Source: news.bbc.co.uk
BALI, July 26, 2009: Balinese food is exquisite. It is a blessing to be shared with the Gods, and never taken for granted. All over the island, even on taxicab dashboards, one sees little woven baskets called banten jotan containing tiny colorful offerings of rice, fruit and flowers to the Gods. Ritual worship interwoven with daily life is a constant in Bali. “Every six months we have some ceremony,” a driver said. “To bless a car, or a tool. Also for a building, a house, animals. Everything has a ceremony. That is our tradition.”
For a religious experience at an actual temple, Pura Luhur Uluwatu is one of Bali’s holiest sites. It is a guardian temple, dedicated to the spirits of the sea and keeping the island safe from demons. Visiting in the late afternoon, you can watch a Kecak dance telling the story of Prince Rama and Princess Sita.
Perhaps the most peaceful place on the island is the temple of Pura Taman Ayun, Garden Temple in the Water, built in the 17th Century on an river island. Pagoda-like towers called “meru” rise into the blue sky. The tallest represent the mountains, above which the Gods are said to live.