The Trip: 2001
Bali, Indonesia
July 2, 2001 - July 30, 2001

Prologue
I had a hard time deciding just when this epic journey started. I guess it actually began when I met Bill & Deborah Jezzard.

I met Bill & Debi manning their booth at the Texas Renaissance Fair in or around 1988. I was a happy festival goer and they were sellers of fantastic wooden carvings from the far away and exotic Bali. Their booth was just inside the entrance to the Festival grounds. The idea that I would one day be working that booth was the furthest thing from my mind. I was there to drink & eat, gape at scantily clad wenches, and generally live the life of a carousing college student.

I was traveling with my then girlfriend, Jane Wilbur. Jane stopped early in the day to have her hair braided. One of the women hair braiders took pity on a bored boyfriend and flirted with me by sticking dried flowers in my beard while Jane had her hair done. I didn't know it at the time, but this flirtatious beauty would, after another seven years, become my wife !

So, 1988 at the Texas Renaissance Fair was, though I hardly recognized it at the time, a landmark point in my life.

But, I digress...

In 1995 Kathleen and I were married after re-meeting & courting for less than a year. Also, in 1995 Kathleen first met the Jezzards at an art open house at Debi's 'unfinished cabin in the woods'. By '96 or '97 both Kathleen and I were working every October for the Jezzards in their booth at the Ren Fair... and, in 2000, Bill and Debi, after trying to convince us to visit them in Bali for several years, gave us some of they frequent flyer miles as a bonus after the Fair.

So, there you have it. We would most likely never have gone to Bali without the friendship and generosity of the Jezzards !

July 2-4, 2001 Monday-Wednesday
I have been remiss in starting this journal. It is already several days into our trip and I am just now picking up my pen. Kathleen and I spent Sunday night at her father's house in Tomball and, Monday morning, July 2, bright and early, Jerry drove us to the Houston Intercontinental Airport to catch our 9:30 A.M. flight.

Our flight was in three legs... from Houston to Hawaii, Hawaii to Guam and Guam to Denpasar, Bali. We had connecting flights which had us on the ground less than 45 minutes at each stop. We spent 22 hours in transit watching seven movies (Exit Wound, Delivering Milo, Down to Earth, Proof of Life, Say It Isn't So, Sweet November, What Women Want and an episode of the Beverly Hillbillies). We were fed six meals during the 22 hour flight, not to mention several snacks of peanuts, pretzels and ice cream sandwiches. The food, from ham on dry rolls to beef ravioli, was nothing special, but it did help break the monotony of the flight.

We had fair weather and an uneventful flight... with a high point of seeing a submarine, possibly one of the big nuclear powered missile boats, cruising off the coast of Hawaii... I hope it was one of ours !

We arrived in Denpasar at 8:30 P.M. (local time) on July 3rd. Don't even try to figure it out. The times involved a 22 hour flight, crossing numerous time zones, switching off daylight savings time, and crossing the International Dateline. Suffice to say that our bodies, as well as our minds, were thoroughly confused when we stepped off the plane after 22 hours and it was dark instead of light.

It took about an hour to obtain our visas and get through customs. Our customs inspector only opened one of our suitcases and sighed when I pulled a second case out of the first (we were planning on bringing more stuff back than we were taking to Bali). He was thoroughly confused by the load of Crayons, pencils, paper, rulers, glue and other basic school supplies we were carrying. These were all destined to be donated to Balinese school children.

Putting my last real fear to rest, Bill & Debi were waiting for us as we exited the customs area !

My first impression of Bali is that it even smelled exotic. There were smells of smoke (from burning trash as well as rice fields), as well as the dirt and car exhaust you would associate with any developing country, but also spicy and delightful aromas.

Driving through the crowded streets of Denpasar at night was almost overpowering to our frayed nerves... having hardly slept in 24 hours, Kathleen and I were still overcome with excitement on being in a very foreign land. Streets were very narrow and there was still heavy traffic, even at this hour. Cars, buses and motorcycles swerved around each other in a chaotic dance... and with very little regard for the lane markers painted onto the street. Not to mention the fact that everyone.... Ok, not quite everyone, but most cars were driving on the wrong side of the street !

One pleasant surprise was the temperature. It was probably 70 degrees when we arrived, and most nights it is quite cool and sleeping is delightful.

