Bali, Indonesia

After spending time in Singapore our big group packed up and caught the bus to the airport for a short three hour flight to Bali.  We flew on Air Asia, a budget Asian airline.  We got into Bali and boarded a bus that fit all of us like sardines!  It didn't help that we had our carry ons sitting on our laps and I was dismayed to learn that THAT bus was going to be our tour bus for the following day.  It actually wasn't all that bad but boy was it tight for me (and I have short legs....I felt really bad for the tall guys).

We arrived at the Nikko Bali Resort, and we were immediately given a cool washcloth to wipe our brow and a nice cool drink of juice.  We had the opportunity to upgrade our room to a pool/ocean view and we were so glad we did.  Our room was very nice.  The bathroom had a nice big corner tub and our bed was GIGANTIC!!  We were very happily situated.  

After getting settled we walked across the street for dinner at a local restaurant.  As we sat down they brought us a cool washcloth and a small drink of juice.  After Rick had drunk his juice I picked up mine to have a taste.  It tasted fermented and I said, "this tastes fermented" so Rick picked it up and swallowed it down for me.  Come to find out it was alcoholic!  Hmmm, who knew??  

Inside the hotel lobby

The view from our room

Mr. Tourist getting ready for breakfast.

I loved sitting in this little area for breakfast.

So comfy!!

This breakfast buffet was FABULOUS!  Lots of ethnic foods as well as to-order eggs, donuts, fresh breads, and lots of different fruits and juices.

Balinese breakfast....

noodle stir fry, chapati, and fresh fruit.

That mango though.....:-)

For our day tour in Bali we boarded our tight bus and first headed over to Tohpati Village where we saw the process of making Batik fabric.  First a pattern is hand drawn on to fabric and then a special tool is used to apply beeswax on each line.  Then it is colored with paint and then hung out for a few days to dry.  After a few days of drying then the fabric is washed in hot water a couple of different times to get rid of all of the beeswax.  The batik turns out so beautiful.  It is such detailed work and was so neat to see how the process works.

A lady weaving fabric.

After watching the batik making process we got to go into the shop.  Rick found a nice batik shirt and I bought a hand fan as well as a batik lipstick case.

Next to the batik making was a traditional home that we got to walk through.  It was really cool.  It was made up of a couple of different buildings that were completely open air.  Every home has a Hindu temple inside to give offerings to their gods.  They do this every morning.  Their offerings usually consist of food...meat, fruits, rice, etc.   

This is the front door of the home.

This is a demon offering given each night outside of a Hindu home.  

They give offerings of cigarettes, alcohol, and candy to appease the demon god to keep the people safe at night.

Here are some shots of inside the home.  This is a group area.  

The divans are sometimes used for sleeping.

This is a small area for bedrooms as well.

This is the Hindu temple located at the back of their lot.

Next we drove over to Celuk Village to see the gold and silversmiths.  There were a lot of statues on the outside of the building.

Mr. Cool Rick with Mr. Cool Crocodile.

Posing with a Jar Jar Binks look alike.

I got a couple pictures of some of the silver smiths working.  They were making everything from rings to bracelets to earrings.  Some were using magnifying glasses to do small detailed work.

I thought it might be kind of fun to get a small pearl ring.  All they had were HUGE pearl rings.

Sorry....I just can't even!!!

Next we went to Tegenungan Waterfall.  It was very much a tourist trap with lots of shops on the walk to the waterfall.  Actually, I would have loved to have taken time to buy a few more things.  I did purchase a small drum for my littles.

How about that hat??

The waterfall was actually very beautiful.  There were people swimming at the base and there were homes very close to it.  Very picturesque.

Now that's a cool way to cook corn.

Easter chicks:)

This is a durian fruit (on the left)

It is a very smelly fruit, and our tour guide, Summer, swears up and down that it is very stinky but very delicious!  The hotels in Bali do not allow this fruit into their hotels because the smell is so offensive to the tourists.

Yes, we smelled it and yes, it was BAD!

A dragonfruit.  Super cool!

We stopped to have lunch at a nice restaurant.  They gave each of us a flower to wear behind our ear:)

It housed a beautiful fountain....

...and I loved this statue.

Rick and I shared some deep fried avocado.

It was actually pretty good!

Rick ordered the fried duck and I had a chicken sandwich and fries.

Next, we stopped at Mas Village where the people do wood carving.

They are very talented and learn their craft by apprenticing at a young age.  Their work is all by hand and a lot of it is SUPER detailed.  What amazing talent!

A carving of "romeo and juliet" made out of crocodile wood.

I found a few fun items in the shop.

Christmas is coming!!!

Next we drove up to Kintamani Volcano where we were able to have a nice view of the volcano's cone, the lava field and the crater lake.  The last eruption was in 2000.

I thought this fruit stand was really beautiful.

Next we stopped at Temen Village to visit the coffee plantation.

It was very beautiful and while some of us were happy to try the different coffees most of us declined:)

At this particular plantation they have an expensive specialty coffee.

They feed the coffee beans to cat-like animals called a civets, and then pull the beans out of their feces and make coffee out of it.  (This is their version of cappuccino...'cat-poop-cheeno':))  

Sounds great!  Can I have a cup???  That's pretty gross!

The coffee souvenir shop had some cool spices...whole nutmeg, white and black pepper, star anise, and more.  Plus, they had chocolate to sample and believe me Rick and I had more than our fair share.  We did buy a blueberry dark and a regular dark chocolate bar:)

Our next stop was at Tampak Siring, a large Hindu worship place.  It has a spring with water flowing from the fountains and many people bathe themselves for purification.

These are some offerings left at the entrance of the temple.  

A number of years ago when I first learned of the Hindu religion I felt such sorrow in my heart that so many people have such foolish traditions and beliefs.  When I understood that they give these offerings to their gods every morning and night I was saddened and literally sick to my stomach that the Hindu people are so misled by such false traditions.  This might seem like uncalled for judging to some who read this but the truth is....they are missing 'THE TRUTH'.  They are worshiping idols which is an abomination in the sight of God, and they don't even know it.  While many are good people they have been taught in the traditions of their fathers and it is not correct.  The true and living God, even Jesus Christ,  does not want or need temporal offerings.  He wants us to repent, follow Him, and to love and serve others.  There is so much missionary work to be done in this world!

Another temple offering.

To visit the temple where the springs were our legs needed to be covered.

The sarongs were provided by the local people.

After having just said all of that about my feelings for the Hindu temple offerings ..... as we had been driving around throughout the day seeing the HUNDREDS of temples for idol offerings,  I didn't feel much sorrow, only fascination for the differences of beliefs.

Only after walking into the purification spring did I feel a jolt of sadness......

Many people were washing themselves in the fountains (each fountain has a different purpose) and my heart had a prick of sadness for the people.  They are missing out on the real purpose of life, it's meaning, where we came from and where we are going. (they believe in reincarnation)  They have no idea about the Plan of Salvation, who God really is, and what Jesus Christ did for them.  

It's a difficult feeling to explain.  So I'll stop there.

Since we were so far behind in our tour for the day we did not get to see all of the Tampak Spring Temple, and we also missed the rice terraces.  It was very dark by then.  I really feel bad about missing the rice terraces because they are supposed to be spectacular:(   We got back to our rooms very late and every last one of us was beat.  

We got up the next morning early for our flight back to Singapore and then on to PHUKET.