Actually, this stunning Chinese temple has the full name of Klenteng Ong Tay Jen Griya Kong Co Dwipayana. Over the numerous decades I thought I had visited, photographed and prayed in every klenteng on the island. This was not the case. For some obscure reason I hadn’t seen this one. This unpretentious and beautiful klenteng is located on the edge of the Badung Strait. It’s not an easy place to find being so isolated, however, if you travel along Jl By Pass Simpang Siur in Tanah Kilap until you see a large sign BPPT, then directly after the sign there is a narrow dirt road that meanders through the edge of the mangrove swamps. Follow this road right down to the sea. This interesting klenteng has three dharma – Taoist, Confucianist and Bhuddist. In one pavilion there are statues of dewa dewi. This is where the Taoists pray. The Confucianists pray to NABI Khong Hu Cu in one of the several pavilions whilst the Bhuddists pray to Bhudda Gautama and the Goddess of Mercy. The one thing I found interesting was that in the same complex are located three Hindu puras making this temple complex a truly multi-faith one.
Throughout the complex you are allowed to wander freely and take photographs, and of course, the usual decorum factors when visiting places of worship prevail. This is a stunning complex with several gold Bhudda statues, the buildings adorned in red and yellow, and in one of the pavilions you can see barongsai masks laid out only to be brought out for Chinese New Year. We were fortunate enough to witness a Bhuddist wedding ceremony whilst we were there and this indeed made the visit even more rewarding. I took roughly 200 photographs of this amazing complex and here is a selection for you.