We arrived in Campuan, a suburb of Ubud, and the village of Bill & Debi's house, about 9:30... we were shown to our bungalow... and after a quick drink and tour of Bill & Debi's house, we fell into bed.

I slept fairly well that first night... not surprising due to our overall exhaustion... but the few times I did wake, I heard the constant rumble of cars & motorcycles mixed with the sound of a waterfall and roosters crowing. These sounds became common place background noises during our stay.

Awaking that first morning was a delight ! There were doves cooing, sounds of other, unidentified birds, the waterfall... perfect sounds to doze by, but we were too excited to lay in bed for long. We had to get out and explore !

We stayed in the family compound of Nyoman & Ketut Pager, Bill & Deb's adapted family. And by 'adopted', I mean quite literally. The Balinese are primarily Hindu and believe in reincarnation... however, there is a twist in that you are always reincarnated into one of your own descendants. Therefor if you don't have any children, there is nobody for you to be reincarnated into, and your existence stops. The Pagers were very concerned that Bill & Debi had no children. The obvious solution was to adopt them into the Pager family ! This is exactly what Nyoman & Ketut did. In all ways, religiously, legally and otherwise, Bill & Debi became family members. After the ceremony, Nyoman lead Bill around the compound and pointed to a place he informed Bill was reserved for Bill & Debi to build their house. And so it came to pass !

The family compound is about twice the size of our lot back in College Station, but an entire extended family live here. There are six buildings including Bill & Debi's house, Nyoman & Ketut's home (3 stories and still under construction), four bungalows, a kitchen, a shop for tourists, and a very large pavilion area. The areas between these buildings are beautifully landscaped with palms, ferns, bamboo... Everything is extremely close packed, but so surrounded in jungle vegetation that the overall effect is quite beautiful & spacious.

From the 'front' to the 'back' of the compound, the land drops off steeply. All buildings are built on terraces. Sitting on the patio, I am looking out over the tops of trees thirty feet tall. Below is a river, accounting for the sounds of the waterfall. This river, and a natural spring near it, were once the personal swimming pool of the king of Bali !

Coconut palms abound, as do frangipani. I am looking at a palm frond which measures 8 feet across and probably 60 feet long.

Bali is configured strangely by Western standards. The roads are very narrow and crowded. Every inch of roadway is lined with businesses, stores, money changers, restaurants, however, if you walk through one of these buildings, you are quite likely to step out behind them into a rice paddy or a jungle scene.

Our first morning, Ketut served us a wonderful breakfast of fresh fruit & jafel. A bowl of fresh fruit, bananas, watermelon, cantaloupe, oranges became a breakfast staple. The jafel, however, was what caught my eye that first morning. Jafel is what my family would have called a 'flying saucer sandwich'. Two pieces of bread are filled with fresh vegetables & egg and then pressed together in a sandwich press & toasted. Absolutely delicious ! Our second and third breakfasts were light crepes filled with fried banana and French Toast (Bill taught Ketut to make this)... always accompanied by the huge bowl of fresh fruit.

Our first full day in Bali, July 4, was spent in Ubud. We took an early morning drive with Bill & Debi to a local flower shop where Kathleen bought a dozen Tuber Roses for about $1. We then walked about a mile in to the Ubud Market.

The Ubud market is similar to the Mexican boarder town markets back in Texas... or rather, on the Texas-Mexico boarder. The market is roughly a city block square, filed with individual stalls... in some areas three stories tall ! This is a big market !

This particular market caters to tourists, though you can also buy an incredible selection of fresh fruit and vegetables... many of which I have never seen before. In the stalls they were selling primarily sarongs, fantastic wood carvings and fine basket weavings. I thought we were doing well the first day to get out with only a shirt and a sarong...

Wednesday afternoon we drove with Bill & Debi to the local 'Super Market' and bought a few necessities including a 5 gallon bottle of water, toilet paper, a funnel and two pairs of Zorees. Wednesday night we were in bed by 8:00 and slept like the dead.

About 10:00, after a heady breakfast of banana crepes and fruit, we walked down to the market again. I had hoped to buy a beautiful carved monitor lizard, but the price had gone up overnight from 150,000 rp to 400,000 rp ! I passed. We learned really quickly, that there are rules to bartering in Bali. If you like something, buy it ! Don't go back for it later. That is a giveaway that you are really interested and the price goes way up ! Bartering is an art form in Bali... Everything is negotiable.

