
Bali is beautiful. The landscape and people are so peaceful and gentle. We spent the first few days in Kuta, the main beach resort. This was two days too much. It is a touristy place full of too many loud Aussies. Our Aussie friends from school warned us of this and pleaded with us not to judge all of them by those found at Kuta. We stayed in a rather nice boutique hotel though and enjoyed the food and the shopping that Kuta had to offer. We did hire a car and driver one day and explored around visiting a temple and did some snorkeling. Cole managed to meet some locals and kept himself occupied surfing and checking out the nightlife. The highlight of Kuta was definitely watching the sunsets at the beach. Everyone would gather to watch and awe at the sight. Musicians would play, there would be soccer and volleyball games going on, the hawkers were out in full force, and mostly people sat and basked in the beauty.

After Kuta we spent 7 days in Ubud. Ubud is the cultural centre of Bali and was certainly incredible. So many images and memories will be stuck with us forever. My highlight definitely was a bike tour we did. We were picked up early in the morning and driven to the ridge of one of the active volcanoes on the island (last eruption was 1963). Here we had a great breakfast looking over onto the lake with a view of the three craters of the volcano. From here we were driven to a little interpretation centre where they process coffee. I got to see how coffee was roasted the traditional way over an open fire. Bali has their own style of coffee. After roasting they grind it into the finest powder imaginable, it is then served as a sort of instant coffee or basically camp boil-up coffee. Strong, with a sludge about an inch thick in the bottom. We also got to try some of the most expensive coffee in the world, Lemack coffee. This coffee is gather from the feces of a cat-like animal, the Lemack. (Yes you read that right) Apparently the cat only eats coffee beans that are at the perfect stage of ripeness. Funny, it sort of tasted like s--t too. (Of course this leads to many questions I didn't ask like: Who figured this out? and If the cat is eating this stuff why isn't it digesting it? Maybe it is like corn) Anyway we started our bike ride after this tour. Since we had gone up to the volcano the biking was downhill and easy. The countryside was unbelievably beautiful and very traditional. We saw women walking to market with bundles, baskets and whatever balanced on their heads. People bathing in the streams by the side of the road. Priests leading a group of worshipers to the village temple. Workers at every stage of the rice production, tilling, planting, weeding, harvesting, and thrashing. Our guide was great and he spent a lot of time explaining everything to us. We even got to try thrashing the rice. We visited a family compound and saw how most Balinese still live. It is interesting as each region specializes in a certain craft or trade as well as rice production. The village where we visited a family were mat weavers. Others would be wood carvers or painters or some other trade. In the family compound there will be 5 or 6 extended families living communally. Everyone has a role in the production of their craft and rice production. Even the old granny had a job to do. After our ride we were treated to a feast of smoked duck and other wonderful treats.
We did a number of other things in Ubud that were all great. We went river rafting on Christmas Day. The scenery along the route incredible. We saw tropical birds and monkeys. We were pummeled by waterfalls dropping from the 30 metre high canyon we were in. At one point there were reliefs carved into the rocks for about 500 metres.
We rented scooters and headed to a beach on the other side of the island and got lost and separated on the way back.
We ate and ate. The food was fantastic. Maureen and Cole took a Balinese cooking class and so we will be able to try some of their food at home.
We went to the Kecak Fire Dance with a chorus of 100 men. We went to a Lebong Dance at Ubud palace. Both we unique and another highlight.
The markets and shopping were plentiful so Maureen had a great time shopping. Everything imaginable is available. She has become a master bargainer.
I rented a mountain bike a few times and went exploring the countryside. Again the sights were astounding such as men gathered in a circle massaging their cocks (oops did that come out wrong, roosters that is) and then pitting them against each other.
I've left some pictures which can't do Bali justice.

Maureen checking things out in the market.

The reliefs on the rafting trip.

Women throughout the countryside carried their loads on their heads. This lady was carrying a basket of offerings to the small temples in the rice fields. All the fields are terraced and she would make the 3 step up to the next terrace without skipping a beat or dropping her load. This was the area we stopped to thrash rice and we soon gathered a troop of children and other curious locals.
