October 24, 2016.
On this day, my friend took an early flight back to Jakarta. I had a couple of hours to kill on my own before my flight. The thoughts on my mind were.. ‘Yas! I got to experience freedom in a foreign country’– but at the same time– ‘Noo! My friend/interpreter is leaving me. When am I seeing her again?’ A lot were going through my head. But hey, I just got to enjoy the moment. I decided to go to Tanah Lot temple, Ubud Monkey Forest and Goah Gajah temple.
On the way to see Pura Batu Bolong
Tanah Lot is one of the popular Hindu temples in Bali. It is also known as the Bali temple in the sea because it appears as if it’s floating. Tanah Lot is around an hour away from the hotel I was staying at. It was pouring rain on my way there. Thankfully, the rain slowed down when I arrived.
The first thing I saw as I was walking towards the site was a small temple on top of an arched rock formation called Pura Batu Bolong (Rock with a hole). Though I’ve seen pictures of Tanah Lot at the internet, I thought Pura Batu Bolong and Tanah Lot were the same at first.
Gazing at Pura Batu Bolong, I suddenly remembered a similar rock formation called ‘London Bridge’ during our sibling road-trip at the Great Ocean Road in Melbourne in 2014.
I was about to leave after taking a few photographs due to the bad rainy weather. However, it came to my attention that there were more people heading further down to my left. I decided to follow them.
It was quite slippery walking down
There it was. It looked like a mini bonsai garden. I think it would have been the perfect backdrop with a sunset view or on a much sunnier day.
This is how it looks like up close
Thank you stranger for taking a photo of me
On my way back to the car, I nearly got lost. I found my way back eventually.
Next stop : Ubud Monkey Forest
Awwww!
I’ve never seen all these monkeys in my life! I really loved seeing the mother and baby monkey.
There was a lady holding a cup of bubble tea when I was on my way out. She squealed as the monkey jumped over her back unexpectedly.
On my way out, I also saw another monkey trying to grab a boy’s arm and his Dad was trying to get rid of it. I got scared after so I went straight out.haha!
Last stop for the day was the Goah Gajah.
Goah Gajah is located at Bedulu village, Ubud. It is an archaeological site of historical value, making it worth visiting. It was an old temple built in the 9th century. I loved the exterior rock carvings– it kind of reminded me of Temple Run. I thought the cave’s interior was huge, but it was actually quite small and shallow. Outside, there is pool with statues representing Hindu angels holding vases that act as water sprouts.
My first solo trip was truly unforgettable. I got to experience a bit of Bali culture and enjoyed the delicious food. Being able to witness my beautiful friend’s wedding, and getting to spend time with one of my good high school friends is something I will truly cherish. In many ways, Bali reminded me so much of my hometown, the Philippines. I hope to come back soon!
