After another quiet night we headed out in the dead calm for Lembongan.
Typical rows of fishing lines/nets. We come across these quite often in Indonesia. Huge swaths of sea covered and inaccessible.
Lembognan is an island just a few miles from Bali.
It’s a unique place, with a surf break right smack dab in the middle of the bay. It’s so consistent that they even planted a barge right next to it for people to spend their days drinking and surfing right off the deck.
We found this small cemetery to be rather strange. It didn’t seem permanent. After seeing a couple of these we discovered that it’s part of something called Ngaben, a Balinese cremation ceremony. In a perfect world, when someone died there would be an immediate cremation ceremony, but in reality it’s an expensive process. So instead, people will be buried for a period of time, up to a few years, then dug up again when they will eventually hold a mass Ngaben ceremony for all of them.
Balinese offerings, canang sari, are everywhere, laid out daily, then cleaned up each morning before new ones are set out.
The town is full of restaurants, everything from tourist friendly pizza and burger joints, to typical Indonesia warungs.
Mangoes and avocados are everywhere right now.
3 Comments on “Lembongan”
The hierarchy and sheer numbers of Balinese Hindu temples are astonishing. Each family has their own temple and often quite elaborate taking up roughly equal acreage with the living areas, each neighborhood has a temple, each village has at least 3 temples, many many city and regional temples and so on. It’s an incredible commitment of craftsmanship, wealth and labor towards the daily practice of their rather subtle and quiet spirituality juxtaposed against an almost crazed hustling entrepreneurial tourist economy. These are lovely people, everyone unfailingly happy and balanced, full of genuine smiles and treating their guests like royalty.
We witnessed a cremation ceremony next door to one of our homestays, we thought it was a giant family reunion with a bonfire and were astonished when we inquired and it was explained to us, wow! It was a very cheerful fiesta, we hadn’t a clue.
When we did a home stay in Bali I asked the woman doing the daily offerings to the family shrine what she asked for? Having been raised Catholic I recalled my fervent requests to god to allow me to pass my math tests….she looked so surprised & replied “OH! We ask for nothing. We give thanks for all we have.” I so loved that & never forget to do the same every day.
Gorgeous pix & as always thank-you for taking us along on your splendid voyage!