Another Bali Wedding

This was my third trip to Bali.  Like all the previous trips, this was also to attend a wedding.  There was one slight difference this time, that Veronica would be joining the wedding as one of the bridesmaids.  It meant a little bit more to do for her, but for me, I was free to do as I wanted.

This was Veronica's first trip to Bali.  We took some time before the wedding to not just enjoy our surrounds, but also to explore the island a little bit.  The wedding was in Uluwatu, so we headed down to Uluwatu Temple for Veronica to experience some of Bali's culture (or what was presented as its culture in any event).  We arrived at the gates, put on the saris we were required to wear and walked down towards the temple.  In our rush to get down, we hadn't put on any sunscreen and the heat of the day was getting intense.   After we entered, we walked over to a shaded area to put on some sunscreen.  With my sari on, I couldn't access my pockets and had been holding my phone in my hand.  I placed this phone down on a ledge.... What a horrible mistake that was as a monkey came running across to grab the phone and to then run away. I chased after the monkey.  It didn't run far.  Instead it sat just out of arms reach, snarling at me and chewing on the phone.  I grabbed a stick and started to poke at it.  I needed that phone and I contemplated whether it would make sense to run at it and to try and snatch it back.  Veronica ran off and found one of the local guards in the area.  This was a common occurrence it seemed.  He asked for a "payment" and then brought out some food which he threw towards the monkey.  Once it had been given enough food for both hands, it dropped the stolen phone and ran off.  It may not have been the case that this was a coordinated effort between the monkeys and the local guards, but they were both certainly created a symbiotic relationship from all of this thieving! 

The temple area was busier than I remembered.  The views were as sweeping and as grand as before, but things did seem to be falling into a worsening state of disrepair.  Cracks in the temple and the walls were getting bigger and there seemed to be a general mess everywhere.  The monkeys were also on full rampage, with screams and cries being frequently heard as they tried to steal all manner of thing from the visitors.

We left after a few hours.  It was a good visit, but the story of the thieving monkey would probably be the highlight of it all.  Veronica needed to get ready for the wedding, so we went over to the hotel where the reception would be.  It would be many hours before the wedding, so I dropped Veronica off and went to do some exploring.  Close to where we were was Bingin Beach.  This partly secluded, partly isolated and yet strangely busy part of Bali seemed to have grown organically out of the cliff.  Access to the beach seemed to only be possible by walking down a long and narrow path down the side of the cliff.  Once at the beach level, you could see all of the small warungs and guest houses that had been built up over the years.  The beach itself was full of surfers and revellers sunning themselves.  It was all very Bali.

I swam around for a bit before laying in the sun.  I found a warung and had some lunch with a smoothie.  The AFL grand final was on, so I even pulled out my phone and started to watch the game for a bit.  I felt every bit the Australian in Bali....

After this period of relaxation, I made the slow hike back up to the path to the waiting car.  I was now a bit late and so I needed to race over to the wedding location.  I arrived as the bride and her bridesmaids were all nearly ready.  They all jumped onto little golf buggies and sped off to the wedding location as I borrowed the bathroom to shower and change.  As I walked out, I realised I didn't know how to get down to the wedding area.  At that moment, the sister of the bride and one of the flower girls reappeared, having forgotten to grab some small items.  I was able to hitch a ride on their golf buggy down to the wedding. 

It was a beautiful wedding.  The location was grand and immaculately prepared.  It was a bit of a strange Bali wedding.  With such a high end location, I hadn't been so sure what the "attire" would be.  There was clearly a similar confusion amongst the guests as the choice of clothing ranged from extremely overdressed (like myself) all the way through to the extremely underdressed.  This disparity in the approach to clothing only seemed to add to the Bali feel.

With the formalities of the wedding completed, the reception and the party began.  With all the kids in attendance, games and a large jumping castle had been prepared.  They soon began running up and down, climbing all over the jumping castle as all of us adults enjoyed drinks and canapes.

Dinner was then served.  Traditional Balinese food, all prepared with care and attention to detail.  During the reception, the bride and groom all performed a further traditional Korean ceremony for the benefit of the family of the bridge.

As the evening wore on, we all migrated towards the inside ballroom.  The DJ began to play and the drinks continued to flow.  The kids were now gone, safely in bed as the adults all continued to celebrate the newly married bride and groom.