Bali Trip - Taman Alun & Ulun Danu Beratan
Day 3 is all about temples! We started the day by heading to a place called Taman Ayun (which if translated to Malay would be called Beautiful Garden...quite apt really!) and as with all the temples in Bali, we were greeted with pretty statues at the entrance =)
I don't know what fascinated me about this...the sheer size of this roof probably. Looks rather primitive and uninteresting but seen in real life, it gave me a sense of whoa...people made this by hand!
Again, we were not allowed into the actual prayer courtyard, but we hung around outside, and I managed to snap photos of the altars inside. =)
More photos....they kinda look run-down with the moss growing on it, but it also adds a little timeless feel to it, in my opinion. Zen-like, almost!
I heart this small altars with their 'mushroom'-like rooftops! So cute =)
And there were also many pagoda-like altars...I wanted to capture the different heights, but the angle seem kinda wrong I guess. Caption was supposed to be "Do re mi..." Oh well, you get the idea *wink*
Close up =)
On the way out, I couldn't resist snapping this. At first glance, it didn't look like much, but I remember from afar I spotted this tree and it looked deceivingly like a heart shape. See if you can see the shape...heh!
And a few more shots before we headed to our next destination...
Next stop: Ulun Danu Beratan. We were told that this temple was the very same one featured on a Balinese banknote! Of course there were throngs of people there, tourists and locals going for a prayer ceremony alike...but we enjoyed our time there. I spotted pretty trees, as you can see here =)
The entrance to the temple....see, it's decorated with pretty umbrellas for the Galungan & Kuningan festival!
Sis wanted to buy one of these pretty umbrellas to bring home...until Peter told us that these umbrellas are only used for prayers. One doesn't buy them from stores. =\
Some more photos at the outer courtyard. There were so many god statues out for display and one can't help but stare at the gorgeous colors! Some were menacing and some were very serene and friendly-looking...
These two were very cool statues of the Barong and Rangda...Gods of good and evil respectively that were featured in the Barong dance that we got to watch in Day 4. I love the finishings that were made from those paddy plants....rustic, but pretty and amazing at the same time!
And we arrive at the famous temple! It's really pretty (my photos do it no justice!) and the weather was really nice...breezy and not too hot with some fluffy clouds hovering above. The temple is built on the lake, so it looked like it's floating on water. Gorgeous! There were also boats that offer rides for people who wants to go around the lake and admire the temple sort of up close, but we didn't go as there were too many people hanging about =\
I took the liberty of playing around on my iPhone again with this photo =)
Some more pretty trees at the other side of the lake!
This was another shot that I took of the other side of the lake....I love this effect on the colors. Makes it look like rolling hills near a lake right? I heart it =)
Some more pretty trees at the other side of the lake!
This was another shot that I took of the other side of the lake....I love this effect on the colors. Makes it look like rolling hills near a lake right? I heart it =)
After too many a photos, we decided to head back. I couldn't resist taking this photo of the really tall trees outlining the path out....it reminded me of one of those Korean drama scenes where the couple walks happily off into the sunset (yes, how cheesy that I would watch Korean dramas right? I have since stopped. LOL!)
There were also plenty of pretty flowers around, but I just adore this little white flower amidst a background of green. Doesn't really quite do it justice....so I tried another and got:
This =) A little over saturated some might say, but I like it for some weird reason. Heh!
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