Besakih Temple, Bali - Rudest People in Asia's Most Aggressive Touts Town

The Floating Pavilion at the Old Court Justice compound in Klungkung, Bali. This photo only courtesy of www.erlebnis-bali.de.


It has to be said that irony works in the most hilarious ways. Today, I took a tour around central Bali, Ubud's neighboring towns. As fate would have it, I was thrown into the company of 2 Caucasian guys - A British and a Dutch! With a driver in his 50's (he says he's mid-40's though), we started the tour with a Toyota van that started with Goa Gajah - the Elephant Cave Temple which is one of Indonesia's submitted entries for UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is perplexing since, to be honest about it, it just wasn't as impressive as Gunung Kawi (Poet Mountain) which I visited yesterday.

This was the itinerary:

1. Goa Gajah - Elephant Cave Temple
2. Tempak Sering - Holy Spring Temple (Tirtu Empul) which I visited yesterday
3. A coffee-making farm for the Luwak coffee, allegedly the world's most expensive (since it is fermented inside the stomach of a bird, then defecated and collected), which is a suspect
4. Penelokan - Viewing of Mount Batur and Lake Batur
5. Besakih - Bali's biggest and holiest temple, located at the slope of Mount Agung, Bali's highest peak
6. Bukit Jambul - for a view of the Rice Terraces
7. Klungkung - Old Court Justice and Floating Pavilion of the ancient Klungkung Kingdom

The British guy (from Manchester) was painfully shy and Mr. Holland loved to take his own time beyond our driver's alloted schedule per place. But as it turned out, both were very agreeable and - well, very nice. Before long, the three of us were "protecting" each other.

By the time we were on our way to Besakih, Dewa (our driver) forewarned us. "The Japanese tourists have all but stopped visiting Besakih. You have to be careful; stay together and don't stray away from each other," warned Dewa. "The people there are very aggressive!" he said.

Besakih Temple is Bali's biggest temple, as mentioned earlier. After getting our tickets at 15,000 Rp each, we were greeted by really persistent umbrella touts who kept saying "Big rain! Big rain!" After a hundred no's, we finally decided to rent one each at 9,000 Rp. Upon climbing the first major stairway leading to the top, we were greeted by a sea of men in white who offered their services as "guides" - the very same people that Dewa warned us against. You see, to be able to get inside the inner sanctum, a non-Hindu isn't allowed entry unless he is joined by Hindus. Kinda like the principal member in a social club house.

When we said "no", we were literally shooed away rudely! And we didn't take this lightly! How dare these idiots take advantage of their faith by imposing their unneeded services to tourists. How high and mighty to actually profess your faith as a Hindu if only to make money out of it! Shame on you, Besakih people! Didn't you realize that if there was hell in your religion, the first once to conflagrate are those who made money from their religion?

They were arrogant and rude! And I wonder why the Indonesian government isn't doing anything about these despicable practice! Now I understand why the Japanese have stopped coming altogether.

We went around the other portions of the complex and I heard one idiot say, "You want a fight?" In my country, I could already have him arrested for being pure ugly, but since he hides behind the cloak of his religion - and "desperately trying very hard" to make money out of his faith, he sits there provoking us with his idiocy. We checked out the other crevices and upon reaching an almost-secluded enclave, we saw a guy close the gate on us, "You are not welcome here. You are unfriendly people," he shouted! We were unfriendly because we did not want to avail of his mediocre services? I am sorry, Mister, but you have to try a little harder. Earlier on, he was trying to tell us - "You need a guide because there are 25 sections". He must have lifted that one from a dream since I am well aware that there were 35 sections, not 25! See? Idiots pretending to know stuff that they should actually be aware of coz they live here anyway.

Later that day, we were taken to a buffet restaurant up the hill to view the "Rice Terraces" which was unimpressive for me. This was a tourist trap because the driver wanted us to have a buffet in the restaurant for 60,000 Rp each - and there's nothing more annoying to me than shoving something down my throat without telling me beforehand. We all said no! We left the place in a huff and actually slid past through a "free" lookout point for these "majestic" rice terraces.

It was a good thing that Klungkung's Old Court Justice and the Floating Pavilion was last part of the itinerary - to sort of save the day. Mr. Holland said he couldn't take the event that transpired off his mind. It was really annoying, one that would make among my most unforgettable experiences. I have been all over Asia and there has never been touts as agressive and rude as these Besakih people! They should appear in Guinness Book of World Record. Klungkung sort of renewed our faith on the charm and friendliness of the Indonesians who greeted us with a huge grin.

Greed is the legendary stuff that renders experiences - and people - ugly. Besakih makes the criteria perfectly.

This is the Eye in the Sky!


Besakih Temple. This photo only courtesy of felixuan.blogspot.com.