The Besakih temple (Pura Besakih), the Hindu Temple in Bali, Indonesia, the Tourism Place to Visit

Besakih Temple to be included into World Cultural Heritage List

DENPASAR (indo.com): Besakih Temple in Karang Asem regency, Bali, has been proposed as a member of the World Cultural Heritage List.

Source: +Lanzi

The temple constitutes a powerful religious icon that unifies thousands of Hindu followers from different castes throughout Bali and beyond.

Source: seanmcgrath

Sutaba, a representative of the Bali Archeology Board, explained to indo.com recently that Besakih Temple is part of the island's ancient Hindu heritage, with a long history. This includes evidence of pre-Hindu belief systems found in the large ancient stones from the megalithic era. Also present is evidence of the worship of deities, such as those who are believed to reside on Mount Agung, the holy dragon known as Basuki, and also ancestor worship.

Besakih, often referred to as the "mother temple", consists of five temple compounds around the main temple. These represent the five holy directions, and there are also tens clan temples which are used for ancestor worship on different days. Other compounds honor the founding father of Besakih temple, Rsi Markandya, and Basuki - the holy guardian dragon believed to dwell in a cave on Mount Agung. As the mother temple, Bekasi is the site of Bali's largest and most elaborate purification ritual - Eka Dasa Rudra - held once a century.

To date, Indonesia has three national cultural conservation structures that have been included on the "World heritage List", namely Borobudur Temple, Prambanan Temple and Sangiran Archaeological Site. Besakih Temple will be the fourth.
Source: indo.com

The exotic Bali Island, The Beauty of Pura Ulu Danau, Bali, Indonesia

Pura Ulu Danau, Bali
Originally uploaded by Kelvin Ong

Bali is one of thousands of islands in Indonesia. Indonesia is a country located in south east Asia.

Bali is well known as "Pulau Dewata" (the island of god) because most of Balinese people are Hindu followers. Bali is a favorite island to visit for tourists from many countries. One of the beautiful places in bali is "Pura Ulun danau". Pura means temple in english. This place is located in northern part of Bali. It was built in the 17th century on highland Bratan. This gemlike temple is half on the mainland, half on a tony island. Just visit this place if you visit Indonesia.
Photo source: Kelvin Ong

Tourism, Development and Terrorism in Bali (Voices in Development Management)

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs):
Nusa Dua, Bali Post, Southeast Asia, Ajeg Bali, Bali Aga, Bayung Gede, Bali Beach Hotel, Netherlands East Indies, Bali Arts Festival, Bali Hotel, East Timor, Nusa Penida, Walter Spies, East Java, Ngurah Rai, North Bali, Tanjung Benoa, Cokorda Gde Agung Sukawati, Darma Putra, Imam Samudra, Kuta Beach, South Bali, Tanah Lot, Aryantha Soethama, Colonial Exhibition

In Chapter 1,Introduction, the book says as follows;

Bali is small but very renowned island situated eight degrees below the equator between Java and Lombok. What is less well known, even by some tourists who frequent the island, is that Bali is part of the vast of republic of Indonesia, the world's fourth largest nation in terms of populations, a country that stretches five thousand kilometres from Sumatra to central New Guinea and comprises fourteen thousand islands. ............

The Tourism place to Visit "Taman Ayun" Bali, Indonesia

Built in the 1600s, the temple of Taman Ayun is nestled in 3 different levels and is bordered by a river. The inner courtyard itself has a moat of water that separates it from the exterior gardens. Around the temple are pavilions and canopied shades that invite the visitors to relax in leisure.

Taman Ayun in Mengwi, Badung Regency, Bali, Indonesia
Source: Farl

Taman Ayun Temple, the Exotic Tourism Place to Visit

Taman Ayun Temple
Originally uploaded by BALIwww.com

Taman Ayun temple was the royal temple of Mengwi Kingdom that survived until 1891 when it was conquered by the neighboring kingdoms of Tabanan and Badung. The name Taman Ayun means beautiful garden. This temple was built by the King of Mengwi, I Gusti Agung Anom in 1634. The date of construction is expressed on a carved door with chronogram reads ‘Sad Bhuta Yaksa Dewa‘ means 1634 AD. The temple has been renovated in 1949 and in 1972 all black fiber roofs were renewed, the last in 1976 was built the pavilion tower called ‘Bale Kulkul‘.

TThe Taman Ayun temple is the second largest temple in Bali, covering an area of 250 x 100 square meters. The temple is built on a high tableland that is partly surrounded by ponds, creating an impression that the temple is foating on the water. The temple is surrounded by a massive moat that looks lovely and is divided into 4 courtyards each courtyard situated on a spacious rising level.

The temple consists of fifty separate structures scattered on a wide green area, surround by beautiful pond, a sight that evokes a palpable sense of calm and beauty. There are twenty-nine buildings in the innermost court, which function as the symbolization of the various God, Goddess, and the power points of the kingdom. Each power point was represented by a multiple roofed tower called a meru.

The Taman Ayun temple not just offers the magnificent temple structure but also the beauty of the surrounding ponds and landscape. On the western side of the temple complex is the natural pool by constructing dam across the small river on the southern end of the temple area. A tour with a bout around the surrounding pond will give the visitors a new point of view on the beauty of the Taman Ayun temple. A visit on this temple ceremony will also provides the visitors with excellent views of women file over the bridge carrying high, multicolored offering, dance and musical performance.

