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!

Bali: Silversmith Class and the Monkey Forest

While in Bali we stayed right outside of Ubud which is known as an arts and cultural center. There are lots of silver shops and one of them actually offered a class in silversmithing.  We have never tried anything like that before so we thought we would give it a shot.

The class was held in the artist's home where we were once again welcomed in with open arms.  We each chose a design for a piece we wanted to make and got started.  The first step was to sketch the design on a sheet of paper.  I can't draw so one of the guys there was kind and sketched mine for me.  I chose to make a pendant and Derek chose to make a ring.

The beginning of Derek's ring

Learning how to cut out all the holes in my pendant

Cutting out all the holes.  I did this for an hour and a half.  Had I known it
would take that long I would have chosen another design. 

Derek's ring right before bending, joining, and polishing. 

Still so much to do! 

Derek's finished ring

The inside of his finished ring

Tired and ready for a massage but proud of my pendant

After we finished our silver class we headed to lunch.  There was a pretty good mexican restaurant in town so we knew we had to try it.  We are now making it our goal to try mexican food everywhere we go just to see what everyone's interpretation of it is.  The mexican in Bali was surprisingly good.  Because it is difficult to get the pre-made stuff all the way out here, most of the tortillas are homemade and fresh.

It was raining when we finished lunch so we decided to get massages while we tried to stay dry.  The massage was great and only cost $12USD!  Unfortunately it was still drizzling after our massage but we didn't want to waste anymore time hiding from the rain so we went on to the Sacred Monkey Forest.  I love monkeys so I was excited to see all of them running around in the open.

So many monkeys waiting to be fed

He is really hoping for some food

This one found a coconut.  Notice the already eaten banana. 

This monkey was being really cute and when I pulled out my camera to take a picture, he did this.

Inside the monkey temple

We headed down a trail in the forest and found this amazing looking bridge

We heard rushing water and found this narrow stone path

There were some stone lizards overlooking the stream

Baby monkey!

We finished the day with some shopping and an early dinner.  It was a great second day in Bali!

Bali: Bali Breeze Bike Tour

After leaving Bali Pulina we headed up to a restaurant overlooking Mount Batur Volcano and Batur Lake to have breakfast.  The view was unbelievable and really couldn't be fully captured in the photos we took.

Stopped on the side of the road to enjoy these rice terraces

We found a man working in the fields

Mount Batur and Batur Lake

Mount Batur

After we finished eating we headed back down the road a few kilometers to get on the bikes and begin our mostly downhill ride.  It wasn't long before we were in the middle of rice terraces and little villages.  The views were absolutely amazing and almost every child we saw along the way would run out and tell us "hello" or put their hand out for a high five.  I kept turning to Derek and telling him I just couldn't believe we were experiencing all these things.

The first village we passed through had quite the spider problem.  They would point to all the places where the spiders were so we could take pictures.  I don't think I could live in that village knowing all these guys are around.

So many spiders!

Temple in the village.  I loved the golden lion gates.

 Further down the road we came across several people working in the rice fields.  We set down our bikes and headed into the fields to get a closer look at what they were doing.

A lady working in a rice field alone

They were half way done harvesting this field

The fruits of their labor.  All done by hand.

Derek walking between rice fields

Across from the rice fields was a little shop where a family was doingwood carvings. 

We continued the journey until we came to this family's home just outside of a village.  We were greeted at their door by these four girls, two sets of twins.  They welcomed us into their home, let us walk around and take pictures, and served us tea and bananas.  It didn't look like this family had much but they were so gracious and warm towards us.

Such sweet children 

The temple inside their home 

A view of the home.

The patriarch playing the Jegog 

The family pig.  This was their investment.  They don't keep money in the
bank, they keep it in the animals, land, and crops.

Continuing on down the narrow roads

Short break to enjoy the view

We came across a Balinese ice cream truck.  It had music and everything.

Visiting a carving shop

The beginnings of a very intricate wood carving

We were riding along when the guide quickly stopped us to come and see a cock fight.  Cock fighting is a big part of life in Bali and they take it very seriously.  They treat the cocks to special food, massages, and exercise to get them in perfect fighting condition.  I watched for the first minute until I realized they really were going to fight to the death and one of the cocks was already bleeding.  I couldn't stand to see the cock hurting so I stepped away until the fight was over.  They did take the losing cock home to be eaten so it didn't go to waste, but I just hate that it had to die like that.

The start of the cock fight

Everyone gathered around watching the fight

We ended the ride at our guide, i Ketut's, home.  His family prepared a Balinese lunch for us while his neices, nephews, and son performed some Balinese dances for us.  The hospitality of all the people we met in Bali is greater than anywhere else we have been.  They are genuine, peaceful, humble, and gracious people and it was a pleasure to spend time with them and visit their homes.

Ketut in his beautiful home

Derek ready to eat some chicken satay

The little girls coming to do their dance.  It was a long dance and I'm
really impressed the remembered a 5 min+ routine

The boys doing their dance.

If you are every in Bali and want to see the real Balinese countryside and how the people live then I highly recommend you take one of the bike tours.  It was one of the best experiences we have ever had (minus the cock fight).