Galungan is a 3-day period during which Hindus celebrate the victory of goodness over evil. It is also seen as a new beginning, an opportunity to forgive and put behind you any negative feelings you may be holding towards anyone, to move forward with only the positive.

There is a lot of visible preparation with a clear distinction of male vs female responsibilities. Males are responsible for creating the penjor. This is a tall bamboo stick that is curved at the top, decorated with young coconut leaves and a small shrine near the bottom for offerings. They are also responsible for the pig - from selection and slaughter all the way through preparing and cooking. Our earlier guide Gusti started at 2am and had a 200-pound pig to share with his extended family. Females are responsible for the offerings and parts of the meal. Offerings consist largely of flowers and fruits, and each composition is exact for a specific purpose. There are 100s of different offerings, and as the girls grows up to be a woman who leaves the house to join her husband, she will have all of these from her mother over the years they spent together.

Today (26th) is Galulgan's most important day, and the second of three days. People dress in their best dress and join family for offerings and prayers in the family and community temples. On our way up here (and already while we were in Ubud), we saw streets lined with pendors. It's a special sight.

Our first stop along the way is the rice fields. Not just any rice field, but the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Jatiluwih Rice Terraces. Since we visited during the harvest, we didn't see the elaborate lush green fields, but regardless this is worth a visit. Beautiful sights of the terraces and people working the fields. Its temperature a little cooler at 2,100ft elevation, we enjoyed about a 30min walk between the rice fields, which yielded some nice pictures. I was particularly impressed with the elaborate irrigation system. For as large as this area is, it is really amazing that water is standing or generously flowing where it needs to be standing or flowing… And they don't use a spreadsheet to figure that all out. Just generations of experience. Amazing.

The next stop on the way was the Ulun Danu Beratan temple. It is situated on the shores of a large lake, surrounded by mountain tops. It is yet another beautiful site of worship, although not a sacred site, as evident by entrance not requiring a sarong wrapped around your waste. Some good pictures there, but it was a cloudy day and the absence of sunlight doesn't do the colors justice. On a bright day this must be a delightful place to rest and soak in nature.

Last leg of the day was to our final address in Bali: Lovina. A small village on the northern shore of Bali, the 10 of us have Villa Amber and Villa Saffron to spend a few days on the beach. When we walked up, we were so astonished with the beauty and the view and proximity to the water, we forgot to take pictures, so you'll have to check back tomorrow! However, we did include a few pictures of our Christmas dinner. We had asked the chef in one villa to prepare their best rice table for us. And MAN did they do that… We had 10 dishes, and each was more delicious than the other. It was easily our best meal, yet. Maybe best meal of this (still young) trip. We are humbled and blessed being in their care.