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UNESCO Monday #6: Bali’s Royal Water Temple Taman Ayun

Julio Moreno
The Centerpiece of Taman Ayun.

[Quick Note: This is my 100th Post YAY!]

It is a strange feeling, but Indonesia is the only place I have been where I don’t even feel like I’ve actually experienced the country. My first trip to Japan was a 5-day trip, and I felt like I learned quite a bit in that short time. Hell, even my four days in Macao / Hong Kong made me feel more familiar with the area than here.

I flew into Indonesia with one goal in mind, Komodo National Park. It was that dream turned obsession that blinded me from connecting more with the people around me. I was here to see huge lizards, not make new friends. While Komodo turned out to match my huge expectations (and in some cases, surpass them), and I definitely met some awesome people in the Komodo area, I feel regret when it comes to my time in Bali. We rushed around everywhere as soon as we arrived, even paying a premium to have a driver take us to this temple – known as Taman Ayun – before dropping us off in Tulamben on the north side of Bali.

Taman Ayun is also known as the ‘water temple’ and one of the sites that make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site: Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy. It was a combination of rushing around and the overall hype I have heard about Bali that left me utterly disappointed. “Bali was good, but hardly great,” I thought. Looking back at this picture though, I feel like I missed something. This temple which I dismissed as mediocre at the time is quite pretty and unusual. Its towers are like nothing I have ever seen, and the placement of water channels all around make is quite beautiful indeed. It is pictures like this that make me glad I take photos of everything where I can look back and give places a second chance.

[Want to participate and be featured on this blog? Have you visited a UNESCO World Heritage Site? Find out how to submit your pictures here.]

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