Tanjung Benoa

Our last day in Bali was a great adventure in the center of the island exploring another temple, the rice patties in a 4x4 Land Rover. There was a big sun roof , and Scott was standing up with his head out of the roof for much of the first half of the excursion.
We set out to visit one of the families compounds that own some of the rice fields in the area. It was a 1.5 hour drive and along the way we saw the usual Hindu shrines along the road. Each family sets up a shrine in front of the entrance to their house and offerings are made each day of flowers and fruit in a hand woven basket. On the way we had to stop for a local funeral where the people from the village take the deceased person to their ceremonial cremation temple. It was quite a site to see that many people in a group walking the person to their final site of cremation. Afterwards their ashes are spread in the ocean.
Then on to a temple in the mountains called Pura Luhur Besi Kalung for our guided visit. It was a very ancient 13th century temple. The people from the area that own the rice fields take care of the temple and the grounds. Everyone participates in their own way. Those with money donate money, those without as much donate their time and craftsmanship to take care of the temple grounds and structures. I asked about one corner that we could tell had been renovated and that's when our guide told us about donating money, or in this case, donating their stone masonry and craftsmanship for the temple upkeep.
We also visited a local family's compound where multiple generations that own the rice fields live together and maintain their fields. They invited us into their home for some breakfast food made of rice and sugar cane. They really were delicious with the very strong coffee they make.
We then drive up the rain forest winding roads through the rice fields for some great views that we had never seen before. You could see people working the fields. They explained that they let the soil dry out, till it, smooth it, then plant the rice and fill the field with water. The fields are terraced and flat so that they can hold the water and control the level of water since the rice needs to be underwater to grow. They plant 3 shoots which become 20 and each shoot produces about 100 grains of rice. We had lots of great pics from the hills and rice fields going up to the rain forest for our lunch.
At lunch the weather was fine at first, then we really got to experience a true rain forest. The rain was very heavy and we were glad to have the off road vehicles for the windy and wet road back down.
On the way back down we ran into a person who had run her vehicle off into a ditch. Our guide asked if it was OK to stop and help and we said it was fine. We used the winch on the front of the 4x4 to help pull the car out and get her on her way.
Then back to the ship to dry out our clothes and get ready for some time at sea....Read more