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| Check out the terrace! |
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| Hot and Cold Tubs |
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| Beautiful scenery at Hotel Tjampuhan Spa |
Our early dinner included a trip to Cafe Marzano which is known for pizza! Yes, you can find pizza anywhere in the world including Bali! We enjoyed shopping in the market as we made our way back to the resort. The market is filled with paintings, wood and metal artworks, jewelry, clothing, sarongs, scarfs and so much more. Be ready to make a deal with the seller as bartering is the game in Bali!
On our second day in Ubud we met up with Aled, our tour guide from Bali Tours, for our Nature of Bali tour. Aled was a great tour guide giving us insight into his beautiful country's history and culture. I took a lot of notes during our tours and have to credit Aled for sharing his knowledge and insight with us.
Bali is unique as 90% of the population practice Balinese Hinduism, where all other islands of Indonesia predominantly practice Islam. The fundamental principle underlying Hinduism is that there is order in the cosmos, also known as dharma. The Balinese people are very friendly and peaceful. Bali is known for their temples, with roughly 20,000 temples throughout the small island giving them the name the "Island of the Gods".
Bali is known for it's beauty with rain forests, rice fields, fruits and vegetable fields and of course the famous beaches. The infrastructure is lacking with millions of residents and many more visitors using the aging infrastructure. The Balinese people are some of the hardest working people I have crossed in my travels. Having grown up on a farm, it amazes me that there is no machinery and that all of the farming is done by hand. Family owned farms exist throughout the island, with families doing all of the work using their own hands and body. It's such a simple life in Bali, as the many luxuries just don't exist like they do in America. Families live together in a large home with their 1st and 2nd cousins. Can you imagine Americans living with their immediate let alone extended families? The homes would have to be four times the size of what they are now considering Americans love big homes!
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| Bali market |
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| Balinese man trying to convince Jim to buy some postcards. |
Bali is unique as 90% of the population practice Balinese Hinduism, where all other islands of Indonesia predominantly practice Islam. The fundamental principle underlying Hinduism is that there is order in the cosmos, also known as dharma. The Balinese people are very friendly and peaceful. Bali is known for their temples, with roughly 20,000 temples throughout the small island giving them the name the "Island of the Gods".
Bali is known for it's beauty with rain forests, rice fields, fruits and vegetable fields and of course the famous beaches. The infrastructure is lacking with millions of residents and many more visitors using the aging infrastructure. The Balinese people are some of the hardest working people I have crossed in my travels. Having grown up on a farm, it amazes me that there is no machinery and that all of the farming is done by hand. Family owned farms exist throughout the island, with families doing all of the work using their own hands and body. It's such a simple life in Bali, as the many luxuries just don't exist like they do in America. Families live together in a large home with their 1st and 2nd cousins. Can you imagine Americans living with their immediate let alone extended families? The homes would have to be four times the size of what they are now considering Americans love big homes!
We toured a plantation and enjoyed some of their coffee and teas. The Balinese are known for their Luwak coffee or as Jim named it "poop" coffee. The coffee comes from the poop of the mongoose, a ferret looking animal that eats the coffee beans from the bottom of the rainforest floor, it goes through their digestive system whole, is released and the Balinese people collect, clean and turn it into coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker, but Jim gave it a try and said it reminded him of espresso only served in a normal coffee cup. Needless to say he was bouncing off the walls after a full cup of "poop" coffee!
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| Aled and Jim chatting it up about the plantation. |
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| Pretty interesting.... |
Next, we traveled along the narrow roads to the Bratan Temple.
Located on Bratan Lake, the temple is a multi-tiered shrine, dating back to the 17th century and is dedicated to the goddess of the lake, Dewi Danu. Farmers will come to the temple to ask for rain for their crops. The area also includes a buddhist and muslim temple, a rare find in Bali.
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| Bratan Temple |
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| Buddhist temple |
On our way to the "Two Lakes" we made a stop at the market. Markets are located throughout the island, with families selling their fruits and vegetables along with their crafts. In Bali you barter for goods, which I have to admit I really suck at. We tried some different fruits including passion fruit. I can't say it was my favorite fruit - the consistency reminded me of snot....