I carried my camera on this outing (which may have resulted in higher prices, since I looked like a 'Rich American'). Near the market some craftsmen were making a huge red lion for an upcoming cremation ceremony. The red lion signified a high cast cremation. Perhaps we will be able to go to it ? (we did !) I shot several pictures of the preparations.

Changed another $100... feels good to be a millionaire ! $100 American changes into $1,252,000 rp. I read once that it is unwise to change more than $100 at once... because it is hard to stuff over one million rupee in your pockets !

In the afternoon we drove around with the Jezzards. They were on a quest to buy Lonetar Palm Flowers.

We ate lunch at a fabulous, four star Thai restaurant. Salad, coconut milk soup & entry, tea & coffee... total bill for the four of us came to about $17 !  Dinner last night was at a local hot spot, Murni's, that just happens to be about 100 yards from our compound. Kathleen had a fried noodle dish, I had sweet and sour chicken. Our total bill came to about $3 ! I could get used to this !

Wednesday evening we went to Temple with Ketut and Wyoman. We had to dress appropriately in sarongs & sash. They do not allow cameras in the temple proper, but it was incredibly ornate... everything was gold leaf and ornately carved stone. It was quite a solemn affair to kneel and pray in this temple. The smell of incense was everywhere.

Went to bed and asleep by 9:00... not knowing that there was a lunar eclipse going on ! Bill & Debi received a call from a friend in Java telling them to look out their window. They thought we were too tired and elected not to waken us ! What a disappointment !

At noon we had an appointment at Bali Hati. Bali Hati is a spa... a wonderful spa ! All the profit from the spa goes toward the Bali Hati foundation. the foundation runs a school, it renovates and supplies existing Balinese schools. They also have an emergency housing program, similar to our Habitat for Humanity, and are building a clinic and teaching hospital. They even operate a computer school ! After turning over all the school supplies Kathleen and I had brought over, and receiving a tour of the facilities by the director, we indulged ourselves with a 'couple's message'. For $25 (normally $45, but we were 'patrons') Kathleen and I had an hour long message. Two masseuse worked on each of us. After our hour was up we showered and then relaxed in a hot tub for another hour. You see, the only reason we could justify indulging ourselves so lavishly was that it was all going toward such a wonderful cause ! In fact, the cause was so good that we made another appointment for next week !

As it turned out, today was Bill's birthday and the Jezzards are planning on a dinner party. Their friends are starting to arrive en mass. I guess I should put down my pen and join them in their revelry !

Our dinner companions were a fascinating, varied and eclectic group. We had Brits, Ausies, Balinese and Americans. With the exception of Kathleen & I, nobody had a 9-5 job. Most of these people worked for themselves in one way or another. One was a painter, another a writer, one managed a local restaurant and several were either involved with bringing tour groups to Indonesia or with the import/export business. All in all, they were a fascinating group.

After last nights gluttony it was hard to get up and about this morning... but we did it ! Left early for about a 3 mile trek out of Ubud and up a mountain ridge between two river valleys. No more than 100 yards off the main street Ubud, we crossed a footbridge and were immersed in an incredibly lush forest. It amazes me still that a busy town, complete with noise, dirt and traffic can exist a handful of meters from such a primal jungle.

The hike took us nearly four hours... though it was only about 3 miles. Very steep paths snaked between cane fields, and later, rice paddies . At one point a Balinese met us on the path with a freshly cut coconut. The juice was quite refreshing. This was one hike I was glad to carry my camera on. Part of the reason it took us so long to traverse such a short distance was that we kept having to stop to take pictures... Also to drink water... it was a terribly hot day.

Leaving the ridge we walked through a small village to meet up again with the main road leading through Ubud. Kathleen was very popular in these outback villages. She would carry a pocket full of balloons and give them away to the children we met. Just her little way of dispelling the image of the 'ugly American'.

Saw some truly beautiful furniture... selling for extremely cheap prices, along the main road back to Ubud.

Had a huge lunch of fried spring rolls, fried rice and fabulous pumpkin soup ! Total cost for us both, about $5.

By the time we made it back 'home' it was very hot and humid. We peeled away wet clothes and took cool showers... afternoon showers became a daily retreat ! I can see I did not bring enough clothes. (I brought 10 pairs of underwear, 6 T-shirts, 2 pair of shorts, 1 long pants and 2 button down shirts). I am changing clothes at least twice, and sometimes three times a day !

