ceremonies #Nyepi #DayOfSilence #OgohOgoh