Bali - Day 2

Although the sand at Lovina beach is grey, it is quiet and peaceful, and popular for its early morning dolphin-watching boat trips.

Sorry that I couldn’t catch any pictures of the dolphins. With lots of boats chasing the dolphins around, I am not sure that it would have any effects to the well being of the animals or not.

Anyway, after breakfast we leave the beach behind to visit Pura Ulun Danu Bratan.

From Lonely Planet website:

This very important Hindu-Buddhist temple was founded in the 17th century. It is dedicated to Dewi Danu, the goddess of the waters, and is actually built on small islands, which means it is completely surrounded by the lake. Both pilgrimages and ceremonies are held here to ensure that there is a supply of water for farmers all over Bali.

The temple is truly beautiful, with classical Hindu thatch-roofed meru (multiroofed shrines) reflected in the water and silhouetted against the often cloudy mountain backdrop - one of the most common photographic images of Bali.

TAMAN AYUN TEMPLE

Taman Ayun Temple is a royal shrine built in 1634 at the height of the Mengwi Kingdom, one of the island’s most powerful political hubs disappearing by the end of the nineteenth century. It is about 300 meter east of the former palace of Mengwi . This temple is surrounded by many water lilies





Going to a temple.

Walking from the parking lot to the temple, our tour leader, Pe Paew, has to remind us that we still have plenty of time to shop later. Since there are lots of souvenir stalls tempting us to stop by.

Last visiting place for today is at Tanah Lot, where we wish to see the sunset behind the temple. But no such luck for any of us.

From Indonesia-tourism website :

Tanah Lot is located about 12 kilometers from Tabanan City and 20 kilometers from Denpasar. The area comprises a wondrous mixture of natural beauty and sheer human effort. Here lies an idyllic white sand beach with crashing waves, complemented by a small yet majestic temple. This temple, known as Pura Tanah Lot, juts out to sea on a rocky background. Tanah Lot attracts throngs of both locals and tourists daily. Most come here longing to catch a glimpse of the romantic Tanah Lot sunsets, a regular occurrence during the dry season (April to November).


We stay overnight at Ubud which is quite packed with tourists. Our chosen hotel (that didn’t answer our reservation) is full. After walk-in to many hotels, we finally get one at Hanuman road near the Monkey Forest area.