In the afternoon we walked about 1.5 miles down past the Ubud market to Monkey Forest. This is a beautiful forest, something like New York's Central Park. There are very wide paths through it, wide enough to drive down, though cars are not permitted, and many monkeys ! I shot a couple of rolls of film here. There were lots of sacred Banyan trees and a beautiful temple surrounded by fantastic carved stone creatures. There were fanciful, bipedal, dancing pigs, a beautiful woman's body with a dog's head... some seriously strange stuff ! We also met a young couple from California. They had a stuffed sock monkey which they were posing with the real monkeys. They were quite a hoot !

Walking back from Monkey Forest I lost Kathleen ! it was fully dark by the time we reached the Market. I paused to shoot a picture of a Dunkin Donut sign which was covered with geckos and when I turned around, Kathleen was gone. Luckily, Bali is a very safe place and she simply had walked back to our compound. It still makes me very nervous to loose my wife in a foreign country !

Immediately after breakfast we joined Bill & Debi in their car for a drive to Sanur for a kite festival. I had often been to the kite festival in Zilker Park in Austin, but that is nothing compared to a Balinese kite festival. This was traditional Balinese, not something put on for the tourists. We were about the only bule (dumb white folk) in a crowd of several thousand. Traditionally, every Banjar (village community council) would send a team to the festival... and there were hundreds of Banjars represented. Each group took turn launching their kites, perhaps 4 or 5 at a time. The festival itself lasts several days and has many different competitions. We saw the 'butterfly kites'. These were among the largest kites flown. They were judged on size, looks and on how well they flew. unfortunately, there was very little wind today, even on the beach, and these giant kites had trouble staying up, though the enthusiasm of the crowds was not diminished. Many of these kites were huge... perhaps half as large as our house. They were carried in by 20-30 Balinese and flown by up to 60 ! The butterfly kites were kept on bamboo frames when not being flown and they provided excellent protection for the entire group from the glaring tropical sun. As we were leaving a second competition of long tailed kites began. Many of these kites had tales up to 150 meters long.  Many groups were dressed alike, in bright colors. Many carried flags, and some even traveled with their own Gamelan Orchestras. This was quite a bit like sending the school band and pep squad along to a high school football game !

The only down side to this celebration was the heat. The noon day sun was merciless ! There are also almost no trash cans and the grounds are quite filthy. I often looked down to see I was standing in a sea of litter.

Leaving the festival we were caught up in a huge traffic jam. much of the problem was caused by the Banjar teams leaving. They had huge dump trucks to carry their 'butterfly kites'. and, of course, each team had an escort of flag and banner carrying men on motorcycles ! Many even had their Gamelans playing !

I picked up a take-out dinner tonight of pumpkin soup, fried rice and skewered pork at Pesto's and brought it back to the compound while Kathleen had her shower. Dinner for the two of us was about $5.

While down in Sanur we stopped at a very American style bar & grill and I had a new treat... Avocado juice ! Think of a concoction about the consistency of tomato soup and green. It tastes of avocado... now dribble chocolate syrup through it !! Avocado and chocolate are not normally tastes I would put together, but it was.... memorable ! <grin>

We started this morning by driving with Bill and Debi up to Mas. This is the home of the finest wood carvers in Bali. We hoped to commission my brother Bill's horned lizard sculpture. It remains to be seen whether we will be able to find a master carver who will take it on, and whether he can finish it before we leave ! Only three more weeks !!!

This morning I watched as one of the young girls put out the morning offerings. It made me think that there are two things which intertwine to form the basis of most Balinese life... Religion and Art !

Every home in Bali has a family shrine where offerings are made twice daily. Then there are 'community' temples, 'city' temples, 'county' and 'state' temples... and finally the Mother Temple in Besakih. Offerings are made outside of shops and businesses at least twice daily... sometimes more often. In our own compound, there are at least a dozen offerings prepared each morning. There are small baskets or pans filled with flowers, rice and incense which are placed at mini shrines throughout the compound.

In addition to putting out the daily offerings, people visit the temple twice daily. Bill and Debi always have an offering on the front dashboard of their car... but, considering the way folks drive around here, that is only prudent ! Coming up on the 14th is a religious day celebrating books and learning. On this day you are not supposed to read any books. It is similar to giving up something for Lent. It makes you more thankful of your books... and it gives the books a day of rest !

