It’s Bali time! We have lots of beautiful photos and some fun stories to share. I’ll break it into a few posts to keep things manageable.
One of our first sights in Bali: a big Hindu statue in the middle of an intersection.
Our first rice paddy views – on our 2 hour drive from the airport to Ubud.
Most Bali visitors stay about a half hour from the airport at the Kuta beaches – famous party scene, surf, white sand, and tourism. We went a bit further afield, to the also-touristy “cultural center”, Ubud.
Welcome tea on our bungalow front porch.
First Indonesian meal – each plate was about $1.50 and we tried several!
The morning view from the second floor of our bungalows.
Patio breakfast – banana pancakes and fresh fruit!
Our first full day we spent hiking outside of town with a local guide: Yandira. We went down into a river valley then up the other side.
Our guide leading us down the valley toward the river.
Some hand-made offerings along the trail and rice paddy terrace views.
Local women spend much of their days making those offerings to local spirits asking the spirits to keep them safe. They replace them every day. We saw lots of feral dogs eating the food in the offerings, which is completely acceptable after the spirits have “passed through”.
I loved Bali’s intricate wooden carvings. These were on a community building we passed while hiking.
Sacred tree next to a sacred spring where monks gather water for ceremonies. The cloth marks the sacred nature and protects the tree.
The fine volcanic sand from the river bed is collected and pulley-ed up to the village to make higher quality cement.
Scary bridge to cross the river on the hike. Then back up the other side!
Cocoa bean pods – yum!
Balinese farmers grew lots of tropical foods: pineapples, bananas, cocoa, coffee, mangoes, avocados, and more.
A family house compound decorated for an upcoming wedding.
Patrick in front of one of the oldest Banyan trees in Bali. All those “stalks” are one tree system!
Shoots grow down from the branches and then strengthen when they reach the ground and “root”.
A village cock fighting ring. Technically illegal, but cops usually just take a cut from the betting pool.
Village meeting space. Used for events and sports! (the floor is made of small smooth stones – white stones make the lines).
Yandira took us to his family home. All generations center on one compound, entered from the street.
A hindu guardian outside and inside the gate.
Beautiful garden space in the family compound.
Yandira’s wife cooked us a huge traditional Balinese lunch. Rice, satay, fried tempe/peanut, fried green beans with coconut, fresh chicken and more.
Fun local fruit: snakeskin fruit. Tasted a bit like a pear, but not quite.
Mangosteen, or “honest fruit”. The number of petals in “flower” on the bottom matches the number of fruit lobes inside!
the inside (different fruit, so the numbers don’t match)
Yandira’s daughter and two friends performed a little Balinese dance while we ate.
Each house compound has a temple for family ceremonies.
A mask outside the temple
The family cow – sacred and good luck. Used for work (plowing) and fertilizer.
Yandira called these his “alarms”.
Our walk-buddy brought cookies for Yandira’s family. Before we left we watch grandma and son enjoy some chocolate.
After our hike, we walked about a kilometer from our hotel to the Monkey Forest Temple. It’s a protected area full of trees and some old stone-work temples, where Monkeys are fed and encouraged to live.
Monkeys at Monkey Forest eating some of the sweet potatoes out on the ground.
You can buy bananas to feed the monkeys. Some people forget they are still wild.
Monkey climbing a tour guide for a banana.
We didn’t feed any, but enjoyed taking in the sights.
The main temple structure.
Patrick hanging out with a monkey.
Taking pictures of the giant komodo dragon statues.
Temple monkey 1 – yoga
Temple monkey 2 – be one with the stone.
Temple monkey 3 – where’d everybody go?
The end of a long full day – delicious dinner of tofu curry (Beth) and suckling pig (Patrick) overlooking a rice paddy.
More stories from Ubud day 2, and then our relaxing time in Tulamben. See our next posts!