Wonderful Indonesia: Bali

I visited Bali only three times and all happened during the same period of my life, which was the time when I was working in Jakarta. Never go back since then, so it's been more than ten years since I last visited Bali. I don't think the atmosphere will change that much, though. Bali will still be the part of Indonesia that doesn't feel like anywhere else in Indonesia, thanks to the heavy Hindu influence. With Bali, it's like going overseas but still using rupiah.

Anyway, let's start with the last visit first, because it was the least memorable one. The third trip was accidental, as I booked what was supposed to be Rp. 0 return tickets only to find out that I was actually paying the full price. It was the time when AirAsia's online booking system was new to me and I was told that the tickets were free, so I kept clicking next and entered my credit card details. Much to my surprise, it was never transacted with zero value. Apparently it should have been showing Rp. 0 since the very beginning of the booking, not at the end of it. So there I was, stranded in Bali alone, haha. The only thing I remember was walking from Legian to Ngurah Rai International Airport. It was doable.

Sudarman (middle) and Hartono (right), somewhere in Java.

The first trip, on the other hand, was pretty cool. We drove all the way from Jakarta to Bali and back. Amazing experience, although I was kicked out from driver's seat after five minutes for driving too slow. It was during this trip that I really got the idea, how big Indonesia actually was. I was with Kalbe colleagues and it took us more than 24 hours to drive from Jakarta to Banyuwangi alone via the South Coast Road of Java. It was the eve of Eid al-Ftr 2004 and we reached Blitar the next morning, just nice for our driver and technician, Hartono and Pak Doel, to pray on their celebration day. From there, we headed to Jember for lunch and went to Banyuwangi, the easternmost part of Java, for the ferry crossing to Gilimanuk.

And I saw Bali for the first time as we landed. It was different, like stepping into unknown territory that wasn't Indonesia. Pura, the Balinese Hindu temple, was abundant and could be found everywhere. There were also statues of the fat and fearsome looking door guards called Dvarapala scattered around the island. As we approached Legian area, I noticed that there were flowers all over the pavement. It was unusual and somewhat mystical, but the holiday mood was stronger than ever so I decided just to enjoy it!

Hanging out at Graha Wisnu Kencana.

During our stay in Bali, we went to Uluwatu temple, a beautiful seaside temple with monkeys running rampant and trying to steal our stuff. Not very far from Uluwatu, there was Graha Wisnu Kencana, a very grand garden with the statues of Vishnu and his pet, Garuda. Then of course there was a visit to Tanah Lot, another temple by the seaside, next to the roaring waves. Talked about waves, next destination was Kuta. While I'm never a big fan of beaches, I think Kuta was still one of the coolest beaches I'd ever been. Afterwards, we stopped by Ubud, the place famous for its terraced paddy fields. If you think greeneries can't be interesting, you clearly haven't seen Ubud yet! Then, finally, it was time for the last tourist spot of the trip, Pura Besakih. It was a colossal temple built on the slopes of Mount Agung. Just like any other temples in general, those who wore shorts were required to wear sarong before entering. An impressive temple aside, it was quite peculiar that the surrounding area had a lot of street vendors selling a phallic shaped wooden art craft.

We crossed back to Java after few days in Bali, but five months later, I went back again to the Paradise Island, this time with my schoolmates. I repeated the previous routines, such as taking a stroll in Kuta, a visit to Uluwatu, Tanah Lot and GWK, but what made it different this round was the physical activities. We went for rafting where we rowed the oars for fun (that was an honest assessment, because it was the guide-cum-captain that made the difference and steered us to the correct path) before we went all the way down as we passed through a waterfall. It was not very high, but enough to let us feel the effect of the world turning upside down! Then there was parasailing in Nusa Dua, too, the first time for me to feel how it was like to be flying. While the start was awful as I disliked the idea of not having my feet on the ground, it was amazing to glide in the air. For an indoor person who does his best by not doing any outdoor activities at all, I found it amusing that I actually liked parasailing. When the night came, we went to a club in Seminyak for a drink or two.

Second visit in 2005. Showering after rafting.
Photo by: Ardian

Looking back, Bali is really a holiday destination like no other. As charming as Phuket or Boracay is, it's only in Bali that you'll get the mountain, the sea, the greeneries, the food and the culture. It's like the whole island of fun, regardless which part of Bali that you go. Just in case you are wondering why I haven't been to Bali again after more than one decade, that's because I used to think that I'd been there and there are still a lot of places in the world that I haven't visited, but now that I have daughters, I definitely will go back to Bali again. The kids need to know how beautiful their country is...

From left: Jimmy, Anthony and Ardian, strolling in Kuta.
Photo by: Endrico.

Indonesia Yang Menakjubkan: Bali

Selama ini saya hanya mengunjungi Bali sebanyak tiga kali dan semua kunjungan tersebut terjadi dalam periode yang sama dalam hidup saya, ketika saya bekerja di Jakarta. Saya tidak pernah kembali lagi setelah itu dan sudah lebih dari 10 tahun lamanya sejak saya terakhir menginjakkan kaki di Bali. Akan tetapi saya yakin suasana di Bali tetap sama. Bali tetap merupakan bagian dari Indonesia yang tidak terasa seperti Indonesia, terutama karena budaya Hindunya yang kental. Bali itu bagaikan keluar negeri tetapi masih menggunakan rupiah.

