We are nearly half way through our trip and time seems to be going really quick. We are having a blast and cant believe we have waited so long to get out and explore the world and a different culture. This morning when we woke l think Marty and l both felt a bit sore and sorry from our fun yesterday. Whilst Marty was grumpy, and me too l think, causing a little tiff and barny before heading out for the day, Meg won hands down with being very sooky. Right there and then we should have known something was up, but instead, we just put it down to a few big days.

We had another fantastic buffet breakfast which consisted of us having bacon and eggs, waffles, pancakes, fruit and juices. I have been putting the thought of weight gain to the back of my brain, denial is the best cure l have heard. The food here is so delicious, think we're gonna get Bali belly in a different way to the usual side effects of Bali (lol). After our tummies were stuffed we headed out the front foyer to meet Carlos. Today we have a big day of site seeing with a tour we booked before the trip, which is heading to Ubud to check out the different arts and crafts, then to experience the famous Monkey Sanctuary and then check out a few temples. We were greeted by a more chattier Carlos than we remember the other night, again dressed in traditional Balinese costume. We piled in the 'small people mover' car and made our way out of Kuta, through to Samur which has Bali's tallest building. Apparently after 1965, buildings werent allowed to be built over 10m tall. The tallest building is the Bali Beach Hotel, which is over 10m high.

We eventually arrived in Ubud and stopped off at our first cultural art site to see how they make the besak wax sarong. It was a fascinating process and quite intricate in the way they produce these amazing sarongs. Quite expensive too, so hence, we just looked and didnt buy. We were told that a true besak wax sarong has the print on both sides, the fakes are only printed on one side. They were so beautiful...... Next stop was Celux, a silver export company. We were taken through the steps of how the silver is melted and supposedly individually handcrafted to make these beautiful original pieces. We strolled through the gallery while Boo stayed outside watches the boys melt the silver. I was so tempted to buy something, but l just couldnt believe that all the pieces were manufactured by hand individually. They were all so perfect and the duplicates were all so identical. Finding it hard to trust the Balinese, bit saddened by this, but feel like they take us for a ride whenever they can. After looking around, and listening to Meg whinge all the time, we went over to the car to find it empty. Looking around, we then saw Carlos and the driver in an open building playing billiards on a pool table. Cant believe we are paying them to play pool, but l suppose they have to do something to fill in the time. We then made our way to the next stop, an art dealers place. We strolled around taking in the magnificant art, it had a mixture of traditional, abstract and cultural art. Again loved it, tried to convince Marty we could buy a couple of pieces but he thought it was too much trouble to store them. I know, but l will come back and get some one day. We had the fortune to observe an artist doing a piece, the girls were cute, they huddled around him and watched closely. Totally captivated by what he was painting. Again, dont know how original some of the art is seeing we have seen so many of the same designs at the markets for quarter of the price? After prying the girls away from the artist we headed for our last stop in Ubud, a wood carving place. They had some men sitting around on the concrete floor carving a design with a knife. Then there were women out to the back 'finishing' the end products off by rubbing them over with dry toothbrushes. Apparently it is the males job to do the carving, never the womans. Whilst Marty and l were taken around the gallery, Boo and Meg sat around with the men and women giving them a hand. In the gallery there was this huge wooden piece of an Indonesian woman that sort of reminded me of an angel, it was taller than Marty and costs $15,000!! Again, l wanted to buy something, but Marty was dubious of its originality as all the duplicates looked identical, and how could they do this by hand we thought? Anyway, as we wandered around, the owner talked with us and as we were telling us about our travels in the caravan he became so curious and couldnt believe thats how we lived. Took a while for him to get the concept, dont think they have caravans in Bali. Anyway, after we finished looking at the amazing wooden sculptures we went out to find Boo and Meg sitting on the concrete with toothbrushes helping the women. They didnt want to go, they were having a ball, but when we told them that the next stop was the Monkey Temple then they were up and in the car before you know it.

Wasnt a very long drive to the Monkey Temple and on the way Carlos warned us to empty our pockets of anything valuable and not to carry food as the monkeys are "very cheeky" and can get a little viscious in their attempts to get what they want. We arrived and were greeted with the presence of hundreds of monkeys scattered amongst this ancient temple. As we walked through this sanctuary, we watched monkeys of all ages and sizes playing, eating and harrassing tourists. Was quite funny seeing them pinch the water bottles and run off and play with them. Carlos stuck close and kept warning us of the monkeys while Meg kept freeking out everytime a monkey came too close. Boo wasnt as reserved and eventually let a few monkeys explore her and her beads in her hair. Occassionally too many got on top of her and yanked a little hard on her braids and thats when she freeked out. This temple is nestled in a lush forest and has ancient rocks and pavements that we strolled on with moss covering the rocky surrounds. Apparently there are monks who care for the temple, but we didnt witness any around. I sat down on a rock bench and some curious little monkeys came and started looking in my hair, eventually finding my bobby pins which they proceeded to take and run off with. Loved being so close with these amazing creatures, l didnt care too much about their cheekiness as they didnt harm us. We also saw a few squirels running about the trees, first time we have seen these in the wild too. The monkeys are so cool to sit and watch, they are forever grooming each other, to the extent when we had to try and explain to Meg why they were picking at each others butts, lol. All in all this was a really cool experience and l could have stayed all day, but we were on a schedule and had to move on to the next thing, being lunch!!

