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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.
We arrived in Bali on Saturday evening and hired a taxi to get us to our hotel in Legian. Jayakarta is one of the larger hotels here and so finding it was no problem. 
It was a hazy evening and approach in the dark was all the more alluring.
It is a large complex of buildings, and we were in the apartment style rooms with a bedroom, kitchenette (not used or needed at all), and living room where 
Kyle slept on the bed sofa. None of the buildings are taller than about 5 stories, so the skyline is kept quite clean. We were on the 4th floor, so by avoiding the elevator and taking the stairs, we at least forced a little bit of exercise upon ourselves.
Driving in Bali introduced us to a whole new style of driving! We quite wisely did not drive, but learned from observing. Although there are lines on the road, they are mostly for show. Cars, bicycles and an abundance of motorcycles share the space very effectively without the use of lines. It seems chaotic at first, but the courteous, random method of driving seems to work quite well for those who are accustomed to it. 
The speeds in town are much lower than we would normally use, 
and even on the larger roads, no one is in too much of a hurry. Honking here does not mean 'get out of the way', rather 'just to let you know I'm here' as you pass someone. We were quite happy to leave the driving to others.
Along the roadside there were 'gas stations' for those in need of a quick fillup. Rather unorthodox by our standards - liquor bottles full of petrol! 
There are proper stations out on the main roads also, but these roadside stops are what you get in the crowded streets. And as previously mentioned, there are numerous motorcycles 
which are used to transport anything or anyone - from singles to whole families, or even large loads of materials!
The grounds at Jayakarta were well kept and very peaceful. 
Sorry, but no photos around the pool since Mike was too busy just relaxing - although you can see one of the pools behind Kyle & I at the breakfast table here. 
There were 3 main pools - lap pool, one with swim up bar, waterfalls and Kyle & I enjoyed the large poolside chess game also.
We walked around 
the neighbourhood which is primarily shops and restaurants. But everywhere there are statues, carvings and cultural icons. 
Offerings are made once or more often twice a day - from simple offerings at entry ways to more elaborate offerings at the temples. I'll talk more about them in future postings.
Breakfast was included with our hotel room, but for lunch and dinner we went off site to check out the many restaurants. 
We enjoyed Thai as well as Balinese but tended to avoid the 'western' food and preferred to experience the local fare. Beer was a very cheap and enjoyable drink. It was very low alcohol content by our judgement. The bottle says 5 % - but that is not very likely given that I could drink 3 large bottles and not even feel it! So given the lack of a drinking age, even Kyle enjoyed the odd 'cold one' with dinner when he tired of plain water or cola.
Dogs and cats are very common here. Although kept as 'pets', they are not integrated into the household. They are left to fend for themselves, and not really coddled or petted. They just sort of have a place to lay their head. Our dinner this night was accompanied by a family of kittens looking to fill their bellies - and we could not help but oblige with our leftovers.
The second day in Bali was my birthday. We had agreed not to 'celebrate' given that we were in Bali which was enough of a celebration on its own. But it still had its marking event! There was a very funny fiasco of birthday cake swapping. We arrived back in our room after some shopping (I did order a custom leather handbag as my gift despite not celebrating :-) to find a cake addressed to Mrs. Thompson. Not sure if this was really meant for me we asked the staff who, equally confused, took it away. We returned later to find another cake - this time addressed to Mr. Montgomery. 
Deciding this one was meant for me, we went ahead and ate this one. Although very decorative and the cake itself quite nice, we all found the icing to be inedible since it was pure lard!!!
And so after the first couple of days of lounging and browsing the shops and restaurants and relaxing poolside, we were winding down and slowing our pace and stretching our stomachs!
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!
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....
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 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!
