Bali Day 2

The next morning, Gede picked us up at our villa in Ubud. We knew the outline of a few things we wanted to see - a temple, a waterfall - but no real details, so we were relying on Gede to figure out where we might like to go. He did not disappoint! That guy knows the whole darn island so well, and it's crazy impressive.

I probably should have written down the names of the places we went, but I didn't, so, you know, too bad. We went to a pretty tourist-y but really lovely temple first. The temples are basically outdoors, which I didn't realize, and also it doesn't matter what you wear on top but you do have to wear a sari on the bottom so your legs are covered.

We explored a bit, and then headed on to the next stop! Gede knew of another temple, with no other tourists and some really cool stone carvings that he could tell us about, so we went there. This one was even more beautiful, and the stone carvings were of people doing everyday things in ancient Bali. A friendly dog appointed him/herself as our guide, and trotted ahead of us everywhere we went.

Third, Gede took us to this gorgeous waterfall, more or less on our way towards Seminyak where we would spend night number 3. There are many steep steps down to the area at the base of the falls, and you can pick your way over mud, stones, ledges, and streamlets, right up to the crashing pool! Waterfalls are Cheryl's favorite thing - I think for her they're like the ocean is for me - so she was even happier than I was!

Fourth, we stopped at Gede's friend's uncle's silver shop, since it was on the way and we thought we might enjoy looking around/find some presents for people. We didn't end up buying anything, but we did enjoy looking around! I just don't like silver very much. It looks sort of flat and boring to me, although I like silvery-grey metals.

Fifth - and it was only about noon! talk about efficiency! - we stopped for lunch near Seminyak. Gede knew of a great restaurant on the beach, and in fact our lunch and the quiet ambiance and the stunning ocean view made it hard to leave when we were done!

 Gado gado: Healthier than anything I'd eaten yet on this trip,

and so freaking delicous.

Might become my default order.

Yummy snapper "chowder" in Balinese sauce.

Definitely some curry in there,

not sure what else.

There just is nothing I like more than sitting on the beach.

But just wait until Seminyak.

It gets even better.

Nonetheless, we thought it was probably time to finish making our way to Seminyak and check into our hotel there. Umadasa proved to be spacious, attractive, very modern, and best of all air conditioned. And the staff was super friendly and sweet. We chilled in the hotel for a while, since we were overheated and tired, then made an ATM stop, did a little shopping, and had dinner at a restaurant that also had excellent gelato, which I did not try to resist ;)

And then we went home to our air conditioned room, showered, and went to bed! Next up: The beach :) :) :) :) :)