A secondary aspect of the Balinese is art. Every stall in the market, every shop along the street, is filled with Balinese handicrafts and art. We are looking at some truly fine wood carvings... but also, hand made stationary and books, iron works, sarongs of cotton and Batik, paintings... It seems as though all Balinese are artists of one kind or another. This may originate with their religion. Not only are the temples and house shrines carved with fantastic designs of gods, animals and natural figures, but the daily offerings must be arranged in ways that please the gods. Often banana leaves are cut and folded into intricate flower like designs, grasses and leaves are woven into baskets and mats... It would be difficult for any Balinese to not be suffused with an appriciation of art !

Beauty is basic and fundamental to the Balinese life. Buildings include decorative moldings, ornate trims... there are stone carvings everywhere... every street is lined with beautiful trees and shrubs. It is as though the Balinese appreciate the Natural World and do not want to distract from its beauty through any mechanisms of man.

Today we drove with Bill and Debi. I had wanted to commission a wood carving for my brother, Bill, and the finest wood carvers are in Mas. Since this is one of their regular stops, the Jezzards let us tag along. The Mas carvers we visited have quite a warehouse. There are about a dozen carvers who range from apprentice to Master Carvers. They principally carve animal figures, horses, lizards, eagles, bats, snakes... just about anything you can name.

We looked through a large selection of their finished work. They are very fine, but not as good as what was produced a few years ago. Now they are actually using some power tools ! Many of the Master carvers are getting old and fewer and fewer young people are wanting to take up the carvers trade. Bill and Debi have commented that there seems to be more and more cheap imitations coming through which are quickly bought up by the tourists. I fear for the future of the true Balinese Master Artisan.

We showed a pewter mold of a horned lizard to a Master and commissioned a small piece... We will be picking up the test piece on Saturday. Then, if it is OK, we will go ahead and commission the larger piece. I am afraid though, that the full size piece will not be finished before we leave. All the Master carvers are currently working on one meter statues for a mas cremation. That takes president over the wishes of a tourist... as it should !!!

Returned mid afternoon to Ubud, ate a late lunch and walked home from the Market area. We bought a mask and two beautiful little carved dragons along the way. I also picked up some of my developed pictures. To date, I have shot about a dozen rolls of film, and, since it only costs about $3.00/roll to have them developed, I am having them done as I go. It is quite rewarding to shoot vacation pictures in a foreign nation, and have the developed pictures the same day ! So far I have some good 'memory shots', but nothing I would want to hang on my wall.

July 10, 2001 Tuesday
Today we hired a driver and toured the countryside! Nyoman called his 'cousin' to drive for us. Everyone here is 'related' to everyone else.  It is often confusing to a Western mind set. In Bali any friend could be refered to as a 'cousin'. There is also a strict naming convention for children. Names are given as follows:

    1st born - Putu, Wayan or Nengah
    2nd born - Made or Kadek
    3rd born - Nyoman, Ika or Kamang
    4th born - Ketut

These names apply to both men and women and are repeated for the fifth child on... So, here in Bali, I could call myself Nyoman and everyone would know my standing in my family.

We climbed into Wayan's  Toyota Jeep about 10:00 A.M. and headed north out of Ubud. On our way to our first stop we paused at several of the most amazing terraced rice fields! Wayan drove us about for over 6 hours and charged us $30.

We saw four major temples today: Pura Gunung Kawi, Pura Tirta Empul, Pura Ulun Danu Batur and Pura Basakih.

This was an amazing series to hit in one day. Kawi actually predates the arrival of Hinduism on the Island. Walking down some 250 steps you come to the temple grounds. The temple itself is cut into solid rock and straddles a beautiful river valley. The carvings here are very old and Bill J. tells me the current theory is that they represent some kind of ancient calendar.

Tirta Empul is a temple built around sacred hot springs. It is a water temple with many reflection pools and fountains. At one point you can see the water bubbling up through a pool filled with black sand. It looks like a giant, slow motion, black sandstorm!

Batur temple is built on the lip of Mnt. Batur, one of the massive volcanoes which crests these islands. The temple has been destroyed once and threatened at least twice by volcanic eruptions, but it is of such importance that the idea of relocating the temple is unthinkable.

The view into the crater of Mnt. Batur is quite beautiful. There are numerous resorts and hotels as well as a natural hot spring located within the crater, though the volcano is certainly still quite active.

