Activity 1: Pre-Reading Answer the following questions.

1. Have you ever been to tourism place?

2. If yes, what makes you impressed?
3. What do you usually find in tourism place?
4. How would you describe them?
5. Do you like them?

Activity 2: While-Reading Answer the following questions while reading the whole passage.
1. What is the text about?
2. How many paragraphs are there?
3. Which paragraph tells you about historical interest?
4. Which paragraph tells you about the general description of Titra Gangga?
5. Which paragraph tells you about the place’s entertainment and facilities?

Tirta Gangga Water Palace

Tirta Gangga is a former royal palace located in the eastern part of Bali Island, Indonesia, located near
Ababi village near Mount Agung, about 6 kilometers north of the town of Amlapura, at a distance of 83
km from Denpasar. The park is famous for its water palace, owned by the Kingdom of Karangasem.
Tirta Gangga is a convenient stopover along tour itineraries to Bali’s eastern region. Its main entrance
and large parking area are easily spotted from the main Amlapura Road. The site is open to the public
and a small entrance fee applies which goes towards maintenance.

The former royal palace of Tirta Gangga, means that the water in the Palace came from the Gangga
River as the Hindu holy river has tiered fountains, tropical gardens, and carvings of mystical creatures
that spout water into bathing pools. Just outside the palace area, the lush rice paddies in the northeast
of Bali are very stunning.

The history of Tirta Gangga Water Palace refers to the water palace built in 1948 by The King of
Karangasem, Anak Agung Anglurah Ketut Karangasem Agung. However, this name is also used to refer
to the area that includes the water palace along with the lush surrounding countryside. Tirta Gangga
Water Castle is a pool of mazes and fountains surrounded by lush gardens and statues. This one-
hectare complex was built in 1946 by the late King of Karangasem but was almost completely
destroyed by the eruption of Mount Agung in 1963. Then rebuilt and restored. The area around Tirta
Gangga is famous for its rice terraces.

It is a favorite retreat and some weekends may seem a bit crowded. There are at least 2000 visitors in
Tirta Gangga every weekend. Besides the many small warung stalls outside of the main site and around
the parking area, Tirta Gangga also boasts accommodation facilities and a restaurant, as well as the
Tirta Ayu Hotel & Restaurant – located just behind the main fountain.
The scenery of Tirta Gangga Water Palace is beautiful with breathtaking views surrounded and the
climate is relatively cool.

Tirta Gangga Water Palace offers a unique mix of Balinese and Chinese architecture. The grounds of
the water garden (ca 1.2 ha), consists of three separate complexes each with ponds and many
sculptures. The complex on the lowest level has two large ponds and a water tower. At the second
complex (middle level) are the swimming pools. The second level houses the main complex with the
country home of the former King.

A reservoir on the grounds receives the spring water and delivered by a pipe system to the town of
Amlapura. There is also an underground pipe system which leads to the upper swimming pool, where it
emerges through the mouth of a giant (a demon statue) that stands at a corner of the pool. Here the
water flows over into a lower level pool. From this lower level pool, it flows into some small fish ponds
and from there into the rice fields that border the gardens.

The water of Tirta Gangga Water Palace has always been regarded as holy and is regularly used for
religious temple ceremonies. With important celebration days, Tirta Gangga Water Palace is the
destination of colorful processions with offerings, umbrellas, flags and other tributes. Led by the local
temple priests, ceremonies are held at the spring, accompanied by chanting and the music of the
‘Baleganjur’, a gamelan gong group of small Gongs with each musician striking a specific, different
note on the musical scale, all blending in harmony.

Activity 3: Post-Reading Answer the following questions. Do not read the whole text, but just
read the paragraph you think appropriate to answer each question.

1. How many people visit Tirta Gangga on weekend?

2. How does the writer feel about the Tirta Gangga Water Palace?
3. How many places of historical interest does the writer mention in the text? What are they?
4. Do you think that Tirta Gangga is a bored tourism place?
5. Do you think that you will find a tourism place like Tirta Gangga in your region?

