Break 3 Days 4&5-Tour from Legian

The camera got a rest day on Tuesday as Mike & I further relaxed at the spa. I had already had my nails painted at the hotel poolside, but now we went for a wonderfully relaxing 1/2 day. We started with a foot bath, followed by massage, then a body scrub, and finally a body moisturizing treatment. Mike and I came back very jello-y and smooth. It was lovely!

On our last full day in Legian, we hooked up with Ketut - a friend of one of the teachers at Pinjara. We did a 'cultural' tour with Ketut of the central area of Bali.

We started the morning with a drive to Batubalan - a district where they excel in Balinese dance. We saw the Barong & Rangda performance. This dance is the classic battle between good (Barong) and evil (Rangda). The dance is performed to ensure the balance between good and evil is maintained. The masks are sacred - stored in the temple between performances. The Barong is a magical mythical creature - the protector of mankind. The Rangda is the widowwitch who rules the evil spirits and haunts and possesses people.

Different areas of Bali are experts in different skills. Our next stop was to the batik and weaving area near Denpasar. We saw both the making of the batiks with the wax painting and dipping of the silk, and also the weaving which is still done by hand.

Next we were off to Cheluk where they specialize in silver working. The work is very hard on the eyes - certainly not something I could do all day every day! And of course I could not resist buying a pair of earrings....

Then off to see the paintings in Batuan. The master here has been at exhibits all around the world (in person). His work along with all of the members of the co-operative were beautiful. There was a variety of styles from traditional black and white, modern bright colours and everything in between (sorry no photos - we felt guilty not buying, so taking photos was a bit awkward).

Further up the road, we came to the area where they do the stone carvings. The roadsides were full of all styles of stone carvings - these are the traditional, but modern carvings are also available. They are magnificent - but obviously not something we could easily bring back!

We then visited a wood carver in Mas. They use a wide variety of wood - ebony, crocodile wood (bark looks like crocodile skin), teak, mahogany and even frangiapani. Most is imported and has to be quarantined and seasoned first. Again the styles varied with the artists - everything from carved golfers to the elaborate traditional pieces.

We reached our furthest destination for a late lunch looking out over Mount Batur and Lake Batur. The volcano most recently erupted in 1994 (also in 1917,1926, and 1963) and the lava flow can be seen on the mountainside.

As we headed back we made sure we stopped by some of the rice fields for photo ops. We first stopped by a flatter area and Mike roamed into the middle of one of the fields. It was very calm and peaceful. And we also stopped by a mountainous area where the hillside has been stepped for the rice paddies. We passed through some amazing terrain en route. Steep riverbanks with rain forest vegetation in the valleys and houses balanced along the cliff edges overhanging the banks. Unfortunately we could not stop as the road was very narrow and winding.

Finally we made it to Sukawati to visit a temple late in the afternoon. There are several types of temple - family temple, village temple, regional and mother temple (for the whole island). This temple was a village temple but was a good one to visit as it had all the features of a higher temple. It was quite old at 400 years. Kyle and I were attentive to Ketut as Mike roamed and photoed. I had to explain to Ketut that Mike was not being 'rude', and it was not that he was not interested in the stories - just that he was drawn away by the strong magnetic force of his camera to the photo opportunities!

And on our final drive back to the hotel, we continued to pass wonderful sites - this was a statue in the middle of the roundabout near Denpasar - about 40 feet high I'd guess. The black and white cloth represents the balance again between good and evil. Similar to the 'ying' and 'yang' of the Chinese culture.

So after a rather expensive day of souvenir shopping, we were ready to head to Amed on the east coast to lay back and enjoy the sun and check out the north east coast of Bali.