North Bali

We enjoyed staying at Apa Kabar Villas, but I was worried about Goody. When we have hired drivers in the past, their accommodation was always taken care of. This time, when we checked in, Goody just kind of loitered outside reception. I didn’t want him to sleep in the car, but we had been told that the fee we had paid included the driver’s expenses. Fortunately, the hotel did find him somewhere to stay for free. His increasing dubious body odor suggested that a shower wasn’t made available however.














Soon enough it was time to leave Amed and head further along the north coast to Lovina. The old SUV seemed even more uncomfortable today. Everything seemed so bumpy as the suspension and shock absorbers both seemed to be shot. It was also much hotter. Goody told us that having the air con on meant that the engine wouldn’t perform well. We arrived at a temple and got out to have a look. I was so hot and uncomfortable and grouchy. Goody must have noticed me whining as he switched the air conditioning on after that.

We didn’t want a guide, but an official from the temple insisted on showing us around. He was a right barrel of laughs. He greeted me with “Are you having your period?” I already knew that women are asked not to visit temples at their time of the month, so this personal question didn’t faze me. Next we had to be purified which involved being sprinkled with holy water and rice. The rice clings to the water on your forehead. We also needed to be decked out with sarongs and sashes before we were deemed ready to climb the steps to the temple. The guide delivered a dead pan description of the temple and lists of facts and figures he had memorized. I don’t remember anything he said apart from something about there having been a temple on the site for 5000 years. Could that be true? The shrine was a new one but housed some lovely old statues of Ganesh and Shiva. We couldn’t go anywhere the near the statues, of course. Our misery-guts guide made it clear that there was an invisible line. Would we contaminate the statues if we went any closer?

Outside the temple there was a very festive atmoshphere. There were quite a few Westerners decked out in white flowing gowns. Hindu converts? What makes someone from, say Rotherham or Darwin become a Hindu? I wonder how easy it is for a someone not brought up in a Hindu society to grasp the complex system of gods and legends.