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Bathing at Pura Tirta Empul
The temples of Bali are both ancient and living; at the Hindu water temple of Tirta Empul, Balinese bathe in the spring waters that have been funnelled through waterspouts since 962 A.D.
Many years ago, my husband and I went to Bali for our honeymoon. On our first day there, we were separated from our money.
To say that we were “robbed” puts it much too harshly: we were attracted by friendly, smiling faces into a little blue van that purported to be going our way. I’d read about the blue taxis in my Lonely Planet, and the garrulous chatter of the men in the van distracted me from the fact that this blue vehicle didn’t have the requisite “Bali Taxi” written on it. When I was startled by the noise of our disposable camera falling to the floor, the men were also startled, and all of a sudden, they weren’t going our way after all. They hurriedly dropped us off at a motorcycle-taxi shelter and disappeared.
It was only when we went to pay the motorcycle drivers at the top of a long hill that we discovered that my husband’s wallet was empty. He was not well pleased – it was one of the few times I ever saw him lose his temper, but it was day-one of our marriage, so I did wonder what I had let myself in for!
Fortunately, we had divvied up the money that morning before setting out for the day. Half our cash was in my wallet back in our room, and he had a few dollars in his pocket with which to mollify the motorcycle drivers. The temple we had arrived at had no prescribed fee, so we set off to wander around.
Another young Balinese man seemed to have attached himself to us: he offered to show us the short-cut to the water-temple that I wanted to visit next. As he had witnessed our reaction to having no money, he couldn’t be looking for a tip, so I persuaded my husband that it was ok.
What felt like an eternity later (probably about fifteen minutes), we were bathed in wet, hot, air and surrounded by dense jungle on a path I could not make out. When our ‘guide’ shouted out to people I couldn’t see through the dense vegetation, I panicked and thought our number was up. We were going to be kidnaped, or murdered, and it was all my fault!! Never have I felt so frightened and so helpless.
Of course, a moment – or a lifetime – later, the jungle opened up, and we were looking down over the most wonderful fresh-spring stone-baths. Our guide probably wondered why we looked so very relieved as he showed us where to put our things. Warm water never felt so good!
The theft and the fright could not prevent us from appreciating what a rich and beautiful cultural experience Bali is. Last year, we returned to celebrate our anniversary.
I wanted to visit the same temples we had seen those years ago, and negotiated a trip with a guide we had met on the side of the road (Balinese are most persuasive!). We spent the day with him, a car, and a driver.
Join us at two uniquely Balinese sites.
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Family at the Entry to Pura Tirta Empul
The springs at Tirta Empul Temple are said to have magical powers, and are therefore important to the Balinese.
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In the Baths
Bathers dress for modesty, and wear clothing or sarongs in the spring waters.
Bathing Fun
As is the case in many Southeast Asian temples, ritual blends seamlessly with fun and frolic.
Taking Turns
In the inner yard, people line up to bathe under each of the spouts, working from left to right across the pond. Many faithful have containers to take the healing waters home with them.
Ritual Baths
Visitors pay a camera fee; many watch and photograph from outside the pools.
Offerings
There are offerings of flowers and incense to the Gods – particularly Vishnu – everywhere.
Bathing
Tirta Empul Baths
These might have been the same baths we visited many years before, but it all looked so different!
Guardian at the Entry
There is beautiful stone work everywhere. The whole complex was restored in the 1960s, but with the patina of moss on everything, it is hard to tell what is old and what isn’t.
Gedongs – Small Temples
Beyond the baths, the temple is more like others we have visited (eg: Chasing Sunset and Pura Ulun Danu Beratan).
Priest in a Pavillion
Balinese Hindu priests light incense and ring bells as they recite prayers.
Cutting Fruit
Fresh fruit is cut for offerings.
Fish Pond
Up on the hill overlooking the temple complex is Istana Negara, an unspectacular single-story palace built by Soekarno, the first President of Indonesia.
Fish Patterns
Markets
Naturally, where people gather, there will be markets!
People on the Steps
Just a kilometre down-river from Pura Tirta Empul is the entry to Gunung Kawi.
Woman Crocheting
The people lining the pathway are either selling things or making things for sale.
Rice Terraces
The walk down to the river is steep, and runs through typical verdant Balinese rice terraces.
Gunung Kawi Royal Tombs
Across the river, we come to the amazing Gunung Kawi: …
Gunung Kawi
… ten 7-metre-high (23 ft) candi (shrines) carved into the stone cliff along the riverbank.
Bale Pelik at Gunung Kawi
Carved in the 11th century, the tombs are believed to be memorials in honour of King Anak Wungsu of the Udayana dynasty and his favourite queens.
Water Fountain
Terraces
What goes down must come up again… There are more than 100 steps down to the river – and the same number coming back up. Checking out the beautiful terraces gave us a good excuse to take a breather as we climbed back up to the parking lot.
I had hoped to find the same temples we had visited on our honeymoon, but everything looked different. Surely monuments that had existed for centuries could not have changed so much!
Maybe I dreamed the whole thing? 
Until next time,
Happy Wandering!
Photos: 30January2017
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