Kecak and Fire Dance, Uluwatu Temple 27 May 2013

The charges to the temple. 

For Kecak and Fire Dance, the tickets are sold inside the temple.

Observing the locals praying.

Uluwatu temple has a very stunning view of the sea as it is situated at the cliff. 

A prayer is conducted before the Kecak and Fire Dance starts.

The music is made by a chanting of seventy men. There is no orchestra or gamelan like in other traditional Balinese dance. There are four acts altogether. Briefly, it is about the demon King Rahwana's intention to steal Sita, Rama's wife. Rama and his brother, Laksamana set out to rescue Sita, with the help of Hanoman. 

Padang Padang beach, Bukit Peninsula, Bali 27 May 2013

Padang Padang beach view from the bridge. 

Accessed to the beach from the stepped pathway under the bridge.

Small stalls selling food and drinks lined the beach.

A small cooking area but sells a long list of food, check menu below)

My not-so-beach kid was playing among the sun-tanning beach goers.

My beach kid can never get enough of sand and sea.

Suluban Beach, Uluwatu, Bukit Peninsula, Bali 26 May 2013

Steep steps going down towards the secluded Pantai Suluban. When it is high tide, the sea water reaches the end of the step.

The high tide is slowly residing.

The kids let the wave pushed them while waiting for low tide. 

When it is low tide, there will be a bigger beach area and we could walk further out to the sea.

View of Pantai Suluban from atop.

When the tide recedes, we could explore among the rocks, corals and seaweed.

En hopping back to Satria Bungalow.

Legong and Barong Dance, Puri Agung Peliatan, Ubud, Bali 25 May 2013

Little Hui explored the traditional musical instruments. It is fascinating and she asked to learn Gamelan.

Baris,the dance of a young soldier. 

Legong Lasem, the story of King Lasem. 

The whole performance, consists of 5 parts were superb and we greatly enjoyed it. 

Adult is Rp 100,000. Kids are free. We bought our ticket from a ticket seller just outside Ubud Palace.

Ubud Palace, Jalan Raya Ubud, Ubud Bali 25 May 2013

Bakso seller on motorcycle. We have seen it everywhere but didn't try it. 

A funeral procession on the street. 

Common scene of local carrying stuffs on their head.

The Ubud Palace

The walking journey from our homestay to Ubud Palace is much more interesting than the palace itself. :)

Setia Darma House of Mask and Puppet, Ubud Bali 25 May 2013

The last part of our journey to Setia Darma House of Mask and Puppet, we saw the local villagers bathed and washed their clothes in the huge drain along the road. 

We love everything here. The extensive collection of masks and puppets from different provinces in Indonesia and other countries are so beautiful.

The unique Javanese house, Joglo.

Goa Gajah (Elephant Cave), Jalan Raya Goa Gajah, Ubud, Bali 24 May 2013

One of the praying altar inside the small cave of Goa Gajah. 

Entrance fee is Rp 15,000 adult and Rp 7,500 child.

We spent some time observing the local praying.

Some of the offering.

We were dropped off here by Payuk Bali driver after our cooking class. And the driver from Warong Enak picked us up from here for dinner at no charge. 

Payuk Bali Cooking Class, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia 24 May 2013

Visiting a local market is always interesting. 

Payuk Bali introduced us to the ingredients that will be used for cooking later on. 

The local breakfast. 

We visited a school called "Widya Kusuma and donated some exercise books given by Payuk Bali. 

The students were having their breakfast.

When we reached Payuk Bali's home, we were shown how to make 'canang sari" by an experienced granny. 

Learning how to cook Balinese food.

Balinese food is full of spices and no wonder it is so yummy. We were told they wake up very early to cook and they only cook once in the morning and eat the same food for the rest of the day. 

Hair Braiding, Jalan Hanoman, Ubud 23 May 2013

The kid's souvenir from Bali, hair braiding RP 200000. 

It took 1.5 hour to braid En's hair and an hour for little Hui. Yep, is that long. And yes, they fidgeted about and was surprised it took so long. It was good for about a week. But on the second week, the hair looked messy with new baby hairs grown all over. 

The heron (kokokan) bird-watching at Petulu Village, Ubud 22 May 2013

Coming from the direction of Ubud town, watch out for this signage or a paddy field on your left in Petulu village. 

From  Ubud town centre, head to east on Jl Raya Ubud till you reach the junction with a big statue. Turn left to Jl Raya Andong, go up the road. About 2km thereon, watch out for the sign on the left to Petulu Village.

We requested to be dropped off here from Eve Spa's free transportation service. On the way home, we booked Warong Enak 's free pick up service and had dinner at the warong.  

There is a hut with tables and chairs by the paddy field that give you a great view of the birds. 

Order a cup or coffee/tea or "Bintang" from the man who runs the hut. 

There is a fee to watch the heron at the village, 15,000 IDR per adult and no charge for kids.

The ticket counter is located at the end of the village. You will need to walk past the paddy field to see it at the end of the road, in front of the village temple.  

Why do birds fly in V formation?

Eve Spa, Monkey Forest Road, Ubud Bali 22 May 2013

The kids had a go on manicure and pedicure while waiting for their parents at Eve Spa.

Eve Spa provide free pick up within Ubud area. So, I arranged for a pick up from Jangkrik Homestay and dropped us off at Petulu Village when we are done. 

Jangkrik Homestay, 60 Jalan Hanoman, Ubud Bali 21 May 2013

We love Jangkrik Homestay so much so that we left this place with a heavy heart. It is a simple two storey homestay that consists of 6 basic rooms situated among the ownner (Made and Kadek) 's family and relatives. We stayed at the corner, one of the four rooms upstairs.

The wooden traditional Balinese room door with a traditional latch that created a twinkle in the kids' eye! 

The basic room comes with hot water shower, fan and wifi. 

It costs us 275,000 Rp (RM85) for a night that comes with free breakfast of coffee/tea, toast/pancake and a plate of fruit .

In the morning, Kadek would carry her baskets of canang sari and pray around the homestay.  She prepares 80 canang sari everyday. 

My little kid looked at each and every canang sari with amazement. 

She found another one there. 

There are different kind of food or items being prepared on a canang sari each day.

This is the upper floor of the homestay. There are two rooms on the right and another two on the left (around the corner).

This tiny portion of rice and grated coconut was part of the offering beside the canang sari.

This dried leaves are prepared for funeral, so said one of the resident when asked what it was for. Staying among the residents, we were able to witness some of their daily routines. 

Jangkrik Homestay driver for my future reference Dewa Ngurah 085 737 605 348

dngurah62@yahoo.com