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.