The main one was for Mount Agung, the highest mountain in Bali. It has eleven tiers that represented the eight directions, up, down and centre the totality of outer and inner space. The meru for Mount Batukaru also has eleven tiers and a nine tiers meru represents Mount Batur. Other merus represented the dominant natural features in the Mengwi kingdom, or regions of landscape that held special power, such as the mountains, the lakes the slopes, the plains and the ocean.
Source:baliwww.com

- Ulun Danau Bratan Temple

Ulun Danau Bratan Temple
Originally uploaded by manolinlao

Bratan Lake or Danau Bratan (indonesian language) is located in Kabupaten Tabanan (Tabanan Regency), Bali Indonesia. This lake is one of the popular tourism sites in Bali. This is a very beautiful lake. On one side there is a mosques named "Al hidayah", and on the other side there is a temple called "Pura Ulun Danau". The two different worship places at the same area show that the people in this area respect each other although they have different religions.

- GIANYAR, TOURISM OBJECT IN BALI

Bali is an island with a lot of uniqueness in Indonesia. This island is well known as "Dewata" island because most of the people in bali are the Hindu followers. Hindu is one of the religions besides islam, christian, catholic, Budha, and Kong Huchu. "Dewata" is derived from the word dewa which means 'god'. There are many "Pura" (Hindu Temples)in Bali reflecting the obedience of baliness people to their god. The uniqueness and the friendliness of Baliness people make this island the international tourist destination.

Bali island as a province of Indonesia has nine regencies (Indonesian: kabupaten). Of the nine regencies Gianyar is the soul of Bali. Gianyar is rich of valuable custom, art, natural beauty, and handycraft.

Gianyar is also popular with tourism objects such as "Gajah" (Elephant) cave, "Tampak Siring", "Gunung kawi",
Gianyar juga terkenal dengan objek-objek wisata. Misal kawasan wisata Goa Gajah, Tampak Siring, Gunung Kawi, the area of elephant tourism in "Taro" village, Bali Zoo Park, Shopping and handicraft center such as "Sukawati" art market and so on. The activities of cultural, religious and custom events of Baliness people make the tourists who visit bali interested and decide to stay longer in this island.

NGABEN, THE CEREMONY OF BURNING CORPSE IN BALI

Source: http://ana.wahanaprogrammer.net/

Ngaben is the ceremony of burning corpse done by Hindu followers in Bali. Ngaben is one of the traditions of balinese culture which is popular. This ceremonyl is a colourful, and exciting event. This ceremony is the celebration which shows the release of soul to be united with the supreme god. The body is carried to the cremation ground in a multitiered tower made of bamboo, paper, string, tinsel, silk cloth, mirrors, flowers, and anything else bright and colourful. Carried on the shoulders of a group of men, the tower represents the cosmos, and the base - in the shape of a turtle entwined by two snakes - symbolises the foundation of the world. On the base is an open platfom where the body is placed in the space between heaven and earth. The size of the group carrying the body and the number of tiers on the tower vary according to the caste of the deceased. On the way to the cremation ground. the tower is shaken and run around in circles to disorient the spirit of the deceased so that it cannot find its way home, A gamelan orchestra - sprints along behind providing a suitably exciting musical accompaniment. At the cremation ground the body is transferred to a funeral sarcophagus and the whole lot, funeral tower, sarcophagus and body - goes up in flames, finally. the colourful procession heads to the sea or a nearby river to scatter the ashes.

Source: http://www.travelpod.com/

Sanur Beach, Bali Indonesia

Sanur beach is a popular tourism object in Bali island. This beach is located exaclty in the east of Denpasar city, the capital city of The province of Bali. Sanur belongs to Kabupaten Badung (Badung region, the govermental system in Indonesia which is smaller than province (provinsi, in Indonesian).

This beach is a very good place for surfing. The wave of this beach is very good for surfing. Sanur beach is well known as the sunrise beach, the opposite of Kuta beach which is the sunset beach. Besides Sanur beach, bali also has other beaches:

Candidasa Beach
Jimbaran Beach
Kuta Beach
Legian Beach
Nusa Dua Beach
Seminyak Beach
Sanur Beach

Source: http://id.wikipedia.org/

Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia

One of the interesting places to visit in Bali is “Tanah Lot Temple”. This place is located in the coast in the village called “Baraban” in the regency of tabanan, the western part of Bali. The temple which is on the hill makes this place more fascinating. From this place we can take photograph of sunset.

Sunset In Tanah Lot
This photo is taken from http://sasa4ever4u.multiply.com/photos/album/2/Tourism_Object 

Tourism in Indonesia

Indonesia is a big country in South East Asia. Indonesia consists of thousands of big and small islands. Indonesia is rich for tourism places and culture.
One of the most popular islands in Indonesia is Bali. Bali is a beautiful island located in the east of Java. It is about one hour by plane from Jakarata, the capital city of Indonesia. The other beautiful sites are Yogyakarta city, Toba lake in Sumatra, Borobudur tempel in Magelang, and so on.