Activity 4: True, False, and Not Given State whether the following sentences are True, False, or
Not Given in the text. To answer the questions, give a check (v) in the right column.

No Statements False True Not given

.
1. Tirta Gangga has a historical
story and owned by the King of
Karangasem.
2. There are no special
ceremonies in Tirta Gangga
Water Palace.
3. Tirta Gangga Water Palace
located near Mount Agung, about
 6 kilometers north of the town of
Amlapura, at a distance of 83 km
from Denpasar.
4. Tirta Gangga Water Palace offers
a unique level of grounds.
5. You will probably find few
numbers of entertainments in
Tirta Gangga Water Palace.

Activity 5: Spatial Cohesion and Reference Read the text once more. This time pay attention to
the underlined words or phrases. What do they refer to? One has been done for you. Do them in
the same way.

Tirta Gangga Water Palace

1 Tirta Gangga is a former royal palace located in the eastern part of Bali Island, Indonesia, located
near Ababi village near Mount Agung, about 6 kilometers north of the town of Amlapura, at a
distance of 83 km from Denpasar. The park is famous for its water palace, owned by the
Kingdom of Karangasem. Tirta Gangga is a convenient stopover along tour itineraries to Bali’s
eastern region. Its main entrance and large parking area are easily spotted from the main
Amlapura Road. The site is open to the public and a small entrance fee applies which goes
towards maintenance.
2
The former royal palace of Tirta Gangga, means that the water in the Palace came from the
Gangga River as the Hindu holy river has tiered fountains, tropical gardens, and carvings of
mystical creatures that spout water into bathing pools. Just outside the palace area, the lush rice
paddies in the northeast of Bali are very stunning.
3
The history of Tirta Gangga Water Palace refers to the water palace built in 1948 by The King of
Karangasem, Anak Agung Anglurah Ketut Karangasem Agung. However, this name is also used to
refer to the area that includes the water palace along with the lush surrounding countryside. Tirta
Gangga Water Castle is a pool of mazes and fountains surrounded by lush gardens and statues.
This one-hectare complex was built in 1946 by the late King of Karangasem but was almost
completely destroyed by the eruption of Mount Agung in 1963. Then rebuilt and restored. The
4 area around Tirta Gangga is famous for its rice terraces.

It is a favorite retreat and some weekends may seem a bit crowded. There are at least 2000
visitors in Tirta Gangga every weekend. Besides the many small warung stalls outside of the main
site and around the parking area, Tirta Gangga also boasts accommodation facilities and a
5
restaurant, as well as the Tirta Ayu Hotel & Restaurant – located just behind the main fountain.

6 The scenery of Tirta Gangga Water Palace is beautiful with breathtaking views surrounded and
 the climate is relatively cool.

Tirta Gangga Water Palace offers a unique mix of Balinese and Chinese architecture. The
grounds of the water garden (ca 1.2 ha), consists of three separate complexes each with ponds
7
and many sculptures. The complex on the lowest level has two large ponds and a water tower. At
the second complex (middle level) are the swimming pools. The second level houses the main
complex with the country home of the former King.

8 A reservoir on the grounds receives the spring water and delivered by a pipe system to the town
of Amlapura. There is also an underground pipe system which leads to the upper swimming pool,
where it emerges through the mouth of a giant (a demon statue) that stands at a corner of the
pool. Here the water flows over into a lower level pool. From this lower level pool, it flows into
some small fish ponds and from there into the rice fields that border the gardens.

The water of Tirta Gangga Water Palace has always been regarded as holy and is regularly used
for religious temple ceremonies. With important celebration days, Tirta Gangga Water Palace is
the destination of colorful processions with offerings, umbrellas, flags and other tributes. Led by
the local temple priests, ceremonies are held at the spring, accompanied by chanting and the
music of the ‘Baleganjur’, a gamelan gong group of small Gongs with each musician striking a
specific, different note on the musical scale, all blending in harmony.