Macaque sticks his tongue out at me, at Pura Luhur Ulu Watu Temple
People i met here, who contributed to and improved my trip: Juliana (Russia), Markus (Finland), Hannes (Sweden)
On our last day in and around Kuta, we hired a motorbike and drove to the south to visit Pura Luhur Ulu Watu, a beautifully located Hindu temple set on top of sheer cliffs, with the tide crashing against the rock face far below. The first problem we encountered on our journey there, was exiting the one way system, and when we eventually did manage this, the police were there to pull us over at a set of traffic lights. In a country where no-one observes the road rules, it was ironic that they were trying to tell me i'd pulled slightly over the line into the bicycle section. I was asked to show my drivers license, which i happily did, only for them to tell me that it was an old one and invalid in Bali.
Pura Luhur Ulu Watu Temple
They pulled out a sheet of paper and tried to tell me that European licenses were on huge sheets of A4. I informed them that this was the case 10 years ago and that everyone now has cards - i'm sure they knew this anyway. They kindly told me they would put this 'offence' to one side, but would have to fine me for crossing the line. I refused to pay as i'd done nothing wrong, so they firstly asked me how long i'd been in Indonesia and had i rented a bike before. I answered them 'a month' and 'yes i had'. They clearly hadn't expected this answer, so said that they would take it to court and i'd be kept in Bali for months awaiting trial if i didn't pay. I told them that this was fine by me, as i knew they just wanted bribing. Eventually the officer told me to 'just get out of here', which i gladly did!
Upon arrival at the temple, we were greeted by people telling us we needed to buy or rent sarongs to gain entry, which was a lie, as they were either given for free or you didn't need one at all, depending on what you were wearing.
Macaque at Pura Luhur Ulu Watu Temple
The next scam came when we were told that we should really have a guide. When we asked why, we were told that the macaques might attack us and the guide could keep them away! We said that we would happily take our chances :) We walked back and forth along the cliff top, constantly followed by a stream of macaques, both young and old. They were clearly used to tourists and had no inhibitions to be close to you. We walked around the outside of the temple itself, as it is forbidden for non-Hindus to enter, before making our way back to the bike. There was a small pond where the macaques were cooling off, some voluntarily and others been pushed in! It really was just like watching kids at a swimming pool messing around with each other.
Our journey continued around the southern tip of Bali as we passed a Hindu Temple and then Chinese Buddhist Temple, on our way to the Tanjung Benoa Peninsula.
Macaques clinging on for dear life over a pond. Pura Luhur Ulu Watu Temple
There wasn't actually that much to see there, as the sun was setting over houses and the beach itself was pretty dirty, probably as a result of the nearby port. We arrived back into Kuta and went out with Hannes and Markus for a meal at our favourite restaurant, Bamboo Corner. The rest of the evening was spent in the sports bar, watching Manchester City beat Manchester United 1-0 and Liverpool and Chelsea play out a controversial 1-1 draw.
