Bali: Temples, Shopping, and Sunset by the Sea

For our last full day in Bali, which was also Christmas day, we hired a driver/guide to take us around Bali to see more of the countryside, a few temples, do some shopping, and watch the sunset by the sea.  It was so nice that even though they are all Hindu, they told Derek and I "Merry Christmas" everywhere we went that day.

Some rice fields along the road to our first temple.  I love how the clouds are reflected on the water. 

More fields further down the road.  Caught a guy working out there.

Our first stop of the day was Gunung Kawi which is an 11th century temple in Ubud.  The temple is near a natural spring and has a few beautiful pools.  We put on sarongs and went to see.  Not sure why but we were the only tourists in the whole place and it was wonderful!

One of the pools.  I love the crystal clear water and the fish swimming. 

Ready to go inside the temple

Another pool inside the temple 

Inside the temple 

Overview of the temple

 Next we headed off to Goa Gajah which is also known as Elephant Cave.  It is a 9th century sanctuary and is called Elephant Cave because the carving at the entrance of the cave was thought to be of an elephant.

One of the natural spring pools at the Elephant Cave.  Not quite as full as the Gunung Kai pools.

In front of the Elephant Cave (doesn't look like an elephant to me)

Love the spidery tree roots

More of the grounds of Elephant Cave.  It was rocky, hilly, and gorgeous.

The stream beside the Elephant Cave

After the Elephant Cave it was time to do some shopping.  We visited several stores and communities to look for paintings, batik, wood carvings, and silver.  In the end we purchased three batik paintings which we plan to have framed, a wood carving of Sita and Rama, and a small painting in a carved wooden frame.

Once we finished shopping it was time to get down to Pura Luhur Uluwatu to watch the sunset and the Kecak Ramayana & Fire Dance.  Uluwatu is an 11th century temple by the sea and is meant to protect Bali from evil spirits.  The views were spectacular!

Steep drop to the ocean

Enjoying the ocean views

Getting close to sunset.  You can see the temple on the cliff behind us.

We found the monkeys.  Our driver told us these monkeys are naughty because they will steal your things so
they can get food in exchange for whatever they took.

Close-up of the temple on the edge of the cliff

The Kecak dance is the story of how Rama defeats Rhawana to save his precious Sita.  This dance is why we chose the carving of Rama and Sita to bring home.

The chanters begin.  The chanting was interesting and kept going for the entire performance.  It was perfect
with the temple and ocean set as the background.

They had elaborate costumes for the main characters.  This is Sita, Trijata, and Hanoman (the white monkey).

In the end, Rama and Hanoman are victorious and save Sita

 It had been a long day and we were starving so our driver took us to a seafood restaurant on the beach.  We ate fresh seafood (and by fresh I mean Derek watched them take it out of the fish tank and put it on the grill) listened to some local entertainment, and enjoyed the waves crashing on the beach.  We loved the band that was playing because it seemed like all they new was the Beatles and One Direction.  Their playlist was really random and not what we expected for Bali.

Dinner on the beach

It was a long but wonderful day and we both fell asleep in the car as Wayan drove us back to the hotel.  We wish we'd had a few more days to explore other parts of the island but we were out of time and headed back to Singapore the next day.  Bali is a trip we would recommend to anyone and hope we get the chance to go back!