We love Lovina Beach House - Lovina, North Bali, Indonesia

View of Lovina Beach House from the beach

The plunge pool in the garden - very clean and private

We took a ferry from Ketapang, Banyuwangi to Port Gilimanuk in the northern part of Bali. This is our second time in Bali and we booked again with Eddy for a private tour but as usual Eddy always does more than he should. The journey by ferry took about 40 minutes and as soon as we got through the exit gate, the cheerful Eddy has been waiting for us.  We told Eddy we were really hungry and he took us to a restaurant for lunch and after that we were heading to Lovina Beach House.

Very relaxing and the maid came in the morning to serve us fruits

I booked Lovina Beach House through Booking.com about a month ago, after reading positive reviews on the accommodation at TripAdvisor and thanks to the reviewers for giving precise information about this place. Upon arrival, Made was waiting for us and we sorted the payment and he showed us around the house. The house is very spacious, clean and the furnishing gives it the Balinese feel.  Our house has two bedrooms, a huge bedroom with a huge balcony facing the sea upstairs and another bedroom downstairs leading to the pool in the garden.  

All the bedrooms are air-conditioned while the open living room and open kitchen concept give the house a good ventilation and airy. The only disadvantage which was not a problem for us is the location of the house which is about a hundred meter away from the main road. You can hire a motorbike for IDR 50,000 (about USD $5) per day or you can hire a private vehicle with a driver. For us, we asked Eddy to stay with us so that he could drive us to the town and at night when we feel like dining outside.

This place is ideal if you intend to go for the dolphin trip in the early morning. Eddy arranged for the boat to come and pick us at the beach in front of the house.  And I saw some people went snorkeling from the balcony of the house but I never tried so I have no idea of the underwater. But overall, we had the a perfectly relaxing stay after climbing Ijen and Bromo. 

Note:  People have been asking about our contact in Bali. Our agent cum faithful guide in Bali is Eddy Santoso. His number is +6287861274094 and he's also available at Whatsapp. 

The bedroom down stairs

The open space bathroom

We had dinner here

The door to the bedroom

The open living room facing the garden in the yard

Entrance path

There's a small door connecting us to the house next door

In the morning, we had breakfast at the little table

The view from the bedroom

I love the furniture 

At the entrance gate

The black sand beach in front of the house

Some people went snorkeling/diving

View of the house from the beach

Few boats near the house

Barong and Keris Dance - Batubulan, Bali, Indonesia

Barong enters the courtyard prancing to the rhythm of the gamelan ensemble

A tour to Bali isn't complete without attending the many cultural performance around the island. The Barong and Keris dance is one of the performance we attended in Batubulan. Although, it is hard to understand the whole epic, still it is worth watching the colorful play and listening to the smooth gamelan music throughout the show. 

The traditional gamelan musicians accompanying the performance

The dance is about a battle between the good and evil. Interestingly, the whole dance-drama brought together the element of religion, history and mythology into play which they believe that the reality of the world is all about good and bad.  

It was an enjoyable show to watch but not for a faint heart as the characters played are very strong and at some point the music and the dance can  increase the heart beat.  We took the seats in the first row and at times the sound of the Barong and Rangada thumping on the grounds with bells ringing furiously took us by surprise. 

On the whole, I think this is a powerful dance that draws our eyes and sight to their movement.  There're actually other places where the same dance is on show but the one in Batubulan is said to be the best in the island.  This is definitely a must-see when you are in Bali. The ticket is 100,000 Rupiah.

The servants of Dewi Kunti 

Eyes movement is the key element of the Bali dancing

Servants of Dewi Kunti clad in colorful costumes

Sadewa, the son of Dewi Kunti  - a female acting the role of a male

Sadewa with the servants

In anger

A playact to entertain the audience

Sadewa is going to fight the Barong

The evil spirit, Rangada, in wrath

The Barong men tries to kill Rangada but failed and they killed themselves

They died

Some of the Barong followers were in trance

Bathing for Purification - Titra Empul, Tampak Siring, Bali, Indonesia

The locals bathing in holy water of Titra Empul to purify themselves

Registered at UNESCO Heritage Site 6th July, 2012

Titra Empul Pura or also known as Tampak Siring Temple is a holy spring temple in Gianyar district. We stopped at the temple on our way back from Mount Batur. It happened to be a day after the celebration of Kuningan and hence, the temple was full of the locals bathing to purify themselves.  The water is also believed to have healing properties. There were some foreigners joining the event.

It was interesting to watch so many Hindu devotes queuing to enter the pool and we were among the many tourists trying to capture the scene. Looking at how devoted are the Bali Hindus towards their religion, I'm keen to know if there are rule breakers among these people. Our guide told us that it is almost impossible to breach the rules and tradition as there are cultural police who make sure that each and every Balinese observed their religion and culture closely and faithfully. In any circumstances if the people break the law, they will be punished.

People came with their traditional costume (baju adat)

Entrance to the temple

The crowd splash into the pool

Queuing to get closer to the spring source 

Spring water flows into the pool

There was a long queue to enter the pool

The pond in the temple is full of fish

Sesaji - The Bali Tradition - Bali, Indonesia

Sesaji on our boat to Terunyan Village, Lake Batur

I was surprised to see this little basket filled with flowers, food, fruits or just about anything edible along sidewalks and almost everywhere all over Bali. Our guide told us not to step on the 'sesaji' as these are small offerings that  the Balinese made to their god or to the unseen thrice daily.  It is believe that the offering appeases the spirits and bring happiness to the giver. 

This sesaji was found on the steps of the temple in Tanah Lot

About 95% of Bali population adheres to Hinduism. Balinese Hinduism is strongly influence by animism and nature and as such they see the manifestation of supreme spirit in huge trees, mountain, unique grounds, demon, ogres and could be anything. The people of Bali have to abide by their religion and custom strictly. Compliance are closely monitored by the Custom Police (Polis Adat) and any defiance act will be subjected to punishment. 

There are thousands of temples known as pura in local language and every village in Bali has at least 3 temples and in many instances there could be more. Therefore, it seems that you will be meeting temples almost in every space in Bali.  Balinese performance of art, music and drama incorporate their religious rituals which usually take place outside the temples wall. Every performance begins with the preparation of sesaji by the spiritual leader.

Sesaji at Tampaksiring

Sesaji with flowers and biscuits in Uluwatu

Sesaji at Villa Chempaka balcony

Preparing sesaji before Barong and Keris (Demon and Dagger) Dance

Sesaji at Dreamland Beach

Preparing Sesaji container at Kintamani

The huge tree becomes an object of worship

Preparing sesaji before Kecak Dance