Palm trees surrounding the villa and pool
On Monday we went to Ubud which is the artsy area of Bali and known for its woodworking, paintings, basket weaving, stone statues, batiks and jewelry. This lady was at the Ubud Market and I thought she was so cute that I bought some carved monkeys from her and took her photo.
View of the rice fields. The farmers tie plastic bags on strings across the fields and a guy sits there and pulls on the strings to act as scarecrows to keep the birds away from the rice. The rice fields are beautiful, especially the terraced rice fields.
View of Ubud Market which is crazy busy and lots of haggling over prices. We did not last long!
More plastic bags at the rice fields
Our driver Agus (pronounced "a goose") took us to a batik factory where we watched the men and women make beautiful batik fabrics. Agus spoke fairly good English and was a good guide. He drove us all day long and we listened to his Indonesian music on the radio. He would ask, "Ekoomee sir, are you interesting to see the batiks?" :) Agus has a young wife and new baby at home, and doesn't make very much money driving people around. We gave him a generous tip and he was just speechless.
This is a photo of the entryway into our villa (from the inside). When you step inside the front door, you have to walk across the stepping stones over the koi pond to get to the living area. There are red/green/yellow flags at the front door that you display so that you will not be disturbed by the staff.
This is the outdoor dining area of the villa
This is where we spent most of our time! The gardeners who take care of the villas cut the grass by hand using handclippers!
School children in Ubud
Kite making in Ubud is a big deal. Balinese love to make and fly beautiful kites!
We ate lunch at a place called "Three Monkeys" overlooking the rice fields. I thought my salad was picture-worthy! They put most things on banana leaves.
This is the entrance to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, which houses not only 300-plus long-tail macaques, but also three temples and two graveyards. The monkeys are very aggressive and jump right on you and climb up and down your body trying to get food. Shelby and I read about this before we went so we didn't purchase bananas at the entrance, however, it was completely entertaining to watch those who did! The monkeys would climb up on top of a person's head in order to get to the bananas. They also ate potatoes and whatever else they could get their hands on!
Lots of mamas and babies
They are very affectionate with their young and spend a lot of time grooming each other!
This guy apparently ate his fill of bananas and was ready for his nap!
This one was so tiny!
They love to crack open coconuts and then scrape the inside of the coconut shell with their teeth
The basic Indonesian currency is the rupiah (Rp) This is a million dollars (equivalent to about $107 US dollars) Boy did I feel rich! :)
Here is Shelby the Yoga Master doing his thing out on the bale (pronounced "buh-lay"). The bale was a perfect place for him to read in the shade while I sunned in the pool. We decided that we need a Balinese bale in our backyard someday......
Sunset over the Indian Ocean
Going out to dinner
Fisherman at Jimbaran Bay
A man selling roasted ears of corn on the beach at Jimbaran Bay. Balinese people are extremely interested in tourists. They almost always ask the same questions, mainly "Where you come from" and "Where are you going?". They also want to know how long you stay there, where you stay there, and some ask about your children. One of the men at the currency exchange counter asked Shelby and I if we were on our honeymoon! haha
Watching the sunset at Jimbaran Bay is fun to do. The idea is to get there a little early and get a table near the water. Tables are set up right in the sand, and they serve all kinds of grilled fish and prawns. And yes, I ate a fish that had it's head attached!
Local woman walking along the beach