22
Mar/Apr 2015
Appetites sated, we made our way
out of the depths of the rainforest and
back into the Land Rover to head to our
next port-of-call, the Batukaru Temple
that is one of the most important on the
island. Founded in the 11th century, the
temple is unique in that it retains the
rule whereby no commercial building
is allowed within two kilometres of it.
As Putu explained to us, on the rest of
the island tradition has clashed with
practical requirements, but not here.
Our temple visit over, it was back into
the trusty Land Rover for our trip back
whence we came. There is a lot of
handwringing that the ‘real Bali’ is being
lost amidst a relentless drive for tourism
and the consequent urban sprawl,
but this trip was evidence that you
don’t have to go far to witness Bali in its
‘natural’ state, where the fundamentals
of life remain unchanged over centuries.
Apart from motorised transport, western
clothing and the new roads, it’s easy
to imagine life here carrying on in the
same vein many, many years ago as the
hands-on work is done in the rice fields,
locals go about their business with tools
no more sophisticated than a mutlifunctional knife (by which we mean one
that has to fulfil many purposes – not
a Swiss Army Knife) and fruit crops are
harvested and stored in traditional ways.
You spend a lot of time in the vehicle
on this tour, but unlike some where this
time is spent just getting from A to B,
here it is an inherent and important
part of the whole trip. We don’t think
we could ever get bored of staring at
the undulating Balinese landscape with
its quaint villages and the rice fields
sculpted from it in a seemingly infinite
number of contoured configurations.
The tracks may become a little more
beaten as the country’s infrastructure
improves, but they still offer an
opportunity to see a Bali hidden from
most visitors, albeit not difficult to find for
those who choose to look.
4
DO IT OUR WAY
We got to see the ‘secret soul of Bali’
travelling through Balinese villages
and through some of the most
picturesque Balinese countryside
with WakaLandCruise. Land Rovers
and Land Cruisers run the trip on
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and
Sunday. The cost of US$117 includes
mineral water, morning coffee and
lunch with complimentary beer,
wine and soft drinks at the Bamboo
Forest Restaurant.
www.wakahotelsandresorts.com
+62 (0) 361 484085
[email protected]
3. Trusty steed: The
Land Rover handles all
terrain with ease
3
www.essential-bali.com
4. Stone me: More
sandstone is carried
out the hard way