September 23, 2011 / Journey to Kintamani Volcano and Tanah Lot temple tour

What do you call 3 to 5 people on a motor scooter in Bali? A Bali mini van. the scooters are every where. We booked a tour to visit some key points of interest in east Bali.  Although we expected a tour bus, it ended up being just us two and Madi, our driver from yesterday, in his comfortable leather SUV.
The first stop was the traditional Barong dance in  Batubulan.  Despite running late and missing half of the performance due to a traffic jam caused by a funeral, it was still entertaining to see the costumes and hear the accompanying music.
Next we enjoyed villages of artisans in Celuk where hand made gold and silver jewelry are made. Mas was a small village where the most beautiful and outrageously priced wood carvings are done. Tables to chairs to decorations and even a giant crucifix, which was odd to see in this part of the world. the village of Batuan is where painters live and work. The art was beautiful and we purchased a traditional painting depicting the cultural nature of Bali. Each little village has its own trade which everyone in the village learns and does for a living.
The waterfall in Tegenungan village was far away from view but the view was still breathtaking. 
Next we walked through a spice garden which was like walking into Oz.  They gave us tastings of their homemade cocoa, teas, and coffee - including the most expensive coffee in the world taking and cleaned from a specific animals dung. It was all delicious and I had to buy some Ginger Coffee for myself.  While enjoying our drinks, they also offered but we nicely declined a cigarette from their homemade tobacco.  You could see the archaic coffee making process too.  The view of rice fields and a villa in the distance was lovely.  Zack - This waterfall photo is for you.
Next we had a buffet lunch at Kintamani Hill while enjoying the picturesque view of a volcano and its crater lake. Although cloudy, it is images I'll never forget.
Next we visited beautiful architected rice terraces in Tegallalang and then the monkey forest in Ubud where the monkeys were menaces. One monkey climbed up a man's shorts and pulled a bag of small bananas out of his pocket and then quickly scampered away.
Mengwi village hosts the  Taman Ayun royal family temple where we walked around the moat surrounded temple.  Although run down, the beautiful stone carvings painted a imaginative picture of what it may have looked like in its hay day.
Finally we enjoyed what little sunset there was in the cloudy sky at the famous Tanah Lot temple, which juts out from
It was a jam packed cultural day but worth the $70!
Of course we continued back to Nusa Dua, where we call 'home', and had $10 massages followed by a relaxing dinner.
We are off today (Saturday) to Komodo Island for the weekend for trekking, snorkeling, and adventuring.  Its a one hour flight to the island on a prop plan and then we will spend tonight sleeping on a boat.  I'm (going to be) ON A BOAT!