Carlos took us to this little restaurant not too far away called Joni's. It was a traditional place which overlooked rice fields, very relaxing and peaceful. We had a choice of a few different buffets, all being Indonesian cuisine which l had to convince Marty that he would like. Meg was still sooky and played up terribly, and had to eventually sit in the naughty corner which lm sure the other people didnt appreciate while they were trying to enjoy their meal while a four year old was carrying on. I then sat her up with me and noticed she was burning up and very hot, so again l win mother of the year!! When she settled we did get to enjoy a fantastic meal which l had an amazing fresh tasting chicken soup followed by a curry chicken with rice and for dessert a banana fritter. Boo and Marty had chicken kababs which were served on this mini bbq which Boo was totally fascinated with. I am so in love with this Indonesian food, dont know how lm going to go back to our plan camp food when back on the road in Oz again. After lunch we headed back to our car to find Carlos and the driver snoozing heavily in the front seats. Was so funny, after l took some pics of them we then spent the next few minutes trying to sutterly wake them, eventually the girls giggles woke them up.

Next stop was Gua Gaga temple where a ceremony was taking place for worshiping due to the full moon. Was pretty amazing to see the Balinese people dressed in traditional dress and the woman carrying the offerings stacked hugely on top of their heads in these amazing decorated baskets. Sometimes they looked so heavy that the womens necks would move like it was elastic. Upon entering we had to pay a set 'donation' fee and put on a surong so as not to offend their culture. The girls were fascinated with the little Balinese kids as they were intriged with the girls. quite funny how kids can still play and muck around even if they dont speak the same language. Carlos tried to explain parts of the temple and the purpose of certain areas and the story behind the ceremonies but sometimes his words got muddled and he spoke to quick that we found it hard to follow. After walking around for a little we were ushered back to the car to drive a little into the forest to a Coffee plantation farm where we were treated to some coffee tasting. We walked through the farm and were taken to the coffee making area where an old man was grinding the coffee beans in a huge mortal and pessa, which Boo decided she would give it a crack. After walking around the farm, we sat down in this cool little sitting area with a lovely young woman who talked about the different coffees and cocoas that were poroduced on the farm and we tasted around a dozen different coffees and chocolate drinks. All not mixed with sugar or millk, the Balinese dont seem to think these are required, and with the tastings we had l tend to agree. One delicacy is a coffee called Ginseng which is made with the faeces of an animal (cant remember the name of it but it looks like a cross between a cat and racoon). We tried the drink which was suprisingly delicious, Marty did too which shocked the s*** out of me (pardon the punt). We purchased a box of the mocha coffee which was around $5 AUS.

Last stop to this very jam packed day out was the Pura Tirtha Empul Temple which is a a Hindhu temple famous for its holy water. The local people believe the holy water has healing powers and when we arrived, again it was a very big time in Bali for ceremonies based on the full moon, we witnessed hundreds of locals lining up to get into the holy water, a mass cleansing as such. Was fascinating to watch and l am loving learning about the Hindhu culture and beliefs. Love the stories and worship behind Hindhu culture and practice, that it is revolved around nature, humanity, body and persons spirit. This temple prooved to be so fascinating with all the locals again dressed in traditional dress and it was all full of color. There were dance ceremonies being performed, one which we saw was a sword warrior dance, amazing!!! Boo was loving the costumes and the Balinese were loving Boo, fascinated with both her and Meg with their blue eyes and blond hair. We got some great photos with the local people, very greatful to them for letting us watch them practice their tradition. Again, the women carrying the head baskets of the offerings were amazing and unbelievable. Some would have been a metre high!!! While Marty and l were watching the dances, the girls were over playing with the local kids playing the xylophone instruments and drums. This day was so jam packed but so glad at the experiences we are having.

Eventually Carlos said we had to start heading back, and l suppose it was getting late, around 4pm. We made our way back to HRH driving thru the villages outside Ubud and through the rice terraces. Absolutely spectacular country side. The girls were exhausted and fell asleep in the back of the car, which ended up being a nice quiet time for Marty and l to take in this amazing countryside in peace. As we made our way back into the towns l was astounded at the way the Balinese have exbraced the scooter and how easy they make it look. There were women breastfeeding while being dinked by their husbands. Kids were passengers and having a snooze with no problem as all. Sometimes there were up to 4 people on a scooter at a time. Sadly, Boo woke up when we were about 30 mins from home and was busting for the loo. Unfortunately we made her hang on too long and she had a little accident in the car poor thing, Oh well, not to worry. When we eventually got back to HRH we were all exhausted and decided to have a quick meal for dinner at the cafe downstairs where we enjoyed a wood fire pizza.

We settled the girls, who fell asleep pretty quickly considering they had a nanna nap in the car on the way home. Marty then decided to go and exchange some more money were he got ripped off again. I did tell him to go to a proper place but he tried one of the market places again. He came home were we counted and found that he was $200 AUS short!! God he was pissed off, he stormed out and when he came back 20mins later he had the correct exchanged money which he had gotten at a proper exchange place. He couldnt believe it, but hopefully he has learnt his lesson this time.

What a big day, totally worth it. Had a great day learning about Balinese culture and religion, saw some amazing places and had fun along the way. What more could we ask for hey. All tuckered out we had an early night as tomorrow was going to be another big day, all excited though as it is our Nusa Dua water sports day..........

Bell Xxx