I’ve never believed that religious people have better morals or ethics than non-religious people and my experiences in Indonesia only serve to confirm this feeling.

Now, I’m not saying that religious people are bad. Or even that religion doesn’t make some people do good. But overall, when we look at the larger picture, there really doesn’t seem to be any evidence to believe that people somehow become more moral or ethical just because they fear some sort of omniscient entity (who may or may not be imaginary, anyway).

I was reminded of this when we recently made a visit to the Besakih Temple in Bali.

Now, I’d heard bad things about Besakih Temple and what a tourist trap it was, but I really didn’t expect it to be THIS BAD. After all, how is it possible that a visit to the most sacred and holiest of temples in Bali could be one of the most unpleasant and unspiritual of experiences you could have on the Island of the Gods? (second only to a night on the razz in Kuta drinking cheap Hello Mister whiskey)

It really is that bad.

As you drive up to the temple - where there is actually ample parking - you will find you will not be allowed to continue your journey (although some other vehicles are mysteriously waved on). Nope, instead, you are forced to park in the car park which is – especially for your inconvenience of course – located over 1km away from the temple! Clever thinking lads!

So with your tickets in hand you start the long walk up to the temple, but before you know it you are ordered into a small hut where you are told that you MUST have a guide to visit the temple. There’s a special ceremony on today, you should understand. And nope you DON’T have a choice. And besides you can pay what you want – well at least something like the US$100 that the ripped-off American was forced to pay before you.

So what do you do? Well, I just shrugged my shoulders and left the hut to continue walking up the road toward the temple. A few people in the hut shouted out bad things but I just ignored them.

The locals here think it’s great you have to walk a long way up the road to the temple and it explains why motorcycles continuously hover around you, asking whether you’d like a ride up to the temple (for some ridiculously large fee of course!)

But they don’t realize I like exercise. And a brisk 20-30 minute walk up to the temple is like water off a duck’s back for me.

At the temple, you’ll find there is no special ceremony taking place (well what did you expect?), and even if there was it wouldn’t mean you’d have to be forced into paying a guide an exorbitant sum to visit this government temple.



The temple itself is nice enough but not as impressive as Tanah Lot. According to Wikipedia, it probably dates to the fourteenth century – which makes it pretty old as stuff goes. But it is it’s location on the south slopes of Mount Agung, Bali’s largest volcano, which truly gives the place a mystical and ethereal ambience.

All in all, I wouldn’t really advise coming here unless you are comfortable with dealing with a potentially very unpleasant situation.

So be warned! And if you want to read some further testimonies on how bad things can get at Besakih Temple, here are some accounts I have come across on the net:

I absolutely agree with the other reviews that there is a big problem for the tourists in Besakih. I call it Besakih mafia. To say that local people are annoying is to say nothing. They are very pressing. We were very naive at the beginning of our excursion: we bought sarongs, we paid at the entrance, we were told that they wouldn’t let us go inside without their guide and we paid for the guide. Oh, we hoped he would tell us something interesting… But his English was sooo poor. As we took the guide at the very beginning of Besakih place we weren’t attacked by the other groups of aggressive aborigines except small girls trying to sell us tiny flowers. We were asked to donate money inside the temple. We did. At the end of excursion we gave our guide some tips and he asked for more. Oh… We spent about $200 in total (for two) for the visit to the mother temple (later we wondered how could we manage to spend such amount).

One of the most and top rated ripped off tourist attraction is Pura Besakih. (Temple). I am saying this by experience as I just had my third trip there last month and still the locals tried to threaten me to pay for local guide or else I will not be allowed to enter the place after seeing there are 11 of us $_$.

A local guide is totally unnecessary if you already know how to walk around the temple as long as you do not trespassed into family temples. Anyway, I managed to argue with the guy and we went up without paying anything more because I didn't need any guide when I've already know my way.

And then it was ‘Stage Two’… really felt like in Mario Brothers. When you reach exactly the foot of the temple, there will be 3 or more people attacking you. At least 2 will tell you ‘We are the guardians of the temple’ (I really like that Phrase)… and it made you feel like the place is 120% sacred before you realize it’s a tactic to rip you off. They will ask for at least 20,000 rupiah – 50,000 rupiah for the tour around the temple telling you that their family have been guiding the temples since centuries ago.

I told them. Tak perlu terima kasih.

Actually the first visit, I was tricked by THE GUARDIANS OF THE TEMPLE because I didn’t want to offend anyone especially when I am not in my own country. He brought us to his family temple and asked for 50usd as a donation for the prayer. Me and my friend put RM20 in coz we were not very keen to give RM150 away just like that even though it is for temple…. To be honest, I have never even given more that Rm10 to Tua Pek Kong Temple in my hometown…

Originally, Pura Besakih is a very beautiful mother temple of Bali. The biggest temple that have many small family temples in the area. However, it is the blood suckers that will spoil your holiday. If you don’t mind to pay more, you can still enjoy but if you are in budget and do not wish to spend the unnecessary, there are plenty more beautiful places that you can visit in Bali besides Pura Besakih.

My driver told me there were guests paying USD100 per person when they were at the gate. My brother paid about RM300 just to go up if not mistaken because the Local Guide has told him it is compulsory or he will not reach the top. My next trip to Bali with friends or family, this will be the last place I will suggest unless if they insist!

