Tour of Bali

While we were in Bali we took a tour to see some of the many famous temples and attractions.  We found Wayan Araina through tripadvisor...it was very inexpensive to hire a private driver to take you on a tour (about 450 IDR or $50 USD per family for a full day tour).  Another great benefit is that you can choose which destinations to visit and can follow your own time schedule.

I've always wanted to see a rice terrace garden so our first stop was at the Tegallalang rice terraces.  It was amazingly beautiful to see. 

There was a small cafe overlooking the rice terrace where you could cool down with freshly squeezed juice or snack on a light meal while enjoying the lovely views.

You are allowed to walk along the terraces.  We didn't actually go down too far since it was so hot but we saw a woman delivering coconuts to the cafe coming down from the top of the terraces.  It only took her about 20 minutes to traverse the entire way down the hill and back up to the cafe, and she was balancing three large coconuts in the basket on her head!

 

On the way Tegallalang we stopped by a small temple in Ubud.  We borrowed a sarong and belt to wear to enter the temple.

Ethan giving a donation to the temple.

Next stop was Monkey Forest in Ubud.  There were so many friendly monkeys !  They were so cute as they groomed each other, shared food, and just monkeyed around.  You could buy some bananas and coconuts at the entrance to feed the monkeys if you wanted to.

Saying hi to one monkey.

While another sneak attacked Bob.  Bob totally freaked out when the monkey jumped on his shoulder.

Cute little baby eating a banana.

Feeding each other food.

They thought the lens cap was food.

Bob was able to get a hand shake.

Pura Taman Ayun Temple in Mengwi.  This is the royal temple of the Mengwi Empire, and is known for it's beautiful wooden merus (pagoda-like shrines).

The whole temple is surrounded by broad canals.  In the back of the temple is a large fish pond and park.

Lastly, we visited the beautiful Tanah Lot Temple.  The temple, which means 'small island floating in the sea', sits just off the coast on a rock.

The entrance to view the temple is lined with street markets.

Tanah Lot Temple.  No tourists are actually allowed inside the temple, but visitors can view the temple from many different vista points.

If you were authorized to enter the temple you would have to do so during low tide.  We went during high tide and the waves were spetacular.

There are many restaurants and snack stands surrounding the path to view the temple.

View of the coastline from the park in the surrounding area of the temple.

I thought each of places we visited were spectacularly beautiful.  The architecture and design of the temples were breathtaking, and the monkey forest was so much fun.  It would be hard to choose but my favorite spot would be Tegallalang but every place was amazing.  We had a blast on our tour of Bali!