In Bali for my brother’s wedding I was keen on doing some sightseeing whilst I was in the country. I had seen a lot of posters and brochures about a temple on a small island just outside Denpasar. I was determined to see the island for myself and take some sunset photos.
The temple is a Hindu Tanah Lot means “Land and Sea”. The temple sits on a large offshore rock which has been shaped continuously over the years by the ocean tide. Tanah Lot is claimed to be the work of the 15th century priest Nirartha and is one of the tourist must see in Bali.
I had been using a local taxi driver for my transport needs and was pretty cheap. I didn’t want to use one of the local “transport” mopeds that tourists liked to use, as one had gotten lost for three hours trying to find where I was staying.
Calling my taxi contact I asked him to drive me to the temple. Passing through small villages with rice paddies rushing past the windows the journey takes round thirty minutes to reach the temple. There are markets in the car park that is full with tourists as a weave my way across past paintings, shoes and other various souvenirs.
A set of stairs leads down to a rocky beach with the temple across a small stretch of water sits the temple. Wave’s crash through a small inlet that bridges the gap between the island and the beach which looks a little bit rough but I decide to cross it whilst the light is still good as I have got the shots that I need.
I make my way across what I think is a shallow stretch of water towards the island in the fading light and it turns out that I have under estimated the depth and the current. The water rushes toward me but it is only knee-deep so it’s not so bad. At about half way through the waves come in a sudden wave rushes up and completely soaks me, including the mobile phone that I have left in my pocket. I make it across otherwise unscathed but dripping wet.
At the base of the temple there are monks dressed in Hindu finery greet people at the base. There is a natural spring of water and people are cupping their hands drinking from the spring. I turn and ask what it is all about and a monk informs me that they are offering blessings for good luck. I drink the Holy Water and the monks sprinkle me with some. They then place a few grains of rice on my forehead for posterity and luck and place a white frangipani behind my ear. I feel somewhat lighter as I cross the water back to the beach.
As I am about to cross back to the beach a small Indonesian family stops me to ask for photos with me as they have never seen someone so blonde. Pretty soon there is a small crowd around me all wanting photos and I am posing with the whole group. They humbly thanks me all wanting to shake my hand, touch my fair skin and I am sure that I will be a topic of discussion for some time.
I make my way back through the crowded markets and head back towards Denpasar quite glad that I have made the journey to this magical place.
Photography Tips
Get down low onto the rocks to capture the sunset as the viewing platforms get really busy. Take a tripod and a wide angle lens with you to shoot the sunset.
Across with the monks a prime lens is the ideal lens as the environment is quite dark and a fast lens will help. Either a 50 mm or 85 mm is ideal.
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