Morning ritual of offerings at the main market in Ubud. Balinese Hinduism was pervasive throughout the island. The sweet smells of incense and handmade floral offerings are on every corner (and in the middle of every doorway).
The water palace south of Gunung Batur. We drove about 20 km out of our way to reach the temple, getting lost, pulled over by some cops (we talked our way out of a ticket for not having and international license) given an offering "for good luck" by a woman on the street and finally found our way. Flash floods came thundering down as we were about to leave and we drove back to Ubud soaking wet through flooded streets up to our shins.
Colin get's dressed in a sarong and sash to enter the temple.
The striking terraced rice paddies are all over Bali as farming, even on the hills is very important. Landscapes like these are breathtaking even though you see them all over.
A Balinese dancer that moves intensely with her eyes as well as her body. This preformance was a "Barong and Keris" dance that told a part of the Mahabarata story, a Hindu religious text that's important in Indonesia.
The Barang slowly and comically enters the stage. He's a benevolant mythical creature associated with Vishnu that scares away demons. He's also pretty cute, in a funny, snake like furry body way.
A bicycle ride through the rice fields in Ubud.
Some kids in our bungalow on Gili Trawangan. Pretty normal really.
The beach on Gili Trawangan outside of our bungalow. You can see Gili Air across the straight. The current was too strong to swim and we were advised not to try. This particular spot had some of the best coral reefs on the island and we spent many days swimming with the fishes (Amanda saw a swordfish, twice, but no turtles).
Lounging on the Gili's where we spent one week in a bungalow outside of the cluttered town. There weren't any motorized vehichles but instead bicycles and horse drawn carts. We circumnavigated the island twice, once on foot by moonlight and once by bicycle.
Some traditional sailboats on the beach of Sengiggi, mainland Lombok where we spent two days. They kind of look like giant water bugs but seem to sail pretty well.
The sun sets as we arrive in Lembar, Lombok, a horrible port town with nasty touts in the transport industry. We did count our lucky stars though to have taken so many Indonesian ferrys and made it to land dry.
The lotus flower pond at the water palace. Lotus flowers are a pretty big deal in SE Asian Buddhism.
In Tirta Gangga at the foot of Mt. Agung in Bali we visit the water palace, a beautifully landscaped retreat which we could view from our guesthouse. The tiny town (about 3 hotels and 7 places to eat) was dark once the sun went down due to loss of electricity, we spent the night eating by candlelight and chatting with a older local guy that made bamboo flutes.
A motorbike journey through the mountains brings us to a beautiful waterfall down a long strip of vendor stalls and gaurded by beautiful Balinese temples. Many Balinese temples have statues that are dressed in sarongs and have umbrellas to shade them.
The sun sets over the black sand beaches of Lovina, in northern Bali. We finally make it there from Mt. Bromo after an hour walk down the mountain, an hour crammed bus to town, a five hour bus to the ferry, an hour ferry ride and upon arrival to Bali, no more busses! We end up sleeping in one of the nicer bus stations we've seen on the trip till 3AM and then hop on a 2 hour bus that drops us in Lovina, exhausted, but excited to see our first stretch of beach in Indonesia!
Morning ritual of offerings at the main market in Ubud. Balinese Hinduism was pervasive throughout the island. The sweet smells of incense and handmade floral offerings are on every corner (and in the middle of every doorway).
The water palace south of Gunung Batur. We drove about 20 km out of our way to reach the temple, getting lost, pulled over by some cops (we talked our way out of a ticket for not having and international license) given an offering "for good luck" by a woman on the street and finally found our way. Flash floods came thundering down as we were about to leave and we drove back to Ubud soaking wet through flooded streets up to our shins.
Colin get's dressed in a sarong and sash to enter the temple.
The striking terraced rice paddies are all over Bali as farming, even on the hills is very important. Landscapes like these are breathtaking even though you see them all over.
A Balinese dancer that moves intensely with her eyes as well as her body. This preformance was a "Barong and Keris" dance that told a part of the Mahabarata story, a Hindu religious text that's important in Indonesia. 
The Barang slowly and comically enters the stage. He's a benevolant mythical creature associated with Vishnu that scares away demons. He's also pretty cute, in a funny, snake like furry body way.
A bicycle ride through the rice fields in Ubud.
Some kids in our bungalow on Gili Trawangan. Pretty normal really.
The beach on Gili Trawangan outside of our bungalow. You can see Gili Air across the straight. The current was too strong to swim and we were advised not to try. This particular spot had some of the best coral reefs on the island and we spent many days swimming with the fishes (Amanda saw a swordfish, twice, but no turtles).
Lounging on the Gili's where we spent one week in a bungalow outside of the cluttered town. There weren't any motorized vehichles but instead bicycles and horse drawn carts. We circumnavigated the island twice, once on foot by moonlight and once by bicycle.
Some traditional sailboats on the beach of Sengiggi, mainland Lombok where we spent two days. They kind of look like giant water bugs but seem to sail pretty well.
The sun sets as we arrive in Lembar, Lombok, a horrible port town with nasty touts in the transport industry. We did count our lucky stars though to have taken so many Indonesian ferrys and made it to land dry.
The lotus flower pond at the water palace. Lotus flowers are a pretty big deal in SE Asian Buddhism.
In Tirta Gangga at the foot of Mt. Agung in Bali we visit the water palace, a beautifully landscaped retreat which we could view from our guesthouse. The tiny town (about 3 hotels and 7 places to eat) was dark once the sun went down due to loss of electricity, we spent the night eating by candlelight and chatting with a older local guy that made bamboo flutes.
A motorbike journey through the mountains brings us to a beautiful waterfall down a long strip of vendor stalls and gaurded by beautiful Balinese temples. Many Balinese temples have statues that are dressed in sarongs and have umbrellas to shade them.
The sun sets over the black sand beaches of Lovina, in northern Bali. We finally make it there from Mt. Bromo after an hour walk down the mountain, an hour crammed bus to town, a five hour bus to the ferry, an hour ferry ride and upon arrival to Bali, no more busses! We end up sleeping in one of the nicer bus stations we've seen on the trip till 3AM and then hop on a 2 hour bus that drops us in Lovina, exhausted, but excited to see our first stretch of beach in Indonesia!
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