Bedugul offers orchids and convenience

Bedugul offers orchids and convenience

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

With its cool air, beautiful scenery and quiet atmosphere,
Bedugul in Tabanan regency is a comfortable haven for those who
have grown bored with Kuta's cramped environs and frustrated with
Denpasar's traffic jams.

Lying some two hours by car from Denpasar and about two-and-a-
half hours from Nusa Dua, Bedugul sits next to the misty Lake
Beratan.

This tranquil 370,000-square-meter lake provides visitors with
ample opportunities for boating, fishing, water skiing,
parasailing or simply enjoying the peaceful ambience of the
ancient Ulun Danu temple next to the lake.

During ancient times, the area around the lake was populated
mostly by royal blacksmiths and their families, who were
responsible for filling the kingdom's armory with powerful tools
of war. These families were wiped out by the troops of East
Java's Majapahit Kingdom during their advance into the Balinese
kingdom's capital of Bedulu in Gianyar.

About one kilometer west of the lake lies the Eka Karya
Botanical Park, one of the most interesting spots in Bedugul.
Founded in July 1959, the park boasts 1,753 species of plants on
157,490 square meters of hilly ground.

The park, particularly early in the morning when layers of
mist hover on high branches and dewy leaves embrace the warm sun,
is mesmerizing.

"The park is divided into a general collection and thematic
ones, each occupying different plots of land," the head of the
park, Mustaid Siregar, said.

One thematic collection that Siregar is particularly proud of
is the ritual plants of Balinese Hinduism. Over the years, the
park's staff has painstakingly collected, cataloged and
cultivated various plants commonly used in local religious
rituals.

"So far we have in our collection 88 species of ritual plants,
some of which are now so rare and hard to find that the Balinese
have stopped using them," he said.

The park also has 2,180 specimens of orchids from 149
different species. Siregar repeatedly stresses that these are
wild orchids and not hybrid ones.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri is known to be very fond of
the park's orchid collection.

"Ibu (Megawati) has visited the park on three separate
occasions. Ibu loves plants and orchids and has a deep knowledge
of this subject," Siregar said.

The park has a luxurious Balinese-style bungalow and an eight-
room dormitory reserved for guest scientists and researchers.

"But when the facilities are not being used by researchers, we
are very happy to rent it out to visitors," he said.

In 2002, about 268,000 people visited the park. Siregar said
foreign visitors were generally very enthusiastic to learn about
the park's plants, whereas Indonesians usually visited just for
picnics.

Another interesting spot in Bedugul is the Bali Handara
Kosaido Country Club, which boasts an 18-hole golf course with
arguably the greenest grass on the island.

"Our visitors always say that our golf course is superbly
green and well-tended, and they also extol the cool weather here
in Bedugul. It is so cool that they can play all day long without
suffering from exhaustion," club supervisor Gde Sutarya said.

The club has a 77-room hotel on its 110,000 square meters of
land. The hotel has its own tennis courts, restaurant and karaoke
lounge.

A visit to Bedugul is best completed by a stop at the
Candikuning Market, where visitors can buy fresh vegetables and
fruit, and colorful decorative plants.

And sampling a cup of local coffee -- they mix coffee with
crushed dry-shelled corn -- in a nearby drink stall is the
perfect way to unwind far from the crowds and chaos of other
parts of the island.