I spent Christmas in Bali. Not the best time of year to be in Bali because this is the rainy season, but apparently it is the busiest tourist season. The place was packed with tourists and traffic. Have you ever heard anyone say, “Going to Bali for Christmas?”. Most tourists are from Europe or Australia, but one of my guides said most of his tourists are Russian.

I stayed on Lovina Beach. Not sure how often this comes up in conversation for you, but sometimes I hear people talking about Bali. When I ask them were it is, they really do not know. People seem to know a bit about Bali, but not where it is located. Here is a quick geography lesson. By the way, I had no idea where Bali is until I visited Indonesia in 2018. The black circle is where I am staying in Sumatra. The red dot is where my hotel was located in Bali. You can see Australia in the bottom right–so close.

Bali is famous for amazing waterfalls, beaches, friendly locals, Hindu temples, local artists, monkeys, and religious ceremonies. I got all of these except the religious ceremony. I found one more thing Bali celebrates–Bonsai.

The first day I went to the Secret Garden. Secret Garden is a series of waterfalls and lagoons in the rainforest. Amazing! However, I was there during the wrong season. The lagoons were brown not the incredibly blue color of the dry season. The place is famous for its high jumps into the lagoons below–30′ and 45′. NO I did not jump. My guide asked me numerous times to jump. The last time I said NO. He started telling me stories about people jumping and hurting their back. He said it is dangerous. The water it not deep, so no diving. Only jumping. When you jump in you touch the bottom. In the photo library below, you will see a guy who did jump. FYI–He made it! Very happy to see it from above–and not finding my way into a hospital bed. I have no idea how many lives I have left. I am sure I used up one the next day (see below)!!

Day 2 in Bali (Christmas Day) I decided the trek to see the waterfalls was not adventurous enough. Of course, I could have jumped from the 45′ cliff and if I lived with no back problems I could have said that was my big Bali adventure. No. Just seeing the waterfalls was not enough adventure. The next day WAS an adventure. I hired Komang to take me on motorbike–that is what they call pretty much anything with 2 wheels & a motor–to Ubud. This is a picture of the bike we took. Yep, this is a scooter–Scoopy by Honda. This is not a picture of me, but this is pretty much what we looked like. I took this picture from a really great blog about work being done to save the Loris on Java. Little Fireface Project.

The trip is 2 hours but supposed to be faster by motorbike. Nope!!! We went over the mountains and through the woods!! There is a mountain range between Lovina and Ubud. Some of the hills look nearly 75-80 degrees. That little Scoopy pulled us right up those hills. There were a few times I thought I might need to get off and walk up the hill we were going so slow, but we made it–in 3.5 hours. On the mountain, during rainy season, the rain falls most of the day. We stopped to get the driver a rain coat. I took these photographs of the hydrangea farm next to the little store. The plants are not for sale. The flowers are cut and taken into the village for Hindu ceremonies and for honoring the gods.

I wanted to visit Ubud because it is known for local art. The art was amazing. Much of what I saw in the big market was the same thing. Every vendor was selling the same painting. I wanted something original, so I ambled down the side streets to find one of a kind pieces. The prices are so cheap. If I purchased the painting from Shannon–my go to furniture guy in High Point, they would be way more than what I paid. The painting is of women carrying presents for the gods during a Hindu ceremony. I added a real picture of women carrying food for comparison (not my picture)–I think the painting looks better than the picture. Getting it home might cost more than I paid. Dru I am ready for a trip to Bali to buy a bunch of cool pieces!! I found this painting. I purchased 4 beautiful wooden bowls from the women in the photo for $7.

I was determined to see a large Hindu Temple and learn as much as I could about their beliefs. I randomly chose this Temple on the way to see the Monkey Forest. The choice was worth it. They were having a traditional dance competition and a Bonsai competition. Never really been into Bonsai, but this makes me want one. Daddy do you want me to get you one? They are supposed to be great for meditation–like taking care of bees. You cannot move too quickly and you must think about your next move (cut). The Temple was amazing. I like the way their gods and goddesses look.

Every morning the Balinese place these tiny beautiful baskets in front of and around their homes and in Temples to honor the gods. They are canang sari. Canang sari are everywhere like tiny pieces of original art. Each piece and color in the basket has a meaning and represents direction and gods. They maintain the earthly peace and balance between good/evil. A family can place up to 15 of these a day.

The rain started just when we left Ubud. I was determined to see the Monkey Forest, but not ride on the bike gain. I visited the Monkey Forest in pouring rain. By the way the rain coat I have on did not stop the rain. I was drenched. Thank you North Face. This is Indonesian rain!! Rains hard sometimes and can go on forever. You can hear the rain in the video. The monkeys live in the “forest” but know they can get peanuts and their picture taken when someone shows up. The guide–who appeared out of no where about half way through the forest with an umbrella and a stick–fed them peanuts. He wanted me to feed them and have one climb on my shoulder for a picture. I said NO to the picture for a lot of reasons. The biggest one was that stick he was carrying. I read they bite. Just like Daddy’s monkey JoJo.

The trip back to Lovina was WET!! The rain poured and there is no where to go on a Scoopy to stay dry. Took us 3.5 hours to get back. We stopped on the top of the mountain to get coffee for Komang and tea for me. We were frozen–near the equator and still cold. Not the coldest I have ever been on a bike. The coldest I have ever been was years ago when Mike and I road the bike to an elementary school at 7am in January to do a Randolph County Dare Graduation. During graduation, I wore the Daren suit and Mike rode me into the school on his motorcycle. I had snotsickles hanging from my nose. The Ubud trip was not nearly as bad as the one for Dare Graduation, but we were drenched and cold. This picture is BEFORE we were soaked. I wish I had taken pictures of us in the little hut where we got warm. Things you think about later!