The wealth of Balinese religious ceremony and the calendar of events which structures the life of the Balinese, both religious and lay, is impressive. We wake up early and note that the gardener is working dressed formally in a white udeng (Balinese male head wear), a double layered heavy sarong and a freshly pressed shirt. The young women in the restaurant serving breakfast from 7 am are dressed in tight fitting sarongs, kabaya and sashes, their movement graceful and appearance more curvaceous, as they busily bring trays to their guests. Every month, Balinese dress in ceremonial clothing to celebrate full moon and at some point in the day, they will visit a local or family pura ( temple). 
On full moon two days ago, we left Sanur to travel up the east coast of Bali towards Amed, a long drive with many interesting spots along the way. We stopped at Goa Lawah Temple, one of the most important temples in Bali, perhaps second only to Bersakih, the mother temple. Goa Temple translates to bat cave, and it is in this darkened cave that Hindu priests conduct religious ceremonies on a raised platform. Goa Lawah temple was established in the 11th century by Mpu Kuturan, one of the early priests who laid the foundations of Hinduism on the island. It’s a popular stopover for holidaying locals, who arrive with offerings and prayers before continuing their journey. Every month, many Balinese visit the temple for full moon ceremonies, but prior to their visit, they must first walk to the sea opposite, wash their feet and collect holy sea water to sprinkle on themselves, a necessary cleansing ritual before prayer. Every six months, a much larger ceremony is held where Balinese from all over the island will visit for the day. It is a holy shrine, akin to Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral or Rome’s Basilica di San Pietro.
Although we came prepared with our own sarongs and scarves, always tucked away in a bag for temple visits, we accepted the sarongs and scarves offered at the entrance gate. These days, the most famous temples charge a small admission price which involves dressing the tourist appropriately in a sarong and scarf: this ensures that tourists will not offend with inappropriate dress, and at the same time, raises funds for the upkeep of the grounds.
Despite this, some tourists offend through their behaviour. Picture this: within the darkened cave, a priest dressed in white makes offerings to the Gods, holy water is sprinkled, bells ring, incense is burning, and basket offerings are laid at the altar. Soon a small black bird will be sacrificed. The locals sit on the ground below, mostly dressed in white and gold, hands raised in prayer. Reverence and auspiciousness can be sensed, understood and respected by most of the tourists who, like me, stand and observe from a distance, taking photos from the rear of the temple. Then, out of nowhere, she arrives: she places herself midst the the faithful who, along with the priest, will form a backdrop to her poses for instagram. This young, ignorant young woman gives tourists a bad name.
The looks on the faces of the Balinese says it all. It is no wonder some Balinese Regencies are considering barring tourists from temples completely. Can you imagine this happening in the middle of a mass, or other religious event in a European church, mosque or synagogue?
ALMOST ITALIAN 
That’s really crass. One comes across behaviour like this too often now.
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Is she serious? For a photo on Instagram? Ridiculous. Yes, I did notice the expressions on the Balinese and thought the same as them.
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Wow, so disrespectful, I’m embarrassed for her.
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How wonderful the Balinese celebrate the full moon… In other countries I doubt many people even notice the moon cycles. Once again you take me on a pleasant journey through meaningful everyday to be confonted with an intrusive aberration. Not a bad thing, far better to learn from others misjudgments and refine our own intentions and behaviours inwardly, rather than outwardly display ignorance.
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Yours is a brief but meaningful look at respect and lack of respect.. The long and the short and the tall ! The natural respect of the locals be it in relation to dress or behaviour. The ‘who the hell cares’ lack of it by some who neither understand nor care and feel so superior that what they see really does not matter. How can both sides join hands if ignorance is accepted . . . Fran, your IG photos > Amed are just beautiful . . .
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WoW, she must be on something! How rude. I love the photo of the Balinese WTF facial expressions. Your other photos ( minus IG lady) are beautiful! Ciao, Cristina
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Imagine the reaction to this behavior in an italian church when mass us going on?
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Unfortunately I have witnessed comparable behaviour during Mass too. It blows my mind and I always tell myself-they must be on something! Hope you don’t run into any more of these bozos on your trip! Ciao, Cristina
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Lovely historical story. I hope that blondie’s legs grow together.
PEter FNQ
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Haha yes, and don’t forget her idiot partner who took the photos with his special camera… any hope for him, Peter?
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Again! I’m going out on a limb and saying Russian. But, it really doesn’t matter where she is from. I wonder when the self awareness gene will kick in (if ever).
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Or awareness of others. I must say that her partner, the photographer, was equally to blame. Perhaps he egged her on. Needed a trophy photo. Russian, eastern European, or world ignoramus.
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This really is unbelievably disrespectful. Embarrassingly so. On a brighter note your travels, photos and stories are fascinating!
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Beyond disrespectful. Of course if this happened in a church, the young woman and her photographer would be thrown out, and perhaps fined.
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I can imagine that the religious calendar and its associated rituals and discipline must be a tremendous source of security and comfort besides the visual beauty that accompanies those customs. I feel very sad for the mindset of the young intruder.
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The Balinese calender is complex, even the Balinese need priests and astrologers to interpret it. Each year I find new levels of understanding, and when I think I get some of it, a whole new area of meaning takes me back to the beginning. Unfortunately, the tourist who defiles a holy place through behaviour or dress is so sad , and much worse than the drunken louts in the bars of Kuta and Legian, where that behaviour is confined to bars and tourist enclaves. You’ve probably read about the Czech tourists ast month who went to an altar in a temple, and splashed holy water over the bare bum of the young woman and posted the video on facebook? Or the Dutch tourist who sat in lotus position on a high altar in a sacred place to post on social media? The list goes on and on. By exposing this, I hope , perhaps in vain, to spread the word.
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Wonderful people images Francesca … I can’t believe that she is posing for a photo .. how bizarre and so disrespectful
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