Taman Ujung Karangasem on the second day in 2012

On the second day in 2012, We were still in Karangasem. Before check out time, we spared few times to swim at the beach. That was good beach with not so big waves. We check out from Puri oka beach bungalows at 11. We headed to a historical park called Taman Soekasada in Ujung village Karangasem which is well known as Taman Ujung. It’s only about 25 minutes to get there from Candidasa by bike.

Taman means park while Ujung is one of fish village in Karangasem where the villagers work as fisherman to live their life. At the beach close to the Taman Ujung you can see there were many canoes in rows. You can see the beach view from a high building in Taman Ujung.

As a slight history, Taman Ujung was built in 1919 under the reign of the King of Karangasem, I Gusti Bagus Jelantik(1909-1945). Originally, Taman Ujung was a little pool, the place where to punish bad people who used black magic at that time, the pool was called Kolam Dirah or Dirah pool. By the time, because the beautiful view and many water spring available in that place, it was enlarged by the King and named Taman Soekasada Ujung, where Sukasada is the name of area where its located and Ujung is the name of the village.

When we got there, we should buy the entry ticket 5k for local and 20k for foreigners as tourist. It may be little too much for a foreigner friend who have stayed for long in Bali.  From the ticket box we entered the park by walking on the kind of bridge where you can see rice field under you. There are big pools with many fish inside. There is a Museum about the King and the Kingdom in the middle of the big pool. You will find some swan swimming on the pool and beautiful lotus floating. On another big pool you can ride a small boat to see around the pool. There are at least two high building where you can see the Bisbis hill and the beach view of Lombok strait.

There were so many people visiting Taman Ujung at that time, it might be caused of New Year holiday. People mostly came for picnic. They brought mats and laid it on the grass while eating their foods. It seemed they were on family vacation. We didn’t bring anything and started to get hungry; we were just heading to go to a friend’s village where he comes from. It was not so far from Ujung.