Mt. Agung, Artisan Villages & Ubud Rice Terraces, Bali, Indonesia

We were really excited to get out and discover Bali, beyond the resort. We rented a car (and driver!) to take us to a few of our top destinations.  From the get-go we were snapping photos.  Every other minute I found myself wanting to stop the car to get out and explore.  We limited our stops to just a few so we would actually make it to our destination.

On the go!

Our first official stop was at a wood carvers' village.  Everything in Bali seems to be carved, wood or stone.  It was cool to see the carvers work, even if it was an awkward "now come over here and buy something" kind of stop.

We explored the surrounding neighborhood for a bit before getting back to the road.

In Bali there are temples EVERYWHERE!  It was unbelievable.  It seemed you could find one every time you turned around. Our driver explained that each village is required to have a large temple, then you'll find neighborhood temples, and each family has their own temple near their home as well.  Some were ancient, all were quite spectacular.  

At the entrance to every residence were these tall poles with 'flags' (for lack of a better word), woven with straw and flowers.  They were really beautiful.

Around lunch time we arrived at Mount Agung, an active volcano that is also the highest peak in Bali.

It was a gorgeous day, so we really had a great view.

We ate traditional Balinese food and took in the fresh air.

With full bellies we relaxed and enjoyed the drive to a nearby coffee plantation.

We did the tour at the recommendation of our (commission hungry) driver.  When in Bali...right?  At the plantation they farmed cocoa beans, hot (hot, hot, hot) peppers, ginger and cinnamon, among other things.  They are most famous for their kopi-luwak coffee.  It is the rarest coffee in the world.  Basically, the coffee berries are eaten by a mongoose (who are known to eat them only at their ripest), then digested for 24 hours, removing much of the acidity.  The farmers gather the intact berries from the mongoose poop and process them into what is supposed to be a very smooth and nuanced coffee.  Too bad I am not a coffee drinker...too bad indeed.  I did, however, L-O-V-E the ginger & lemon teas, as well as the hot chocolate made with Balinese cocoa.  Mmmmmm!

Clockwise from the top: Watching a demonstration of coffee bean roasting, Naomi with a cocoa bean pod, Cinnamon tree, Coffee berries, Sampling of drinks made with the farm's produce, A tiny hot pepper (the tinier, the hotter!)

After a visit to the gift shop, we were back on the road.

We soon arrived at the rice terraces in Ubud.

They were really spectacular to see, although it was pretty difficult to get around with the kiddos.  Imagine steep, steep stairs, narrow roads and even narrower sidewalks that looked like they'd been around since before the pyramids. There were tons of little artisan stands and people selling all kinds of fun stuff.

No joke - Ginger grabbed this pumpkin hat from one of the stands as I was browsing scarves and would not let us put it back!  Once it was on, she was happy as a clam!  Well worth the price:)

Here you can see the busy road at the top and the different levels of shops above the terraces.

Would I be able to travel the world without knowing I can get a coke almost anywhere?  I'll have to get back to you on that one.

The girls did really well, considering that we'd been trekking around all day.  Finally Gigi had had enough!!!

Jon offered to pay this guy for his photo.  He, in turn, offered to take ours...

...wearing his hats.  Who were we to say no?  On second thought, maybe we should have done just that;)  Frankly, I am still in shock that Jon Jon actually put his hat on...AND smiled!

We ended our excursion with a visit to a silversmith's shop where we bought some fun necklaces for the girls.  Then it was back to the hotel for some well deserved r&r.