Tuesday October 15

            We had an abbreviated tour today as Caroline and Ali left for home in the afternoon.  We went to the mother temple – the most important temple in Bali. Like 90% of the population in Bali the temple is Hindu.  It sits on the side of the largest volcano in Bali – Gunung Agung.  The temple is a large compound of buildings with Pagoda roofs everywhere.  It contains several smaller temples.  The temples are laid out on several levels.  There is a caste system in Bali: the farmers, the merchants, the warriors, and the Priests.   The lower temples for the farmer caste and the upper temple for the priests caste Today there were several ceremonies going on in the temple.  The biggest one seemed to be the cremation ceremonies.  The temple was crowded with Hindis and I was pleased to see they were harangued as much by the hawkers as we were.  I  also loved seeing so many Balinese dressed in their finery.                  

Balinese Celebrants

On the way to a cremation ceremony