Tanah Lot

We had gotten back to the hotel very late.  Somehow, I had managed to wake the next morning feeling very rough and regretting the last few drinks of the night.

I had booked a tour for us, which now seemed to be a very brave and foolish decision.  Veronica hadn't been drinking, so she found my suffering to be hilarious.  We got in the car and the driver started our journey towards the water temple at Tanah Lot.  As we were staying in Jimbaran, we had a long drive of about an hour and a half.  I decided to treat this as a blessing and quickly fell asleep in the backseat for most of the trip.

We arrived at Tanah Lot with the tides up.  We stood near the cliff edge and looked out at this famous water temple.  With the water lapping around the island, it was an incredibly picturesque sight.  I was starting to feel myself again, the strong breeze helping to cool and refresh me.  We walked around the whole of the area, taking photos and just exploring. 

Further down the coast to the South, the whole area opened up.  The denses forests were all replaced by wide open lawns.  It seemed like it was part of some resort, though there didn't seem to be any golf courses in the areas that we were walking.  We kept wandering further South until we could see nice uninterrupted views back towards Tanah Lot.

On our way back, we decided to stop for lunch.  The whole area seemed heavily built up for mass tourism.  There were restaurants everywhere, with the cliff area completely lined with tables and chairs.  Further inland, there were rows and rows of shops selling the random tourist items you would expect.  There seemed to be a complete lack of tourists on this day though.  The tables were largely empty and the staff also seemed to be bored with the lack of action.  We found ourselves a nice table with a perfect view of the water temple.  We were in no rush so we ate our lunch in a relaxed manner, slowly eating and chatting.  As we ate we noticed a small uptick in clientele as the tables around us began to fill.   Looking out towards the water, we also noticed that the water had quite suddenly subsided.  Whereas when we arrived, it was an island, the seabed around temple was now becoming very clearly visible.

Our timing had inadvertently been perfect.

We finished our lunch and we walked down.  Most of the water was gone and the tourists who had gathered were now walking around on what was previously the seabed.  It was a surreal experience.  There were small rockpools everywhere, some still filled with marine life.  We walked up to the temple.  Reaching the upper levels required undergoing a traditional Balinese spiritual ritual that I wasn't comfortable being part of.  So instead, we remained at the lower levels.

After exploring the lower levels near the temple we walked back up and towards the Northern coast and part of the complex area.  Looking back down the coast, we once again had beautiful sweeping views of the entire area, this type with the "island" being art of the mainland.

I was tired.  The previous night and the trip had taken its toll on me.  I was still glad we had come.  The walk had been refreshing and the temple was indeed beautiful to see.  Now we had our long drive back to contend with.