Bali Part III

Rooby-dooby-dee. Bali Part III.

More balinese women carrying things on their head.

Where are all the buff men for this kind of work?

Balinese Rosie the Riveter?

We can do it!

The list of people who cannot go into temple grounds.

This temple was completely surrounded by nature. There was a very still hush over the place. I think it was because we missed the the tourist rush, but it was very lovely and peaceful.

Gorgeous rice terraces next to a small village.

Sam and I swinging through the TreeTops rope course in the Botanical Gardens by Lake Bratan.

This is harder than it looks!

Whoo hoo!!

I got so excited when I was swinging that I forgot to catch the net on the other side. . . embarrassing. I hung uncomfortably midair in my harness until a patrol guide had to swing me until I gained enough momentum to catch the net. Wah wah. . .

Don't ask.

Temple at Lake Bratan.

The Kecak Dance.

This basically consists of forty men sitting around in a circle chanting to represent the army of monkeys from the Sanskrit epic, The Ramayana. Meanwhile, other characters are dancing interpretatively around the fire. I liked watching the small Balinese children react to everything-- probably watching their dads and brothers perform. It was cool.

The next morning we took a walk around the nearby village of Penestanan. We looked at their craft shops with their hand-painted batik and beadwork. The Balinese are a very artistic people. There are so many handmade crafts everywhere. We got to go back and watch how they make the painted batik. I was surprised to see these teenage boys making something so colorful and lovely!

Penestanan looks like this.

In the afternoon, Sam and I went to Ubud market and shopped for some souvenirs and things, but at three it was time to get going. That meant saying good bye to our lovely little villa.

Goodbye Lanai.

Goodbye Ganesha.

Goodbye Balinese garden.

Goodbye white blossom and lilly pads.

Goodbye blooming pink lotus.

Goodbye perfectly kept pool and yard.

And of course, goodbye to the lovely people who own Naga Naga and made our stay so nice. Kadek, Kadek, and Wayan-- I will miss your smiling faces!

Next, we went to Jimbaran Beach for our final hours in Bali.

Can you spot the airplane on the platform that reaches out into the sea?

I couldn't resist a good jumping pic in front of that sunset.

Thanks Sam.

We had wonderful seafood right in the sand by the waves.

With this as my last sight, it was a hard way to leave Bali.

Before we went to the airport we made a quick stop to Ulu Watu, a cliffside temple overlooking the waves of the ocean crashing on the rocks. Right when we got there, they were closing it to tourists. Our driver convinced them to let us in to take a quick peak. There was hardly any lighting, but the moon was bright and casted an eerie glow on this sacred monument. I didn't get any good pictures in the dark, but it was a mesmerizing way to see the normally tourist infested temple, so still and mysterious

After that we hopped on out plane back to Singapore. Thus, concluding the adventures in Bali.

I think this must be my shortest post about the trip, but you should see my journal. I wrote thirty pages on just these two days. Thirty!

It was truly a wonderful time in Bali. I simply must go again.

One of the patrol guides at TreeTops taught me this special way that Balinese say goodbye:

Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti Aum!

Goodbye Bali!