Across the field a flock of white herons take flight. White herons are guardians of the rice fields. Along with ducks, geese and other water fowl, they feed off the worms, rats and other vermin, and are hence revered.
Tag Archives: sawah
Another Serene Scene
Another rural scene from the Balinese countryside. The rice terraces at Jatiluwih are the most extensive that I’ve ever seen in Bali. Apparently at its best on a sunny day, it nevertheless is impressive on a cloudy one.
Gunung Agung
We drive further into the foothills, and was greeted by the sight of Gunung Agung, Bali’s highest peak.
This is a rare sight in the middle of the monsoon season, as most of the time the peak is shrouded in cloud.
Rice Fields
Surrounding the village are the rice fields. The Balinese has self-sufficient when it comes to producing rice. A traditional Balinese family is allocated a plot in which to grow rice. The surplus either goes to the village or to the government.
Bali is also a volcanically active place. The northern part of the country is full of peaks above 1,000m, the highest being the 3,142m high Gunung Agung. We’ll visit a volcano later.
Sawah
Venture into the South-East Asian countryside, and you will inevitably see some rice paddies. Bali is the same. Drive 30 minutes out of Denpasar and you will be surrounded by sawah (the Indonesian word for ‘rice paddies’).
Drive further into the foothills, and the sawah get positively scenic.
They are places that are full of life. My hotel in Ubud was next to a sawah and every morning I watched the ducks feed.
Those tourists who don’t venture outside of their resorts in Bali are certainly missing out.
Static and Silence 