Bali 2018

We were up early for our banquet breakfast and were then met in the lobby by our requested tour guide Dian. We paid a bit extra I'm sure to have this private guided tour, but it is all inclusive of banquet lunch, all ticket entries, our own vehicle and of course the lovely Dian who gave us all the guff on the sights of Bali.

Our first port of call was the Batik Factory where we were shown the process of weaving fabrics, and the hand painting of the beautiful clothing. They had a huge retail shop but the prices were quite steep.

Next we went to the Barong Dance where we saw quite a lengthy play. Very talented and entertaining, but we've now seen enough balinese dancing.

We then visited Nadia's Silver Factory. Once again we were shown the laborious silver making process. This turned out to be an expensive stop for me as Marg scored a beautiful silver and rose gold ring.

We checked out a beaut wood carving factory before heading for the hills to visit Tirta Empul Temple. This is an 11th century water temple where people jump in the holy water to bathe and pray. Beautiful spot.

We continued up the mountain to Mount Batur which is the 2nd most famous volcano after Mount Agung which nearly forced the cancellation of our trip. Fantastic views of the volcano and Lake Batur from up here where we had lunch overlooking the beautiful vista.

Next stop on the way down the mountain was a coffee and tea plantation where we tasted the famous Luwak coffee. (made famous by the movie - The Bucket List). This is the coffee that is made from the poop of the Luwak's...a possum like animal. We also tasted 12 coffees and teas and bought a few to bring home.

Last stop on the way home was the Ubud Monkey Forest where we saw lots of little monkeys and babies. Very cute, but some were quite aggressive.

We were buggered by the end of the day and asked our guides to drop us off in Ubud where we had another 1 hour massage before having an Italian dinner. What a great day!En savoir plus