Bali by Temple Transfer – Day 14

Today I would be moving from Ubud to my final destination of Candidasa on the southeastern coast of Bali. I had arranged a driver through the hotel and would be stopping at several locations along the way.

Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave)

My first stop was a cave whose opening was surrounded by fantastically carved rock. My driver parked along the road and waited for me as I walked down some stairs to the cave. I’d seen pictures of it, and it was very cool. The entrance looked like the mouth of big demon.

I was surprised to find more there than just the cave. There were also two pools, several pavilions, and a huge tree. Overall, it wasn’t that special. It was neat to see, but it looked just like the pictures.

Gunung Kawi

My next stop was at the site of one of Bali’s oldest and largest ancient monuments. The Gunung Kawi are a set of nine shrines cut into some sheer rock cliffs on either side of a river. They’re from the 11th century and are thought to be a memorial to an ancient Balinese king.

To reach the monuments I descended 270 steps, past shops selling sarongs and many trinkets. The shrines were pretty impressive, each about 25 feet high. I first visited four of the monuments on one bank of the river. Then I crossed the river and discovered a small temple before visiting the final five shrines on the opposite river bank.

Again, I wasn’t too impressed. I’m sure if I’d visited my first few days in Bali I would have been amazed. But after everything else I’d experienced, it wasn’t that spectacular.

On the way back up the stairs I went more slowly, stopping at a place where I could walk out into some steeply terraced rice fields. I also looked at some sarongs and found another one I wanted to buy. It was a lovely floral pattern of reds, greens, and white. I even improved my negotiating skills and got the price down to 35,000 IDR, or about $2.60.

After I bought the sarong a woman from a neighboring stall came over to try and get me to buy another one. She showed me one that was green, with a circular pattern and a big elephant. She was offering it for 25,000 IDR and I really liked it, so I figured “why not” and bought it too.

Taman Gili

The last stop on my journey was the remains of a royal palace in the city of Semarapura, the former capital of an old Balinese kingdom. Most of the palace was destoyed when the Dutch invaded Bali around 1900, but two features remained that were spectacular.

The Kertha Gosa, or Hall of Justice, was an open-sided pavilion with a roof covered in paintings on the underside. It was where disputes were brought that couldn’t be settled in a village. The ceiling had five rows of panels, depicting scenes from stories, including the torment of evil-doers in the afterlife. I was amazed by the beauty of the paintings.

The other sight was Bale Kambang, spectacularly situated in the middle of a lotus pond. It had similar painted panels covering the ceiling, except much more vividly colored.

There was also a museum on the grounds, which was supposed to have interesting archaeological finds. But I found it uninteresting.

Candidasa

We arrived at the Bali Shangrila Beach Club sometime in the afternoon and I quickly checked in. It was much smaller than my other hotels. The rooms were in a U-shape, surrounding a restaurant, small pool, and the beach. My room was on the top floor with a large balcony, but I could only see a sliver of the ocean. I had definitely gotten spoiled at my other hotels with amazing views right outside my front door.

I spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing at the pool. I loved that the pool chairs were facing the beach and the ocean. There actually wasn’t much of a beach, but I didn’t care. I just need a comfy chair and a view of the ocean.

I went to dinner at a place called Vincent’s, which was on the main road of Candidasa and a short walk from my hotel. I was early and the place was empty. I got the mi goreng and it was amazing. The best of the entire trip.

After dinner I went for a walk around a lagoon that was right next to the main road. There were some pretty views of the low mountains and lily pads. Then I headed back to the hotel to watch the sunset. It was very pretty, even through lots of clouds. But the ocean wasn’t very calm at all, so it wasn’t nearly as spectacular as in Lovina on the north shore.