Bali, Indonesia 2/24/2018

Dancers that were a part of the group greeting us in Bali, Indonesia.

School students heading into the Buddhist temple for a ceremony.  

Another part of the museum

Our guide, we were to call him Ali.  He was a bit hard to understand, but very pleasant.  He offered a lot of information. 

Part of the Museum - Gateway to different sections.

Traffic was heavy.  Scooters were zooming in and out of the traffic  We saw scooters carrying a family of four, furniture, as many packages as they could hang on to, balloons, etc.  It bothered me that the adults wore helmets, but the children did not.  The police also navigated through traffic on scooters.  

These lovely young ladies were headed into the lovely gardens surrounding the museum. 

This is the main shrine of the public Hindu Temple. Jagatnanatha = important Hindu Kahyangan Temple.  Dedicated to the existence of supreme God, Sanghyang Widi.     It is outside.  We watched as a priest blessed a young woman.  Water was sprinkled on her and rice was used too.  

On holidays and special occasions the followers bring these baskets to the shrines.  The home temples had these baskets, too.  

Balinese Gambelan music.  The instruments in the back sound like xylophones and drummers are in the front.  

This is a close up of the outdoor shrine.  There are two lions and a turtle standing guard.  

Bali Museum

Balinese Dance group performed on the Pool Deck.  Stories through dance.

Bali has a thriving arts scene, lush beauty and wonderful seaside vistas, which we did not see.  Despasar is the island’s capital with lots of traffic and an interesting collection of business, houses, etc.  There are many colorful stalls and large emporiums selling bright sarongs and intricately patterned batik and everything else imaginable.  Some of its temples are carved from white coral harvested from the sea.  The total population is four million.  There are 240,000 people in Bali and half of the Indonesia's population lives in Java.  Ninety percent practice the Hindu religion.  Hindus believe gods live in all natural things.  

We visited a public Balinese Hindu Temple and Bali Museum and a market.  3.5 hours.  Densasar has rich history, revered temples and busy markets offering stone carvings, a sarong or batik.  In the Bali Museum, we browsed galleries featuring local art and history and lovely gardens and gateways.  The temple of Jagatnatha is the most important Hindu Kahyangan Temple in the city.  This temple is dedicated to the existence of the supreme God, Sannghyang Widi and is decorated with carvings symbolizing Balinese Hinduism.    

Every family has a temple on their property.  If the family moves to a new location, they will construct a new temple.  The temple must face the mountain.  When you go down a street, on one side the temples will be in the front yard and on the other side of the street the temples will be in the back yard.  There are different types of temples in each community.  There will be a public temple where all are welcome.  There are territorial temples and professional temples like the market goddess of money for vendors, a goddess of rice for farmers, one for fisherman, people of the same blood, etc. 

FACEBOOK  Bali, Indonesia When we arrived in Benoa, our port was bustling with every water activity imaginable including pleasure crafts, parasailing, jet skis, donut boat, banana boat, snorkeling, wakeboarding, water skiing etc.  It was crazy.

We visited a public Balinese Hindu Temple and the Bali Museum in Despasar, the island's capital.  .  We saw coins, theatrical masks, musical instruments, stone carvings, statues, sculptures, weapons, tools, archaeological finds etc.  There were lovely decorative gateways in the gardens surrounding the buildings.    The temple of Jagatnatha is the most important Hindu Kahyangan Temple in the city.  This temple is dedicated to the existence of the supreme God, Sanghyang Widi and is decorated with carvings symbolizing Balinese Hinduism.  This temple is surrounded by sprawling courtyards and a series of shrines.    

Every family has a temple on their property.  If the family moves to a new location, they will construct a new temple.  The temple must face the mountain.  When you go down a street, on one side the temples will be in the front yard and on the other side of the street the temples will be in the back yard.  There are different types of temples in each community.  There will be a public temple where all are welcome.  There are territorial temples and professional temples like the market goddess of money for vendors, a goddess of rice for farmers, one for fisherman, people of the same blood, etc. 

Today's picture is the Balinese Dancers that performed on board our ship.  The stories are told through dance, the costumes and dancers were beautiful.  The performers are a part of a diverse and innovative performing arts culture in Bali.