One of the first places I stayed in Jakarta - for any length of time - was Kebon Kacang (Peanut Plantation!), an extremely densely populated area around the back of the plush Plaza Indonesia shopping mall.

The low rise tenements had been constructed to house the proletariat rabble evicted from the slum areas along Jalan Thamrin, but ironically many of these poor people couldn’t afford the rents and given the anonymity of the tenements, quite a few of the units that were not housing families were actually rented by opportunist businessman to secretly house their young concubines (sometimes I would visit them while their benefactors were away).

All in all, Kebon Kacang was a cool place to live: you could pretty much do what you liked, it was safe and noone ever gave you any shit. And it was so cheap you could save some money too – and even have enough dosh left over to take on that concubine for yourself if you so wished.

Another advantage of living in Kebon Kacang is its location: only a five minute walk to Hotel Indonesia – probably the area that most people consider to be the center point of Jakarta.

I went to the small gym in Hotel Indonesia and while working out would watch the ant-sized traffic cops far below “working the system” for all it was worth. Hotel Indonesia was completely run down at the time – but in a nice, nostalgic sort of way – stuck in the groove of the 1960s, which for most Indonesians didn’t mean the Beatles or the Stones, but full-on revolutionary fervor and all the mayhem that comes with that.

The hotel’s dark and gloomy Wayang Bar was made famous in the classic “Year of Living Dangerously” novel, but I never came across any Western foreign reporter types discussing the latest political intrigues – just a few trashy looking night butterflies and sad-looking hotel guests wondering how they ended up in such a dark and miserable joint.

Yes, Hotel Indonesia was a sleaze pit. And everyone seemed to be in on the act. But all that’s history now, and the hotel has thrown away its cheap and nasty apparel and undergone a remarkable transformation into the plush and sophisticated Kempinski.

When I lived in Kebon Kacang as a young lad the country was still under the jackboot of former dictator Suharto and I still remember running into enraged mobs after government forces had stormed PDIP’s headquarters in 1996, killing 5 people and making many others “go missing” (whatever happens to the missing people, I wonder?). I later watched England thrash Holland 4-1 (thank God for Gazza) and started on a journey - overland and by sea - which took me to Bangkok.



The large HI traffic roundabout is also home to Indonesia’s Hansel and Gretel, a pair of idealistic youth who will never age, and, even after all these years, are still welcoming the participants for the 1962 Fourth Asian Games!!!!

It would be nice to report on having uneventful Ramadan holidays, but the truth is that while millions risked life and limb in a treacherous journey back to their hometowns, I was abducted by Aliens and fortunate to make it back alive. Freaky time on the mothership mind you – could have sworn that one of the green buggers said his name was ET – although he didn’t look very alien to me – looked more Chinese – or was it that he said his name was Eddy Tansil? Shit. I can’t really remember. But who cares? People come and go, don’t they?

The aliens also told me they operate out of their base in Sumatra. This gives them easy access to whom they say are the “chosen ones” – i.e. the orang utans at Bukit Lawang.



These hairy creatures are the future of the universe the aliens said – and all remaining 15,000 of them will be progressively transported from Planet Earth to Omega 1 (Nebula XX1) over the next five years or so in a series of UFO shuttle runs.

But while the aliens are on Planet Earth, they also make occasional trips to Jakarta.

For “recreational” activities, they told me. Cos an alien’s gotta do what an alien’s gotta do. Literally a case of beam her up Scotty!

Image courtesy of alien-squid-prawn.com (note to DPR: if it’s good enough for aliens, why not us? And why is Ariel still behind bars for having done NOTHING wrong? And he hasn't even be charged. If that's not totally wacky, I don't know what is!)

If I had the choice, I'd jump onto one of the old, battered pinisi at Sunda Kelapa harbor, fingers crossed that I’d end up being taken to some far flung island where aquamarine seas lap fine golden sands…

Problem is I don't have the choice :(

The things you see...

We all want a legacy, something to be remembered by. Perhaps that’s why so many people keep online diaries – or blogs – they can be read long after we have popped our mortal coil and, for most of us at least, they are the only realistic option to get a legacy; only a very small number of people will ever be remembered for being famous – as artists, writers, politicians, whatever.

But for the late H. Abdul Hamid, his legacy was achieved in a rather unique way - he created the recipe for the spicy chicken dish Karang Taliwang, so named because it is the subdistrict in Mataram where Hamid lived.

Although the Ayam Taliwang recipe was created as long ago as 1970, Hamid had problems selling the dish to potential customers since they were unaware of the difference between Ayam Taliwang and either grilled or fried chicken.

It wasn’t until the 1980s that the dish gained popularity after a state minister visited Mataram.

Apart from Lombok, where the dish has acquired legendary status, Ayam Taliwang can now be found across West Nusa Tenggara and in Bali where it’s available at many warung or street stalls.

The delectable flavor of the chicken owes both to the choice of chicken and the process used to cook it.

Only free range chickens are used and they are ideally three months old – any older and the meat is too tough and if the chickens are any younger then the meat falls apart too easily when cooked.

As for the incredibly spicy flavor of the chicken, that comes from the chili garlic and shrimp paste in which it is immersed during the process of grilling or frying it.



The chicken is almost always served with plecing (water spinach with tomato-chili relish), a dish so fiery it will make your lips blow up to a gargantuan size like old Mick Jaggers’ himself!



Ouch!!!!!!!!!

Ayam Taliwang (Jalan Dalem Samplangan No. 2A, Gianyar, Bali