Chinese New Year in Bali

Kung Hei Fat Choy!

This was our first Chinese New Year, and we celebrated by making a trip to Bali.  Jill's parents (who are currently on a cruise around Southeast Asia) arrived last Wednesday, and we all went to Bali for the long weekend (offices were closed Friday and Monday for CNY).  2014 is technically the year of the horse, but I really question that because if it was the year of the horse I think the Broncos would have put on a better performance...holy crap, that was terrible.

On our previous trip to Bali we didn't do anything besides hang out at the hotel (we stayed at the Grand Hyatt Bali again this time).  For this trip we planned to go out on a boat to do some snorkeling and fishing, and a day trip to Ubud to see the town, rice terraces, temples, etc.  Jill kept/keeps referring to the trip to Ubud as "Eat, Pray, Loving", but I still don't really know what that means since I haven't seen the movie or read the book...

Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating, and the boat trip was cancelled. Besides the first day (which was just a bit overcast so it wasn't even that bad) the weather was fine the entire time we were in Bali, but the sea conditions were rough which is what caused the cancellation. 

The "Eat, Pray, Love" trip was very interesting.

The trip lasted almost all day because it's a 1.5 hr drive from Nusa Dua (where we were staying) to Ubud.  The first stop on the tour was the Monkey Forest in Ubud. We'd been told some horror stories about a Monkey Forest in Bali where the monkeys steal your stuff, and then their owners will give it back to you, but only for a price. The guide assured that this Monkey Forest was legit, and he was right. The monkeys are the same species as the ones Jill and I saw on our first hike in Hong Kong, and if you recall from one of the first blogs, those monkeys were not shy.  These monkeys weren't shy either, but they were a little bit more calm than their cousins in Hong Kong.

You could buy bananas to feed the monkeys, and there were a lot of battles for the fruit.  This guy, however, had it all figured out. His "rest genitals on my plunder" strategy seemed to work great because while his friends were battling over scraps he was lazily enjoying his lunch.

There was a Hindu temple in the forest.  Indonesia is primarily Muslim, but the island of Bali is 90% Hindu, with the remainder comprised of Muslims, Christians and Buddhists.

After the Monkey Forest it was on to exploring the city center of Ubud.

There was another temple in the city center

There was a lot of shopping.  Lots of touristy crap, but there were also a lot of boutique shops with actual clothes/crafts as well.

Mean mug of the century

A Hindu Offering.  These are laid out twice a day and were all over the place (not just in Ubud, but everywhere). They typically consist of flowers, incense and a small piece of food of some kind.

Yep - those are wooden wieners.

After Ubud it was on to the Tegalalang rice terraces, which were pretty awesome to see. Got to eat lunch with this as the view which was great.

Next stop was the Tirta Empul temple in Tampaksiring just north of Ubud. The temple is built around a Holy spring where Hindus go to purify themselves. 

You couldn't enter the temple without a Sarong, which is supposed to contain your impure thoughts.  Good luck with that when I'm stylin like this, ladies.

If I'm a Hindu God, I'm giving extra points to whomever offers me a whole, roasted chicken

I opted for the non-submersion version of the holy water purification.  Who knows if I was purified, but at the very least the water felt great because it was really hot

After the temple the trip was over and it was back to the hotel. Bali is great because you can relax on the beach and/or experience some very interesting culture.  If you make it there I encourage you to do both.  Here are some other random pictures from the trip.

Sunset in Seminyak, which is about a half hour North of Nusa Dua.

Sunrise from the beach at our hotel.  I woke up at 5:00 AM to watch a KU basketball game, but the internet wasn't working so I watched this instead.

Stray dog just chillin on the beach enjoying the sunrise too.

I came across this little rascal on my way back from an early breakfast one morning.  I posted a pic of a little gecko that Jill caught in our hotel room in Hawaii in a post a while back, and if we can keep successfully capturing amphibians/reptiles I may try to create a photo series.  The gecko and frog (or toad, not sure) were safely released after being photographed.

Jill's parents make a stop on their cruise in Vietnam next weekend, so Jill and I are going to meet up with them for a while and spend the rest of the weekend exploring after they depart for their next destination. I am very interested to hear how they are liking Asia!

Til Next Time,
Luke & Jill