Saya akan mulai dulu dengan kunjungan terakhir saya, karena itu yang paling miskin kenangan. Sesungguhnya perjalanan tersebut adalah ketidaksengajaan, sebab saya membayar harga penuh untuk tiket yang seharusnya nol rupiah. Saat itu baru ada yang namanya situs AirAsia dan saya dengar ada promosi tiket gratis, jadi saya coba sampai tiket terbeli. Setelah itu saya baru tahu, kalau memang sedang promosi, harganya sudah ditulis Rp. 0 dari sejak awal, bukannya sesudah transaksi terjadi. Akhirnya saya terdampar di Bali seorang diri, hehe. Satu-satunya yang saya ingat dari petualangan tersebut adalah saat saya mencoba berjalan kaki dari Legian ke bandara Ngurah Rai. Ternyata tidak terlalu jauh. 

Ardian di bandara Ngurah Rai.

Perjalanan pertama lebih banyak cerita. Kita menempuh jalan darat dari Jakarta ke Bali, melintasi jalur Pantai Selatan Jawa dan melewati berbagai kota. Saya berangkat sehari sebelum Idul Fitri bersama teman-teman Kalbe dan kita menghabiskan lebih dari 24 jam untuk mencapai Banyuwangi. Kita tiba di Blitar keesokan paginya, pas bagi supir dan teknisi, Hartono dan Pak Doel, untuk bersholat. Dari Blitar, kita singgah di Jember untuk makan siang dan menuju Banyuwangi, kota paling timur di Pulau Jawa, untuk menyeberang ke Gilimanuk.

Pak Doel turun dari feri begitu kita tiba di Gilimanuk.

Dan saya melihat Bali untuk pertama kalinya saat feri berlabuh. Bali sungguh berbeda, terasa seperti melangkah ke kawasan yang asing. Pura bisa ditemukan di mana saja, demikian juga halnya dengan patung seram Dwarapala. Tatkala kita sampai di Legian, saya melihat banyak bunga sesajen di trotoar yang memberikan kesan mistis. Kendati begitu, suasana Bali yang santai membuat kita rileks dan menikmati liburan.

Dari kiri, Sudarman, Pak Chandra, Pak Doel dan Hartono di Kuta.

Selama di Bali, kita mengunjungi Uluwatu, pura di atas tebing di tepi laut yang diramaikan oleh monyet-monyet yang tampaknya sudah biasa menjambret turis. Tidak jauh dari Uluwatu, ada yang namanya Graha Wisnu Kencana, taman yang luar biasa megah dan memiliki patung raksasa Wisnu dan tunggangannya, Garuda. Tanah Lot, pura di tepi laut dengan ombak bergelora, juga termasuk dalam daftar tujuan. Bicara tentang laut, kita juga mampir di Kuta. Walaupun saya tidak pernah menyukai pantai, saya tetap berpikir bahwa Kuta adalah salah satu pantai terbaik yang pernah saya kunjungi. Selanjutnya, kita juga singgah di Ubud yang terkenal dengan sawah berbentuk teras. Jika pernah anda berpikir bahwa hijaunya alam tidak menarik, tampaknya anda belum pernah melihat Ubud. Terakhir, kita menuju ke Pura Besakih, bangunan kolosal di kaki Gunung Agung. Seperti pura yang lain, turis yang bercelana pendek wajib memakai sarung. Oh, kalau saya tidak salah ingat, banyak toko seni di daerah sekitar situ yang menjual ukiran kayu berbentuk kemaluan pria.

Kent August, rekan di Kalbe, mengagumi oleh-olehnya dari Bali.

Kita menyeberang kembali ke Jawa setelah beberapa hari di Bali. Akan tetapi, beberapa bulan kemudian, saya kembali lagi ke Pulau Dewata, kali ini bersama teman-teman sekolah. Beberapa rutinitas sebelumnya terulang lagi, misalnya kunjungan ke Kuta, Uluwatu, Tanah Lot dan GWK. Yang sedikit berbeda kali ini adalah aktivitasnya. Kita mencoba arung jeram dan sibuk mendayung (walau sebenarnya yang berperan penting adalah pemandu kita yang mengendalikan arah) sebelumnya akhirnya terbanting ke aliran sungai yang tenang setelah perahu karet kita melewati air terjun. Kalau ada yang mau tahu seperti apa rasanya, itu bagaikan dunia berjungkir balik! Selanjutnya kita juga melakukan parasailing di Nusa Dua. Saya tidak suka perasaan saat kaki tidak menjejak tanah, tetapi begitu mengudara, rasanya menakjubkan. Ketika malam tiba, kita mengunjungi klub dan minum satu atau dua gelas.

Jimmy dan Endrico, menantang ombak demi foto di Tanah Lot.
Foto: Ardian

Kalau saya bandingkan, Bali adalah tujuan wisata yang tiada duanya. Sebagai contoh, Phuket dan Boracay memang menarik, tapi hanya Bali yang memiliki perpaduan gunung, laut, hijaunya alam, makanan enak dan budaya memikat. Kalau anda penasaran kenapa saya tidak pernah ke Bali lagi sejak dua belas tahun yang lalu, itu karena saya sering berpikir bahwa saya sudah pernah ke sana dan masih banyak lagi tempat di dunia yang belum saya kunjungi. Namun saya memiliki dua orang putri sekarang, jadi saya pasti akan ke Bali lagi bersama mereka. Anak-anak perlu mengetahui, bahwa negara mereka luar biasa indahnya...

Dari kiri: Jimmy, Anthony, Endrico dan Ardian.