Finally, we visited Pura Basakih. Bali has been called "The Island of 20,000 Temples". These are of varying importance. Each family compound has at least one family temple. Then there are community, village, city, county and state temples. Basakih temple is referred to as the "Mother Temple". This is Bali's largest temple. It is built into the side of Holy Mnt. Gunung Agung.

All of these temples are very beautiful, but by the end of the day, we were templed-out! We returned to Ubud by about 4:00, ate at an Indonesian/Italian restaurant and ambled home for an early bed.

July 13, 2001 Friday

July 14, 2001 Saturday

July 15, 2001 Sunday

July 16, 2001 Monday

July 17, 2001 Tuesday

July 18, 2001 Wednesday

July 19, 2001 Thursday

July 20, 2001 Friday

July 21, 2001 Saturday

July 22, 2001 Sunday

July 23, 2001 Monday

July 24, 2001 Tuesday

July 25, 2001 Wednesday

2001	Bali, Indonesia
	Pager Family Compound: Ubud We stayed at the Pager Family Compound.
	I highly recommend this as a beautiful & relaxing place to stay in Ubud.
	Main street Ubud. You can see the alleyway leading to the Pager family compound on the left.
	Walk down this side alley to the Pager family compound.
	Kathleen on the front porch of our bungalow.
	The compound, as seen from our front porch.
	The 'open air' dinning hall. We ate a daily breakfast of fresh fruit and pastry here every morning.
	This is the view from our dinning hall. Tough eating huge bowls of fruit and other Balinese delicacies here every morning !
	Kite Festival: Sanur Multi-day kite festival at Sanur Beach.
	This was strictly a Balinese event, drawing crowds from Banjar all over Bali and attracting very few tourists. Each Banjar was represented by people wearing 'team T-shirts'  and carrying flags.
	We were there during the flying of the 'butterfly kites'.
	Some of these kites were 35-40 feet long.
	They were big enough to blot out the sun.  <grin>
	The kites were carried in over the heads of a dozen or so participants. These processions were often accompanied by a Gamelan orchestra.
	As we were leaving the long tailed kites were being brought up.
	Some of these kites had tails on them that reached a length of 150 meters !
	The largest kites had to be trucked in from the represented village.
	The team was often escorted by members of the Banjar on motorbikes and even by Gamelan bands !
	In between flights, the kites were placed on large bamboo frames and the teams would sit under them for protection from the glaring tropical sun.
	Cremation: Ubud Early preparations for a high cast cremation. This huge red lion would hold the physical remains of the deceased.
	The finished lion was a work of art !
	Three days before the cremation ceremony, preparations continue.
	Pork was made into a paste and put on sticks to be grilled. This is the traditional Balinese sate.
	Pork was the meat of the day.
	The day of the cremation, the procession was lead by a Gamelan orchestra. Kathleen and I bought a set of three of these huge gongs. The largest of which measures nearly 3 feet across.
	The completed lion, representing the deceased body, was carried by about 30 men.
	They danced, weaving and dipping, to the music of the Gamelan.
	Another litter carried a small temple, representing the spirit.
	It took quite a bit to carry these litters nearly a mile across Ubud from the Banjar house to the cremation grounds.
	Shopkeepers and onlookers would often throw buckets of water on the men carrying the litters to help cool them off.
	Finally arriving at the cemetery, the local priest accepted offerings and gifts to be added to the cremation pyre.
	Once the body, wrapped in a shroud, is placed inside the lion, offerings are made and prayers said, the entire structure is set ablaze.
	It was hard for a Western mind to accept that all this was created simply to be burned up.
	The fire was assisted by two large propane burners.
	The cremation was a strange ceremony for us to watch. It was both sad and uplifting.
	The Gamelan consisted of several gongs and drums. A full orchestra also includes flute and a Xylophone type instrument.
	Hawkers moved through the crowd selling everything from sarongs to drinks and film for the cameras of the tourists.
	This old woman had a 3 foot stack of sarongs balanced on her head.
	Cock Fighting: Ubud The one 'vice' of the Balinese is gambling. The men play a number of games of chance.
	We watched these games for quite some time, but never quite figured out the rules. We weren't sure we wanted to join in without being able to know whether we had won or not !
