Even the lattes have flowers on them in Bali. (Photos of actual flowers will be added in future posts.)
Canang Sari
Walking down the street and sidewalk, we dodge canang sari, which are small palm-leaf baskets baskets of offerings like food, flowers, and incense. These baskets are everywhere – on the sidewalk, by the side of the street, and in front of statues. I noticed at the grocery store the other night that each register had a canang sari.
What Monkey Wants, Monkey Gets
As part of our Saturday exploration, we visited Monkey Forest in Ubud, a giant open space where monkeys wander freely and cajole tourists into buying them official monkey forest bananas.
When we first arrived, we read a long sign warning us to avoid doing things like looking into the monkeys’ eyes (it’s a sign of aggression) and trying to hide food from the monkeys (they will find it!) Plastic was also forbidden, so before entering the park, I made my way towards a trash can to dispose of Theo’s half consumed, half sealed plastic cup of water. However, the freely wandering monkey don’t actually seem to be constrained by the entrance/exit lanes (apparently, it’s only the people who need tickets) and there were several hovering in the vicinity, eying the plastic cup.
Rice Fields and Coconut Water
We could have hiked through the rice fields at Tegalalang like the people shown in the middle photo. However, it was hot and we were shepherding our three-year-old, who is going through a dislike-of-walking-and-heat stage. So instead, we appreciated the fields while sitting on a balcony and drinking coconut water.
Swim, Swim, Swim, Pop!
We visited the Turtle Conservation Center in Serangan, Bali over the weekend. The center cares for adult turtles who have been injured and runs a hatchery to protect vulnerable turtle eggs and young turtles before releasing them into the sea.
Walking in Sanur
Our Internet-for-work needs pretty firmly anchored us in tourist-land Bali, rather than the less developed north. Still, our neighborhood of Sanur makes for beautiful, interesting walks. For example, on the way to Theo’s preschool we generally pass statues, chickens, cows, and approximately a million motor bikes, some carrying whole families. The scents as we walk switch rapidly between incense, burning plastic, ocean, mosquito coil, and flowers.
Sanur Beach
We visit the nearby beach several times a week. The water sprawls out shallow and warm for ages -it’s warmer than our shower, by far. There are restaurants dotting the shore where we can sit and sip coconuts, cocktails, or coffee, or eat dinner if we want. Otherwise, we can just plop ourselves onto the sand.
Seeing More of Bali
I was planning to post much more about our final experiences in Indonesia, but after lots of travel hijinks and having my web hosting account hacked, I’m feeling severely behind in almost all aspects of life right now. So, here are some photos for now!
