Bali: Day 5

Today Matt and I took the motorbike out for a short ride in the AM. Kurt and Jeni had gotten up early to try for a bit more exploring further out. We would meet up for lunch. Matt drove the bike along all of the little side roads off the main streets which allowed us to get a closer look at the way people live. We could also see how people would set the rice out to dry on giant tarps in the middle of these streets. Even though we tried to navigate around the rice, they just motioned us to drive right across it. We also ran into school children on their way home from school. They would smile, wave and say hi to us. Some even gave us a "high-five"!

We arrived to the hotel before Kurt and Jeni affording us the chance to jump in the pool. It gets pretty hot riding around on those bikes. Once they returned we headed to the Babi Gulang for lunch. That is spit-roasted pig. So, we had coconuts to drink along with the pork, which was very tender and delicious. After lunch we decided to go for a little walk to an artist colony that Matt and Kurt had found on their first day out on the bikes. It took a few wrong turns for them to remember the way, but they were all down roads we had yet to explore and gave us more photo opportunities. One of the artists we met painted intricate designs on wooden eggs. The detail was remarkable.

After our shopping trip Matt and I headed back for a rest. Kurt and Jeni had to make one more stop at a shop Jeni had seen earlier in the day. When they had returned, they told us they had been invited by the shop owner to the local temple festival. Not something most tourists get to do here, again the bonus of travelling with a local. So, we donned our sarongs, boys too and headed off to the temple. Luckily, there are people at the temple that will tie your sarong for you so you don't look like an idiot when it falls off and you are standing there in your shorts!

 The festival was an anniversary celebration of the temple and women were arriving with enormous pyramids of fruit delicately balanced on their heads. The first part of the celebration was the blessing which was performed in groups since there were so many people. Both flowers and water were used during this part. Once the blessing was complete that group moved into the community area. Here they were preparing for Balinese dancing. The dancing and the costumes were more detailed and elaborate that what we had seen earlier in the week.