Our fantastic guide, Kadek, took us off on an adventure in our hired little red bus to visit the Mother Temple of Besakih.
It was raining heavily the whole time and I was getting a little bit worried because we were heading high into the mountains. When we got to Besakih it was around 6PM, just before the sun was about to set. I was telling my guests about Gunung (Mount) Agung behind Besakih and then the strangest thing happened, all the rain clouds disappeared. I remember thinking that this temple indeed is miraculous.
Kadek’s family temple is located at the back of the complex and we went there after saying our prayers at Pura Penatram Agung.
As soon as we arrived, we were in awe of the place. The temple’s odolan (annual festival) was soon and the whole place was decorated with all the sacred colours of white and gold. We all took lots of photos, marvelling at the beauty and energy that the temple exuded at that moment. At sunset, we were all praying, saying the mantras, and cleansing our spirits with the flower and incense ritual.
After our visit to the temple, we grabbed some dinner. Leko brought the most delicious BBQ chicken from Ubud. Then we went for a quick walk around the temple just to have a look. We came across older ladies sitting around the temple grounds. They were talking among themselves while smoking and making offerings – thousands of offerings. The ladies had been there for about a week just making offerings. The local men brought them food from the village because they slept at the temple to make the offerings, in time for the odolan.
It was a beautiful display of women’s strength, dedication, and spirit.
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