Bali High!

I've taken so long to post this. Partly because the majority of you are on Facebook and have already seen the pictures. The other reason is because Bali is my favorite place on earth and I wanted to do this post well. Now I've come to realize that I can never express how I felt while here or exactly just what the magic is. So, there are a lot of pictures I have to share but I highly recommend you try to experience this place for yourself! My dad asked me what it was that I liked so much about Bali and it was really hard to answer. For one, it's beautiful. I mean REALLY beautiful. Driving across the island to our next destination was as exciting as getting there. Although it is really touristy, Bali hasn't lost its culture. The people still hold their traditions and live their lives in a Balinese way. The people are incredibly friendly. Everyone knows each other and by day two people were yelling "Andy!" as we walked down the street. People just introduce themselves to you and I think it's so they can keep tabs on everyone. Another way they keep tabs is by asking, "Where are you going?" and "Where have you been?" I read the book Eat Pray Love a long time ago but definitely want to re-read it now that I've been there so I can re-live the author's experiences in Bali with her. There are so many reasons why I love Bali. The FOOD!!! Oh my goodness, THE FOOD!!! Presented beautifully and every single thing we ate was SO good. Doesn't it look delicious?



The other thing I liked about Bali is that it felt like vacation. Although we saw and did so much, time was very slow. Usually traveling to a new country is difficult and you are rushed with tours or plans to see as much as possible. We got around a lot, yet everything was still relaxing. I can't wait to return, which is inevitable because Andy says I am a happier person on Bali. I would love to study the dance. We saw a show and it is so unique and beautiful. Unlike watching Thai dance which is reminiscent of watching Tai chi. Ok, now on to the pictures!

The beautiful dancing to haunting music. Their eyes get wide and look left and right. I want to learn!!!





Coffee plantation tour


One of the places we stayed in Ubud. $11 with breakfast overlooking all this prettiness!




Standing in front of a rice paddy


Like Guatemala!

Sitting at a restaurant overlooking rice paddies.

This is a famous temple on the sea. On our way we came across
a pet bat?

Another beautiful site!







Hanging out at the Buddha Bar where we met a musician who played for Bands like The Guess Who.

Here we are at the Monkey Temple in Ubud. the monkeys loved to lick the walls and jump on people. I made sure I stayed far away from anyone with food. I like seeing them, but I don't want them jumping on me. We watched this man below chip away at this wall to create this! AMAZING!















Below you will see some of the beauty on the way to our next destination. we saw kids bathing in the river, people harvesting rice, beautiful scenery, and ended at a volcano near a big lake. We were heading to a temple near the volcano where there was a festival that happens only once every ten years. We had to wear appropriate attire and got to see the temples decorated so beautifully.
















Listening to a local band and singing Hotel California.


Here we are in Lovina, a quiet beach town in the north. Families lived right near the water where their chickens went all the way to the water and even went in! We went here to wake up early to see the dolphins that live there. At times you can see hundreds of dolphins at once. There were a lot of boats out to watch them but if they didn't like it, they wouldn't keep coming back right? We only saw two pods from afar, but it was still nice. We got a beautiful sunset and a beautiful sunrise. After the dolphins we went snorkeling for a bit and saw two angelfish! This was exciting because we had never seen them before.











Our last day was spent on Seminyak beach. This is more of a family beach and much quieter than Kuta (with less vendors!!!. Here we found "Safari" who gave us a surf lesson then and there. After we sat next to his stand (which was really an ice chest on a table) and drank beers while he played guitar and his brother played drums.