The temple’s carvings show ghouls, noblemen, home scenes, soft porn, and a riot of leaves and tendrils. One pedestal shows a horrifying rendition of Durga, another a large figure resembling Christ at the Last Supper. The center piece depicts a battle scene from the Ramayana. On the northern wall of the innermost shrine is a famous one-meter-high relief of a Dutch official riding a floral bicycle, a reproduction of a 1904 carving destroyed by an earthquake. The cyclist is W.O.J. Nieuwenkamp, a famous Dutch landscape and portrait artist who rode his bike around Bali in the early 1900s, painting as he went. During restoration the bicycle was born anew with lotus-flower spokes; even Nieuwenkamp’s sarong and the bush in the background feature floral patterns. Between his feet and the wheels is a rat and small dog; Nieuwenkamp’s initials and moustache, however, are gone. To view this wonderment, ask for the key, then leave your donation in the shop opposite.

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Trials take place in a special shed, built over the high stone or brick platform. The Kerta Gosa, the court house of Klungkung, one of the inevitable sights of Bali, is already famous because of the lurid paintings that cover the entire ceiling, depicting the punishments that await a law-breaker in the hell. The court house is beautifully decorated; two stone serpents flank the stairs that lead to the platform where the judges sit on great gilt chairs.

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On Thursday, 4/24/08, a sacred and unique ceremony known as Siat Sampian (war of sampian) was held in Samuan Tiga temple as a part of series of rituals to commemorate the temple anniversary that had been commenced from Sunday, 4/20/08 up to Thursday, 4/24/08.

As its name suggests, Siat Sampian (war of sampian) is a ritual in which the participants armed with a sampian (a decoration made of woven coconut leaves) attack each other accompanied by hysterical shouts and the smile of joy. As a matter of fact, Siat Sampian is a ritual dance in which the dancers enact a battle of good and evil. As this dance the Siat Sampian dance is performed by two groups of dancers, each group consists of hundreds of dancers; the female group known as ‘permas’ (female servants of the deities) with white cloth and black sarong and ‘parekan’ (male servant of the deities) with all white attires.

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This shot was taken from Gumang Hill and Wikipedia says:

Mount Agung or Gunung Agung is a mountain in Bali. This stratovolcano is the highest point on the island. It dominates the surrounding area influencing the climate. The clouds come from the west and Agung takes their water so that the west is lush and green and the east dry and barren.

Gunung Agung last erupted in 1963-64 and is still active, with a large and very deep crater which occasionally belches smoke and ash. From a distance, the mountain appears to be perfectly conical, despite the existence of the large crater.

From the peak of the mountain, it is possible to see the peak of Mount Rinjani on the island of Lombok, although both mountains are frequently covered in cloud.

The lava flows missed, sometimes by mere yards, the Mother Temple of Besakih. The saving of the temple is regarded by the Balinese people as miraculous and a signal from the gods that they wished to demonstrate their power but not destroy the monument the Balinese faithful had erected. However, over 1,000 people were killed and a number of villages were destroyed in this eruption.

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The Balinese generally use jukung for fishing. These boats will venture out into the coastal waters in the evening and return with their catch before sunrise to sell at local seafood markets. However, the impact of tourism has meant that many of the island’s traditional fishermen can now supplement their limited incomes by taking paying passengers to surf and snorkel at offshore reefs and neighbouring islands.