I knew which way to go. Yesterday, my host took me into the fields so that I could see his temple from above. He's the security/tourist greeter at the Besi Kulang temple. I also knew that the local men are working on widening the road down to the river. It's steep, and has potholes.
It was interesting to see them work. Someone worked the cement mixer at the top of the hill. The concrete was shovelled from the mixer onto a sack, and two men would carry the sack by the corners to its desired spot. Two other men shaped he concrete, one flattening with a trowel; the other with a hand-made broom. There were several pairs of men doing the carrying, and there was another mixer and crew near the first bend in the road, maybe 30 feet from the top. Sacks of mixed concrete dripped moisture.
I had a short conversation with the supervisor. To me, he looked more Japanese than Balinese. He wanted to know how long I was here, and where I was staying. Truthfully, I could answer neither question, Mobutu I did my best and picked my way down the road.
Roughly at the time I got to the spot where there were construction materials on the road, I felt the loose gravel roll under my feet. Down I went, and away went my water bottle. Fortunately, I landed on my bum. Pride was definitely NOT intact. I accepted the extended arm, got up, took my water bottle from another saviour and continued walking down the hill.
At the bottom of the hill, there’s a small river, and beside the river, there's a hot spring. When we passed it yesterday, some young men were soaking. Today, it was empty.
Over the bridge, past the chicken and pig farm, and up the hill I went. Up, up, up. At the top of that rise, there were rice paddies on each side of the narrow track. Not far along the flat was a small hut, guarded by a scare crow in a priest’s while coat. His face was a wooden mask, and his hair made of coconut.
It took about an hour to get to the Monument proclaiming this to be the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces World Heritage sight.
A family from Fiji was taking a break on their bike tour. Very tall dad (Caucasian), tall for a Fijian mom, two lanky teenaged sons, one daughter. They were going down the road that I had just come up.
There were a handful of other tourists in the monument area. It was nothing like the circus were saw at the Talalagong terraces that we passed on our own bike tour. And the terraces are much more spectacular because they are more vast. The entire bowl visible from the town was terraced, and rice was at different stages of development. If I had to guess, I'd say it was 20 times bigger than the more famous terraces.
I followed the road for a short way (maybe two long city blocks) and started down the track once again. There were a few tourists in flip flops. Hopefully they were only having a photo stop, cause I know I couldn't have walked for two hours in flip flops.
Then it was me and the occasional worker, enjoying the clean air and wonderous beauty.
The cell phone reception was strong there, way stronger than in my guesthouse village, so I wrote a couple of emails in the shade of a cocoa tree. Yes, I felt ridiculous, but I can't talk to Anita (my cell phone won't connect the call) and connecting with her was important to me.
Soon the track turned into a footpath. I needed to dodge someone's tarp of drying rice, so I stepped on to the edge of the neighbouring paddy before hopping back on the path.
When I emerged on the road behind the temple, I met up with the Fijian bicycling family.
I stopped at the temple to tell my host of my fall. He'd already had a call from the police. I showed him that I was not hurt and went on my way.
At the base of that hill, by the bridge, there were three van loads of people in priest attire. One was the head of the Tabanan district, doing the rounds before January 25.
Up the hill again. This time, no audience and no fall. And another story for me to tell.
For anyone considering a trip to Bali, I highly recommend this walk. It's away from the hoards, it's beautiful and it gives a wonderful glimpse into rural life. With photo and email stops, it too 2.5 hours.
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