IN BALI

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 424, 15 November 1930, Page 13 (Supplement)

IN BALI

A MOUNTAIN EXCURSION BY CRANLEIGH BURTON Well, resuming our motor trip towards the mountains we visited a particularly fine remplc at Sangsit and then turned inland and climbed by a very good, but tortuous, road, gradually increasing our panoramic views of the country and passing many rice fields—of which anon. The villages became loss frequent —the country more open, and in several places I saw tree ferns and banks of ferns on the cuttings made for the road, which were very reminiscent of New Zealand scenery. When one reaches a middle altitude the bamboos seem to grow their best and we saw many magnificent clumps of enormous height and exceedingly graceful. Meanwhile a peak had come into view slightly active—and a higher one behind, almost veiled in clouds; also in the distance we saw the red roof of the pasang-grahan, or rest house, on the brow of a long spur of hill. Airs Browne was ill with the twistings and turnings of the car and after a spell at a very good view point, she decided to walk the rest of the way, so T. went on with the luggage. Only Balinese were in charge, but

this rest house is run by the K.l’.M. and the charge is about £1 Is a day. We were the only visitors and J had a large, charming, room, and there was a comfortable lounge with a diamond-pointed Edison gramophone in it. The altitude is over 5,000 feet, so no mosquito nets were necessary and our beds actually had a blanket, which was quite necessary at night. We had a much better dinner than we expected. We decided to stay all Tuesday and enjoy the air am] we also talked things over and the Brownes were quite pleased with the idea that we should join forces for the week and share the expenses—which of course was admirable for me. So on Tuesday morning we walked right along the spur to a picturesque little village called Penelokau. over-looking the Lake of Batoer, which nestles like a pearl between mountains—the highest being the Peak of Bali, over 10.000 feet, the loftiest spot in the island. The nearer crater has some smoke issuing out of it and, in 1926, there was a big lava flow which overwhelmed a village. The flow is still black—but looked a lovely blue against the sun in the morning mists and here and there in the midst are some lit th' islands with trees which escaped the flow and arc now isolated. There were little shelters at the picked view points where one could rest. On the other side of the ridge one looked over a vast expanse of country, too —to distant ranges—but. of course, not so spectacular as the lake and peaks, and yet charming in a quiet way with chasing cloud shadows here throwing a line of trees into shadow—there picking one out in sharp sunlight. It clouded up in the afternoon so we had a quiet rest after a strenuous morning’s walk ami we talked over plans. At first we thought of walking the. next stage but found it would cost almost as much to hire natives to carry our luggage as it would to take a car and do a longer route and see more so we went, down

on two occasions to the village and interviewed a Chinaman with a now tour

or Ford. The final upshot being that wo agree'l to hire him and his car; wo paid .15 guilders a day for the use of the car. 3 guilders fur his own keep and we were to supply a tin of oil and al! the

benzine we used. This proved an excellent arrangement and much better than we could have done in a town, as for five days we used the car from 7 a.m. or till dark and my share came t

aboift £4. We saw the island from end to end and stopped and

started as often as we wanted to and I don’t think we missed anything that was worth while. Wednesday morning was beautiful—a lovely sunrise driving away pear] grey mountain mists which drifted like cotton wool among the palm trees below—ami then the peak, quite clear, with ripples of light on the lovely little lake. Me decided to make for Din Pasar—the largest town in the south, where there is the one and only European hotel on the island—and make that our headquarters so as not to have to pack and

unpack for different rest houses each night. Din Pasar is the centre for all the sights too, and we had exceedingly comfortable quarters—electric fans in our rooms ami charming lounges, verandahs. etc., set in beautiful grounds. There were festoons ol blue morning glories, which were a picture each morning when 1 came out for a cup of coffee on the verandah. On our wav

down we went first to quite a large cetre, Bangli, and then from Gjanjar we turned north again by another road and made a detour t < Tampaksiring, which I consider one of the “high spots” of the week’s sight-seeing. Beyond the village is a famous spring round which baths have been built with rows of jets rather like the Villa Dosin gardens at Tivoli. It js all exceedingly picturesque with old gates, balustrades and women’s ami men’s bathing places all open to the gaze and under the open sky. In one bath we saw the water bubbling up disturbing the sand at the bottom. From there we drove up a very steep pull—l must say we had a most expeditious driver whose only fault was that he always wanted to go helterskelter at. 40 miles an hour through -villages with his horn blowing and scattering of all ami sundry—twice we accounted for a chicken and once left a dog yelping, but of course we tried to keep this thirst for speed under control. Then we drove through some shady bylanes and finally left the car in charge of an old native guide, and walked down a steep series of stops through rice field terraces to a little valley—on which we suddenly emerged through a stone doorway. It, took my breath

away—a cool-looking oasis with a chattering brook running in the midst over a rocky bed with steep cliffs rising on cither side to make a small enclosed valley. There were beautiful old trees easting their shade and palm trees silhouetted sharp against the mid-day sky. On either side carved in enormous

niches in the rock face are Royal tombs —five on one side, four on the other,

and besides there are numbers of picturesque old weathered native huts and

also a series of caves cut in the face which was once a rock convent. Whoever the devotees who lived there, they must have had a very damp time of it judging from the state* of the cells when we explored them. We finished our exploration and then rested for quite a time drinking in the beauty of it all.