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| Two Lakes |
Our last stop of the day was to feed the monkeys along the side of the road. The Balinese monkeys are friendly little guys as they are used to people feeding them bananas! Bali has a well know Monkey Forest, located on the outskirts of Ubud. We learned that if you stop at the Monkey Forest be prepared for monkeys to jump on your back and if you have a backpack for them to open it and steal your water bottles. Needless to say I wasn't sad that we never made it to the Monkey Forest.
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| They are sure cute! |
A long day of touring meant two tired tourist so we returned to our resort to relax on the balcony as the rain started to fall. It was a peaceful night watching the rain come down in the rain forest.
A trip isn't a real trip if white water rafting isn't included - or that's what Jim thinks! Having rafted in Colorado, Oregon, and New Zealand I wasn't sure if Bali could top any of them, but Bali is now #1 for rafting. Sadly, I don't have any pictures that show the true beauty of the Ayung River. Waterfalls flowing alongside the amazing cliffs and beautiful untouched land. It was serenity floating down the river with majestic surrounding us. We traveled past a number of rice fields, resorts and untouched land for the eye to savor.
A trip isn't a real trip if white water rafting isn't included - or that's what Jim thinks! Having rafted in Colorado, Oregon, and New Zealand I wasn't sure if Bali could top any of them, but Bali is now #1 for rafting. Sadly, I don't have any pictures that show the true beauty of the Ayung River. Waterfalls flowing alongside the amazing cliffs and beautiful untouched land. It was serenity floating down the river with majestic surrounding us. We traveled past a number of rice fields, resorts and untouched land for the eye to savor.
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| Rafting Ayung River |
Sobek was the rafting company our travel agent set us up with and I would recommend them to anyone. They were professional yet also knew how to have a great time! Our guide Mali spoke little english but did a great job navigating our small raft of four - us and our new friends Julia and Steffen from Germany. We stopped halfway at a little stand on the side of the river for everyone to light up and have a drink. Jim and I laughed that apparently you can't handle a couple hours of rafting without a smoke break! Smoking is quite prevalent in Bali, so they make lots of accommodations for those smokers.... Thanks to Julia for the great pictures to prove we really did raft!
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| Our professional rafting crew - Steffen, Julia, Mali, Jami and Jim! |
The evening was spent with Julia and Steffen talking about America, Germany and our many travels. We enjoyed dinner at Coco Bistro and drinks at Oops Bar and Restaurant. The Balinese do not drink much alcohol, therefore finding a bar is quite challenging and expensive - especially if you are craving a crisp glass of sauvignon blanc. To stick with the Team Cocktail motto I drank Bali Hai or Batini beer - two Indonesian beers. Can't say they are anything to desire but gets the job done!
Our last day in Bali included a Temple Tour with Aled. We stopped for pictures of the terraced rice fields and the active volcano Mount Batur. Mount Batur last erupted in 1968 and you can still see the lava field from this eruption.
We made a stop at the Mother Temple of Besakih or Pura Besakih, in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung. This temple is the most important, largest and holiest temple of the Hindu religion in Bali. This temple is made up of 22 temples, situated on parallel ridges. It has flights of stairs that meet up with a number of courtyards. It was designed along a single axis to lead the spiritual person upward and closer to the mountain, which is considered sacred.
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| Steffen, Julia, Jami and Jim |
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| Mount Batur |
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| Mother Temple of Besakih |
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| Young Balinese girl trying to sell postcards |
Our last stop of the day was the the Mahaghri Resort and Restaurant overlooking terraced rice fields. The pictures do not give the landscape true justice as it will take your breath away. The resort is situated beautifully to capture pictures of the hard labor of the farmers.
We had an amazing time trying new things, embracing the Balinese culture, and most of all meeting new friends! Stay tuned to learn more about our next stop - Wakatobi Dive Resort!
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| Overlooking the rice fields at Mahaghri Resort |
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| Beauty of Bali at it's best |
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