We were picked up by the driver from our next stop which was Sideman. Again, it wasn't too far in distance (35km) but it took over an hour. We arrived at Villa Shantiasa which was a small place with only 4 rooms, but they were beautiful with a patio overlooking the mountains and rice terraces and an infinity pool in the gardens - we were the only guests. We decided today was a day of doing nothing, so we swam, had lunch, read, swam again, had a couple of beers, watched the swifts and hummingbirds, the sunset behind the mountains, dinner on our patio along with a power cut and romantic candle, and another couple of beers - bed. Perfect day.

Sideman Village is set in rural countryside down the southern hillsides of Bali's tallest mountain, Mt Agung. Swathes of paddies and plantations amongs the farming communities. A million miles away from the party scene in the south.

Next day we woke up early to the praying from a nearby temple and the 100's of cockerels. Breakfast was served on our patio and we then met a local guide for a morning walk in the rice terraces - that should be easy! Turned out it wasn't as easy as we thought. Heather slipped numerous times from the narrow ridges in to the irrigation channels and once her shoes were wet it made it even harder. But we got to see the peak of Mt Agung in the distance before she got covered in cloud and the 3-hour walk was beautiful.

We learned quite a lot and saw many different crops - cloves, peanuts, cassava, sweet potato, various types of beans, rice of course and lots of flowers which are picked to sell at market to then use for offerings. In Ubud rice is grown with 3 crops a year, but in Sideman they only have one rice crop a year and they rotate their piece of land to grow something else. Hence, the valley we were walking in was like a vegetable bowl and oh so very green. We also passed quite a few locals working away and they were very friendly and happy for us to take photos - much to Heather's delight.

We also learned a little about the irrigation system used in Bali, developed in the 9th century, called Subak. It's a co-operative social system that controls the water and is also an integral part of religious life and part of temple culture. Water from springs and canals flows through the temples and out onto the paddy fields. There is of course a lot more to it, but difficult to explain and probably not blog material, albeit extremely interesting and a huge part of Balinese culture.

When we got back, we had a quick shower and change of clothes as we were then going to see Besakih Temple on the slopes of Mt Agung, the most important, largest and holiest temple of Hindu religion in Bali and known as The Mother Temple. Lucky for us it was also a time of a religious celebration so there were lots of people coming and going, again beautifully dressed and carrying their offerings. Unfortunately, we were not allowed in some of the courtyards as they're reserved for pilgrims. Our entrance ticket included a guide and we were given lots of fascinating information - albeit too much to retain.

That evening we ventured out and walked through the town of Sideman with no other tourists to be seen. We had read about a "Warung" called Warung Dapur Kapulaga which we found after about 20 minutes. There was nobody around so we turned on the lights and waited. 10 minutes later a girl arrived on her scooter and we ordered a couple of beers whilst looking at the menu. The reviews recommended the Sate Lilit which is minced chicken with various herbs and spices, wrapped around lemongrass sticks and grilled on charcoal - it really was delicious. We were then presented with free banana fritters and chocolate sauce.

Dan had brought his torch so we walked off dinner by way of the 20-minute walk home, mostly uphill, and packed a few things away in readiness for our departure tomorrow for Candidasa