	Cock fighting is the primary 'game of chance' in Bali. Almost every household has it's pampered and prized cock, kept in these sturdy baskets.
	Cock fighting is strictly a male sport, though Kathleen was welcomed as a 'tourist'. The colorful 'Hawaiian Shirts' were worn by the 'officials' at the cock-fight.
	Prize cocks were treated very well, being exercised and messaged...
	The official timekeeper would strike a gong to start the match. Time was kept by dropping a half a coconut bowl with a hole in it into a bucket of water. The 'round' lasted as long as it took the bowl to fill with water and sink, about 30 seconds.
	The rounds seldom lasted more than 10-15 seconds. They were not nearly as bloody as I had envisioned.
	Still, as fascinating as it was, this is one side of Balinese life I do not need to experience again.
	Rafting: Telaga River We took one day to raft the Telaga River. A surpassing class III river in the rain forest.
	It was a delightful float trip (though I wished I could do it in my kayak instead of in a clumsy raft). We saw monkeys in the surrounding forest as well as Balinese bathing and washing in the river.
	Oh, to be a raft guide in Bali ?! Does life get any better ?
	Barong & Rangda Dance: Batubulan The Gamelan is comprised of as many as 50 instruments, almost entirely percussion except for an occasional flute. Main instruments include the gangsa (a xylophone-like instrument), drums, gongs and cymbals.
	The Barong is a shaggy creature, half-dog and half-lion. It is a mischievous but basically good creature.
	Kathleen was especially impressed by the finger movements of the Balinese dancers.
	The witch-queen, Rangda is evil through & through, often possessing a person and causing them to become angry and do evil.
	Often comedic, the Balinese dances generally tell tales of good triumphing against evil.
	Pura Ulu Watu Bali has been described as the land of 20,000 temples. Every family has it's own compound temple. Then there are community temples, city & 'county' temples.
	Pura Ulu Watu Many of these, like this one, Ulu Watu Temple, are located in beautiful spots.
	Pura Goa Gajah The Elephant Cave Temple, is one of the most ancient sites in Bali. You enter the cave through the mouth of a demon carved into the living rock.
	Pura Basakih The 'Mother Temple' of Bali.
	Pura Ulun Danu Batur Batur Temple, at Lake Batur.
	Pura Goa Lawah Bat cave Temple.
	Pura Goa Lawah The walls of  Goa Lawah were filled with tiny Balinese bats. The cave is said to lead all the way to Mnt. Basakih.
	Pura Tirta Empul The water from these springs is believed to have magical powers.
	Pura Tirta Empul A priest sits in contemplation.
	Gunung Kawi One of the oldest monuments in Bali, Gunung Kawi dates to the 11th-century.
	Pura Ulun Bratan Dedicated to Dewi Danu, the goddess of water, this Hindu-Buddhist temple sits in the crater of Mnt Bratan.
	Taman Tirta Gangga Water palace, built in 1948.
	Pura Ulun Bratan
	Balinese Stone carving is exquisite ! Kathleen would agree, especially after trying her hand at it herself !
	All temples are decorated with fanciful creatures.
	I think I might have dated her...
	Gitgit Waterfall This temple was at the base of the Gitgit waterfall.
	Garuda ! Fearsome, but actually a protecting spirit.
	The Pager daughter preparing to go to temple with an offering.
	Today was a special religious holiday on which you gave thanks for education and reading. It was a day of rest for your books (you weren't supposed to read) and we actually put out offerings and burned incense for our books.
	Another religious day was devoted to giving thanks for your automobile or bike. This was an extravagant offering being made for a car.
	Men in temple garb were everywhere. Most families went to temple, dressed in traditional headgear, sarong and sash, several times a week.
	We were simply driving down the street when we saw these dancers preparing to perform at a wedding.
	It was not unusual to see old women carrying very heavy loads on their heads. Often 60 pound bags of rice were carried this way.
	Murni's house
	Gitgit Waterfall
	Temple offering at Gitgit waterfall
	Lake Batur in the crater of the volcanic Mnt. Batur
	Another large load, this time of birds & bird cages.
	Man painting material to be made into kites.
	The toy man, taking a load of toys to market.
	Three children of one of our drivers.
	Handsome men in temple garb.
	Women working in the rice fields.
	Man and water buffalo, working the rice fields.
	The terracing of the Balinese rice paddies was quite impressive and absolutely beautiful.
	Kathleen and I both thought this was one of the most beautiful views on Bali. The picture simply doesn't do it justice.