Bali, Indonesia

We left the continent of Australia to make one stop in Indonesia. I booked an independent taxi tour with Wayan Wijana at “Mybalicharm” after reading many good reviews on Tripadvisor.

Wayan maneuvered through the heavy traffic,and the country roads.

We drove by the monkey forest, and he slowed so that we could snap a few photos at the entrance.

Next we spent about 30 minutes wandering and shopping in the market in Ubud. Wayan advised us to be sure to barter – it is expected.

We saw several independent rice fields,

a terraced rice field,

a Hindu temple,

and went to Ubud Traditional Spa for a massage. which ended with ginger tea and fruit refreshments. Nice spas are scattered all over Bali and a one hour massage is very inexpensive! (and actually lasts for a full hour.)

Wayan explained that the country encourages the building of sculptures and monuments at intersections in order to keep the Hindu traditions forefront in people’s minds. They want to keep reminders of the stories so future generations will not forget.

I asked him about so many stone sculptures for sale. He said some are for garden decoration, and others are for protection. Every Hindu home has a temple and a place for their personal offerings. Each community has at least one public temple.

On the ground outside most homes and businesses lie small baskets at the entrance. These are daily offerings, usually containing flowers, something edible, and burning incense. Wayan had an offering on the dashboard of his taxi. Often we saw women in traditional dress with a basket on her head. This basket would contain several smaller offering baskets for temple worship.

Wayan also explained that there are communities for wood working, stone sculpting, and gold and silver jewelry making. Each community keeps separate, and their shops line the roads. We wondered how so many shops could be open selling so much of the same. He explained that a lot of craftsmen maintain a shop, but much of the income is now based on online sales.

More images from Bali: At the conclusion of our day, we went back to the pier to catch a tender to our awaiting ship.TThis was the height of rainy season, but our timing could not have been better. It poured during our massages, and the rain on the roof just added to the experience. A few sprinkles hampered some of our photos from the taxi windows, but we stayed pretty dry during the day, even making it back to the ship before the late afternoon downpour.