Day 9 – Barong, Monkey Forest and Rice Fields
Today I had a wonderful day! We had a different experience when Tommy picked up his cousin to teach him the tour business. This guy (Drew and I heard two different names when he introduced himself, so he is either Paulie or Holly), is hilarious. He’s so chatty and full of information, so that made for an interesting day. We started off by seeing traditional Balinese Borong dancing. It was really fascinating to watch, especially with the very elaborate and beautiful costumes and makeup they have. That’s something I really enjoyed and would recommend for anyone coming to Bali.
We then moved on to a place Paulie/Holly suggested, which was a shop where they made gold and silver jewellery. You had someone talk you through all the processes and show you every step in making a pair of earrings. Something I didn’t realise was that the majority of the jewellery you see in Bali is all hand made, with no machines ever touching it. With all the pounding and polishing and cutting and gluing, I kind of feel guilty bartering for it, when it’s already so cheap compared to back home! They then directed us to their shop. I did leave feeling guilty for not buying anything, but it was impressive watching them do what they do.
We then went to what I think was Drew’s favourite place of the entire trip. Monkey Forest! Not only was it awesome with all the monkeys around, but the place was absolutely beautiful as well. It was like walking into ancient times with all the old statues and humongous trees and old little temples hidden amongst the wilderness. It was the perfect place for the photographer inside me to go mental with excitement. One of my favourite photos of all time I wasn’t able to take, but it was taken by Drew. It’s a photo of me and this gorgeous little monkey. The cheeky little bugger had his hand down my top looking for food, and my face had pure excitement. It’s great! Not attractive but still great. The cheeky little guy found me without food, crawled over to Drew and searched him. Happy that he has inspected every pocket and hiding place, and covering us in mud, he left us alone and moved onto the next tourist to start his routine over. Absolutely fantastic!
By now it was about 12.40 and we were starving. So we went and grabbed some munchies and moved on to the next place. Goa Gajah, or Elephant Cave. It’s this little temple in this little cave, where you walk through the mouth of this creature to find tiny shrines with all the prayer boxes and incense. I have found myself surprisingly interested in the religious practices here in Bali. With the majority of the population being Hindu (not the traditional Indian Hindu either), it’s not something you see very often at home in Melbourne. The Elephant cave was very beautiful, but it had so many stairs! And being hot and tired already, this exhausted us!
Last but not least we went to see the rice fields. Stunning views and maybe my favourite panoramic shot I’ve taken. They’re so green they almost look photoshopped!
Such a long day. Started at 9 this morning and it is currently 5.40. I am truly sad it’s over, because that means I only have 2 more days in this beautiful place!