非一般山谷 (Mysterious Bali)

巴厘岛神奇之旅，是我在网络上消声匿迹了一个星期的原因。

首次踏足巴厘岛，来到这座幽谷中的千年古庙，竟有似曾相识的感觉。荒山野岭，古木苍苍，山涧溪流，足以栖身的山洞，荒秃的石壁，和石壁上雕朔出的庄严神像，我活生生的行走于这片土地上。

时间像是回流到神秘的远古时代，空间却是这山谷里，族人们都在忙着开山劈石，拜祭神灵，种稻打猎等等。每个人都在生活着，劳动着，不察觉时间的流逝。每个人生活的目的，为的就是大自然的神明与英明的君主。

我的快门按了又按，深怕错失了任何现代城市里已经绝迹的时间痕迹。

族人们必定不知道，几百年后远在荷兰的另一个文明，登陆巴厘岛后以殖民方式统治了这个岛屿。也必定没有任何智者会料到，若干年后会有一群群的来自世界各地的陌生人乘搭一种能在天上飞的工具到此一游，对他们的鬼斧神工唧唧称奇。

My free-and-easy tour to Bali was indeed a fascinating experience. Bali has its many faces that are both mysteriously charming and exotically interesting.

As an enthusiastic shutterbug craving for photographic subjects, the island is a dreamland. Opportunity for photography is almost everywhere ranging from sunny beaches, scenic mountains, historical temples, artistic paintings and sculptures, rural villages, fauna and flora, people and animals etc.

The images shown here are taken in Gunung Kawi Temple Complex that was built around a thousand years ago. The tall, sculpted rock walls of the mountain are majestic looking. It was hard to imagine how difficult and how much time it took the people at that time to complete the complex.

My presence here alone was enough to make me feel that I had travelled back to the ancient time, and the whole structure of the temple complex made me deeply appreciative of the ability of human being (in the lack of modern construction equipment) to turn their imagination and creativity into reality. If such a majestic structure could be built and carved out from the natural rocky mountain, what else could not be accomplished?

I shall share with you more photographs of other faces of Bali in the future posts.