To explore the island further we headed to Ubud for the day, the cultural heart of Bali. All the locals tell us that Ubud is their favourite place, as it's more natural and shows the authentic side to Bali, undisturbed and traditional. The more we headed inland the traffic eased off and the beautiful houses begin. The artwork and creativity seen all over Bali especially in this cultural centre is amazing. We headed to an art gallery for part of the day, which was a highlight for me seeing the traditional vs. Modern styles of painting. Also the dynamic landscapes that had been painted, on huge scales took a serious amount of dedication, patience and skill.
In the morning we headed to a Temple to watch the Barong & Keris dance a traditional Balinese performance which represents the fight between, the Barong (good spirit), and Rangda (bad spirit). The performance was great fun, with bold costumes and make up. It was great to learn more about few, of the many, Hindu gods.
As Ubud is known for being the creative hub of Bali, our guide took us to a silver shop. All of the craftsmanship for wood, silver and gold takes place in Ubud. The silver jewellery was delicate and beautiful, unfortunately even though I found a ring, the largest size did not fit my sausage fingers!
My favourite part of our time in Bali so far has been the visit to the Gunung Kawi Temple. After passing through markets you descend down 300 steps to this hidden ancient world surrounded by rice fields. The steps are wonky, and cobbles uneven but it adds to the character of this hidden oasis. Again the craftsmanship is overwhelming as shrine rock carvings tower over you, and the wood carvings on the roofs have such intricate detail. Being in the tropics is something I will never get bored of, although the heat can be unpleasant and humid, the natural beauty in the dense rain forest, waterfalls, streams and moss covered stone carvings just looks so magical. Undoubtedly however the best part of the day was seeing Sam, Lewis and Dad walk around in Sarongs with large umbrellas (in case of a monsoon), they looked like Jedi's! Very entertaining.
To finish off the day we went to the Monkey Forest Temple, where the monkeys run wild. One jumped up on dad and sad hello for a little while. I was slightly more weary in case they wanted my sunglasses. Again it was another beautiful temple (which you aren't short of in Bali), but this one was definitely ran by the natives. We walked under the cooling canopy of the forest, and it felt risky. I was concerned about the monkeys above, and I had every right to be. Moments later Marcia and I both got showered with Monkey Poo. That ended that day quickly!